(“Oh, hello poor people.” — philanthropist Calvin Ayre.)

“The only organization that wasn’t willing to make me an offer was the UFC. They don’t want the best fighters; they want the best fighters that they can control.”
— Matt Lindland on his new deal with Affliction. Lindland also revealed that EliteXC approached him with an offer, but was outbid by the t-shirt company turned MMA-promoter.

“We’re going to make the WEC the smaller weights and the UFC will be the heavier weights. We’ll probably take some of the guys in the higher weights, the champions over there and bring them into UFC. We’re still trying to figure that out.”
— Dana White on further distinguishing Zuffa’s MMA properties. He told the Canadian Press that the UFC has no plans to install a 145-pound division or a women’s division.

“While I know I can win against any lightweight in the world on a given day, I fell twice in a row [to Kenny Florian and Josh Neer]. Therefore, I’m going to bow out. Good luck to those guys. I’m going to drop down to 145 lbs and see if those guys down there will embrace me.”
— Din Thomas on his future plans, which will hopefully include the WEC’s featherweight division.

“You’ve likely heard the rumblings and rumors… and for once…. it’s true… I’m packing it in! Well, who am I kidding? I was really more of a brand ambassador for Bodog the past while anyway – but it was fun while it lasted.”
— Calvin Ayre announcing his retirement from Bodog, which will be restructuring and returning its focus to gaming, and not so much on money-losing fight promotions.

“I was asked by the UFC to help with security when the 2 fighters entered the ring area. They where more worried about Matt than GSP. Next thing I know some wack job is jumping over the barriers and charging the ring. I didn’t want to hurt the guy so I was just going to put him to sleep and then help get him out of there before he hurt someone or himself.”
— UFC ref Dan Miragliotta (who comes in at 6’4”, 296 pounds) on his rear-naked-choke of Joe Asshole at UFC 83.

(Phil Baroni works to take down Kimbo Slice at Xtreme Couture.)

Dana White on a match between Kimbo Slice and Chuck Liddell:

“If he [Kimbo] fought anybody that mattered, I would book that tomorrow…The fact is, Kimbo’s not there yet. He would get destroyed. I heard he just got knocked out by Forrest Griffin last week in a sparring match after a kick to the head…I’d take him [Kimbo] absolutely seriously — but, again, he hasn’t beat anybody. In this sport, it’s all about ‘Who have you beat right now?” And he hasn’t beat anbody.” — Deadspin via FiveOunces

Quite a tune-change for White, who was previously dismissive of Kimbo’s potential. But with the Iceman’s last fight only 2-4 years away, the UFC prez may already be looking ahead to a final glorious cash-in for the Octagon’s most loyal star. If things continue to go well for Kimbo, he’ll have earned his respect among MMA purists by the time Liddell is ready to retire. Could Slice vs. Liddell headline UFC 127: The Clone Wars on New Year’s Eve 2011? We’ll go ahead and clear our schedule…

10. ROB EMERSON

Offenses: Was arrested in 2000 for his membership in the Lords of South County, a gang of Orange County rich kids who liked to assault innocent people for fun. Arrested again in 2006 after a dustup at a bar, and pled guilty to two counts of battery. His middling fight record doesn’t justify his UFC contract.
Notable quote: “I got bent over and took it up the ass on a lot of bullshit judges’ decisions. But fuck ‘em, their faces were fucked up worse than mine. That’s all I care about!”

9. BILL GOLDBERG

Offenses: His inexcusably awful work for EliteXC has brought MMA commentary to new, previously unimagined depths. Was reportedly abusive and obnoxious on the set of The Longest Yard.
Notable quote: “Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t give a damn about traditional mixed martial arts.”

8. BOB MEYROWITZ

Offenses: Ran the UFC into the mud marketing it as the most outrageous bloodsport on Earth. Currently working to eliminate ground-fighting with the YAMMA pit. Has a history of losing investors’ money (see eyada.com).
Notable quote: “On the streets it’s against the law — in the pit it is the law.” (YAMMA tagline)

7. GILBERT YVEL

Offenses: One of the dirtiest fighters in MMA history. DQ’d once for eye gouging, once for biting, and once for knocking out a referee; laughed when he was arrested after the incident.
Notable quote: “The referee…not a good thing, but memorable.”

Last week, it was revealed that Dana White put the official kibosh on the proposed boxing match between Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr., due to its conflict with Silva’s UFC contract. In a new interview with the New York Daily News, Jones expressed disappointment at the way things were handled:

“I don’t see how it could discredit the UFC,” Jones said. “The guy has boxed before and he’s a tall, slick, left handed fighter. That gives everybody problems. It would be a good fight. As fighters we’re supposed to be trying to do things that amaze people and make history. This could have been something that people really wanted to see. I just think it’s wrong not to allow him (Silva) to get the opportunity to live out his fantasy to be in the ring with one of his heroes.”

Jones also added:

“If I had a high school wrestling background, I’d be willing to try that stuff (mixed martial arts),” Jones said. “But I’m lost on the ground.”

