Quick Hits: Winky Wright Telling It Like It Is, Affliction Wants Chris Horodecki

(’You’re looking at Don King’s hair behind me, aren’t you? Man, every damn time.’)

In an interview with MMAmemories.com, Winky Wright diagnoses boxing’s problem by contrasting it with what MMA is doing right:

“When I was coming up, more top fighters fought each other. They all wanted to prove they were the best in their weight class, not in the WBA, the IBF, but the best, period. But now the promoters and the networks get in the way and we’re losing a lot of fans because of it. The promoters milk the prospects, they don’t match them against top fighters. The networks allow too many easy fights.”

“I would definitely say (boxing is) declining as the best are not fighting the best. In the NBA they don’t just cancel the playoffs and have the Lakers against some sorry team. No one would watch. That’s why the UFC is gaining so much in popularity. The best fight the best and the fans love to see it.”

Winky is spot on, here. It just makes you wonder if we shouldn’t be interpreting this as a cautionary tale.

- In other news, Sherdog.com is reporting that Chris Horodecki has been officially released from the IFL, at his request, and is entertaining a couple different offers at the moment. The cockeyed financial optimists at the AFL have supposedly made a “very generous offer” (they know he’s not a woman, right?), but Affliction has said they’ll beat it in order to get “The Polish Hammer” on their October 11 show. The clock’s ticking…

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Juanito Ibarra Devastated by “Rampage” Jackson’s Troubles

(Better times. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.com)

The split with trainer Juanito Ibarra is said to have precipitated former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton Jackson’s mental breakdown, but Ibarra himself has been quiet on the issue. While he still refuses to talk to about exactly what happened between he and Rampage, he does seem to be deeply affected by it in this talk with MMA Junkie:

“I’m devastated by what he’s been through and some of the things I’ve heard,” said Ibarra. “I’ve not sat down with Quinton to this day to discuss things. I pray for his well-being, and if I helped Quinton out a little bit with his growth in the sport, then I’ve been very blessed and honored to do that. I love this kid with all my heart, and I wish him nothing but the best.”

[...]

“I’m not going to get in to storytelling. … It’s not what I’m about. I haven’t sat down with Quinton Jackson, and I’m not going to hear things through sources and through people. This is a kid I’ve been with for almost four years. I have nothing but love and support for him. All I want for Quinton right now is what’s best for him. Whatever he needs from me in any way, I’m here for him and always have been.”

Recent reports have attributed the split to money, but as more information on Jackson’s mental state becomes apparent it seems less and less likely, if only for the reason that money is way too normal a thing for fighters and trainers to squabble over, and nothing about this situation seems normal. Particularly since Ibarra seems to be as much of a spiritual adviser as a trainer to Jackson, perhaps a reconciliation of some kind could really help the former champ.

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WEC 35 Salaries: How the Other Half Lives

(Hiromitsu Miura and Carlos Condit. Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has released the fighter salary figures for Sunday’s WEC show. Yeah, they’re lower than what you might see in UFC, but the greatest disparity lies in the fight bonuses. The WEC handed out $7,500 bumps for Knockout (Brock Larson), Submission (Brian Bowles), and Fight of the Night (both Condit/Miura and Varner/Hicks) — compared to the $60,000 bonuses now up for grabs in the UFC. The numbers are below; props to MMA Junkie and MMA Weekly.

Carlos Condit: $51,500 (includes $22,000 win bonus, $7,500 Fight of the Night bonus)
Jamie Varner: $37,500 (includes $15,000 win bonus, $7,500 Fight of the Night bonus)
Brock Larson: $37,500 (includes $15,000 win bonus, $7,500 Knockout of the Night bonus)
Marcus Hicks: $23,500 (includes $7,500 Fight of the Night bonus)
Brian Bowles: $15,500 (includes $4,000 win bonus, $7,500 Submission of the Night bonus)
Hiromitsu Miura: $12,500 (includes $7,500 Fight of the Night bonus)
Blas Avena: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
Shane Roller: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
Brian Stann: $11,000
Steve Cantwell: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
Josh Grispi: $8,000 (includes $4,000 win bonus)
Carlo Prater: $7,000
Mike Budnik: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus)
Scott Jorgensen: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus)
Damacio Page: $6,000
Micah Miller: $5,000
Kenji Osawa: $5,000
Todd Moore: $4,000
Dave Terrel: $3,000
Greg McIntyre: $2,000
Total: $275,000

Underpaid: Pretty much everyone. Particularly, everyone under Steve Cantwell on the list, and Hiromitsu Miura, who went into the main event title fight with just a $5,000 base salary — and left with a long medical suspension. To put this in perspective, Matt Lindland out-earned WEC 35’s entire payroll for fighting at Affliction: Banned.

Overpaid: Nobody. Though, relative to the other fighters you might say Marcus Hicks was overpaid. For some reason, his $16,000 base salary was the night’s second-highest, after Carlos Condit.

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Quick Hits: IFL Fighters to Affliction, Great MMA Book Reviews, and Dana White’s Net Worth

(’Who has the nachos? Don’t act like I don’t know nachos when I smell ‘em!’)

After reports that Zuffa was buying the video library and at least some of the IFL’s fighter contracts, we kept expecting the flood of stories about all the ex-IFL’ers making the jump to either the UFC or WEC. So far news has been relatively light on that front, but it looks like Affliction has swooped in to pick off a couple of top prospects for themselves.

MMANews.com reports that Roy Nelson will face Xtreme Couture’s Jay White at Affliction: DoR (the abbreviations have already begun, deal with it) in October. Nelson was the IFL’s only official heavyweight champ, and White is…2-5. Wonder which of these guys is being groomed for a big future in the stacked Affliction heavyweight division?

Meanwhile, Sherdog is passing along info that a rematch with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has been offered to IFL light heavyweight champ Vladimir Matyushenko. Vladdy beat Little Nog via decision in 2002, and he never faced much of a test during his unbeaten run in the IFL. Matyushenko would make an excellent addition to the growing 205-pound ranks in Affliction, which should soon include Tito Ortiz, who Matyushenko lost a decision to in 2001.

In other news…

- Fightlinker has enlisted the services of Matthew Polly — author of this hilarious and highly recommended book — to review several of the MMA “memoirs” that have hit the shelves in recent months. Polly does to their sense of narrative and craft (and their ghostwriters’ sense of exactly how much work they’d have to do to get paid) what these same fighters would likely do to the face of anyone who uses words like narrative and craft. Fun times. Check out his review of “Iceman: My Fighting Life” and you’ll see what we mean.

- Ever wondered how rich Dana White really is? Well, rich. But Wall Street Fighter tries to nail down a solid figure. It’s actually harder than it sounds, although their photoshop of the UFC Prez is just adorable.

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Great, Now Everyone’s Going to Want an Affliction Championship Belt

(Something has to keep a fella’s pants up. Might as well be an imaginary belt.)

When Vitor Belfort told Tatame.com that he was going to be fighting Matt Lindland “for the belt” at Affliction: Day of Reckoning (dun-dun-duh!!!), they took it to mean that it would be a bout for Affliction’s middleweight title, which the organization doesn’t currently have and which they may or may not be creating. No biggie, we thought. Either Affliction is planning to create a title belt, or else it’s a harmless misunderstanding.

At least, it was harmless. And then Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (aka Little Nog) found out about it. Now he wants a belt to be created so he can fight for it too. After all, Vitor’s getting one. It’s not fair!

“Minotouro” (it’s been said before, but really, these twin brothers with almost identical names have to have almost identical nicknames, too? come on) first heard about the situation from Tatame, and they later relayed the conversation in this crystal clear translation:

“I’ll fight in October 11th, but it’s not right yet against who. They’re speculating a lot of opponents, but they didn’t say anything yet”, told Rogério, that didn’t knew yet about Belfort’s fight. “Did they created a belt for him? Do you know if they’ll create a belt to light-heavyweight too?”, asked Nogueira.

After hearing a “no” as an answer, Nogueira promised win the belt – when Affliction creates one. “If they make one it’ll be great… I wanna be on top, and I’m ready. If I get this belt I can be a top 3”

Top three, huh? For winning the Affliction title that hasn’t been created yet? Okay. Eventually someone’s going to have to tell Little Nog that there are some serious problems with this logic. We’re just glad it won’t be us.

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It’s Official: Barnett vs. Arlovski @ “Day of Reckoning”

(Mmmm, apocalyptic…)

After a Long Beach Press-Telegram article confirmed that Affliction’s next event would be headlined by a heavyweight bout between Josh Barnett (23-5) and Andrei Arlovski (13-5), the t-shirt company put up a home page for the October 11th card — named “Day of Reckoning” — which will be held at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. An exclusive ticket presale for “Affliction customers” begins Wednesday; tickets can be bought here.

Besides that reported bout between Matt Lindland and Vitor Belfort, the only thing we know about the lineup at this point is that Fedor won’t be on it. Though the absence of Affliction’s best fighter is unfortunate, Emelianenko still isn’t a proven pay-per-view draw in the U.S., and if Affliction can quickly get their hands on someone who is — Tito Ortiz, in a best-case scenario — then “Reckoning” should be able to out-perform “Banned.” We’ll keep you updated as the card comes together.

But speaking of Fedor, you wanna hear something totally freakin’ wild?

(more…)

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Diaz Claims He Passed Drug Test, Still Trying to Get Paid by Dream

(’Where’s my money, homey?’)

In a new post on Graciefighter.com, a media outlet which might be slightly biased in favor of Nick Diaz, Stockton’s favorite son is said to be looking for a fight and an overdue paycheck. The site claims that Diaz passed his drug test for “Elite XC: Unfinished Business” — good news, assuming it’s true — but he is still waiting on his fight purse for his last bout in Dream. He beat Katsuya Inoue back in May, though the site says he hasn’t received “a cent” in payment for his work.

Can you really do that if you’re running a major MMA promotion? I’d hate to think of what happens if you don’t pay one of the Diaz brothers for a fight. Something tells me it involves you waking up wrapped in duct tape while they stand over you with their middle fingers in your face. Terrifying.

It’s a shame, too, since Diaz is supposedly hoping to face off against Hayoto Sakurai in September if he can’t convince KJ Noons to give him a rematch for the Elite XC title at the organization’s next big show on October 4. All this waiting around means Diaz doesn’t have a fight lined up for August, and since he seems to want to fight at least once a month, in between triathlons, he’s slated to put the gi back on and do some jiu-jitsu tournaments. Say what you will about Nick Diaz, he does work, son.

(Props: Five Ounces of Pain)

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