I’m still not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, Silva would get schooled in a boxing match with RJJ, and it would absolutely discredit UFC fighters in the eyes of the casual sports fan — many of whom already believe mixed martial artists are talentless brawlers who lack the skill of pro boxers. But then again, isn’t this the kind of thing that would help spread awareness of MMA and its stars on a worldwide level? And wouldn’t Dana White benefit from giving his stars a longer leash so they don’t all become disgruntled and leave the Octagon for freer pastures?

Your thoughts?

(Props: MMAMania)

(The coaches, sans shirts, for “TUF 7″.)

The season premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter 7″ kicked off after UFC Fight Night 13 rocked the shit. If you’re not drunk enough yet, hold on for a full rundown of what happened in the opening show of Team Forrest versus Team Jackson…

After a recap of the past seasons — peppered with Dana’s “you’re gone” speeches — we get underway.

Segment One
It took a few moments, but the 16 fighters standing around in the gym who think they are the official 16, were soon shown additional fighters. They all soon realized there were a bit more than 16 of them. Turns out, one or two of them can count and there are 32 fighters. Dana comes in and explains that he is tired of the “pussies and the posers” — hence the solution of having 32 fighters. “This season, you’re gonna’ fight your way onto the show,” says Baldy.

Rampage claims to have smelled the shit in the fighters’ pants after Dana’s speech. Meanwhile, Dana was being bleeped more than Ozzy Osbourne.

After some brief “confessional” interviews with some of the cast, the guys weigh-in after only 48 hours to make weight. I think I just saw my brother on the show, but he ran away years ago. Maybe I should call my Mom about that one…

For those keeping track, here are the fighters fighting to get on the show: Paul Bradley, Steve Byrnes, Mike Dolce, Gerald Harris, Dante Rivera, David Baggett, Matt Brown, Erik Charles, John Clarke, Daniel Cramer, Tim Credeur, Clarence Dollaway, John Hall, Nick Klein, David Mewborn, Mike Marrello, Jeremy May, Prince LaDonas Mclean, Aaron Meisner, Reggie Orr, Matthew Riddle, Jeremiah Riggs, David Roberts, Nick Rossborough, Amir Sadollah, Patrick Schultz, Brandon Sene, Dan Simmler, Jesse Taylor, Cale Yarbrough, John Wood, and Luke Zachrich.

Burger King has it their way and sponsors the first elimination fight. It pits Prince McLean (4-5) against Mike Dolce (4-4). Just a couple of sweet kids trying to make their way.

Segment Two
The fight kicks off and Prince — after having earlier mentioned he has been on a losing streak — takes a shot and they hit the ground. Rampage mumbles something about liking Prince, just before he gets taken out via TKO by Dolce. He seems to be okay until the fucking waterworks start. We’re not even officially on the show yet and we have crybaby tears. The sad music tugs at my hearts strings. Not really.

Fight Two is Cal Yarbrough (0-0) against John Clarke (6-2). Seems Cal is kinda’ pals with Forrest Griffin — although Forrest isn’t bettin’ on him. However, his opponent had to drop 17 big L.B.s to make weight. He also says he’s getting too old to keep doing this — fighting in Boston pubs and stuff like that at his age. Um…no comment about the town that lives for St. Patty’s and knocking out teeth for fun.

Segment Three
The fight is on and Clarke scores, prompting Forrest to say it’s “garbage.” Some punishment by Clarke has Yarbrough rolling around and almost getting nailed by a kimura. Some back-of-the-head warnings are given to Clarke — thanks to an audience of back seat refs. They go to their feet for a bit, but it hits the mat again almost as quickly. Clarke almost pulls an armbar, but Cal slips it and almost gets caught in a g’tine. Somehow, the thing gets upright again but it looks like Clarke is whipped — funny how dropping 17 pounds in 48 hours will do that to you. Cal tosses some shitty throws and it’s called due to Clarke being gassed. Clarke really could have won the thing had he been in the shape he needed to be in. Now we should cue the sad music.

No “seeya” for Clarke, but he was probably too tired to do that, too. The next elimination fight sees Steve Byrnes (6-1) against Amir Sadollah (0-0).

(Making dad proud.)

CBS’ Saturday edition of “The Early Show” had a piece about parents allowing their kids to participate in MMA. And by “participate”, I mean beat the shit out of one another. We’re having trouble with the embed, but 5oz. of Pain has the video and a rundown. Basically, the piece went like this:

The video shows a bunch of cagefighting kids in Mizzou taking it to each other. Then Dana White comes on for his two cents — and it makes me smile that he’s a guest on a CBS show while CBS has been pumping their upcoming EliteXC broadcast. Dana does his normal ‘people just don’t understand MMA’ and that it’s basically no different than the kids participating in karate and kung fu. I agree, except — as Sam Caplan points out — for that little no head contact in karate sparring and no submissions. Some may think kids are vile creatures, but those aren’t the people putting their kids in an MMA match either. The ones doing it are the retard ex-high school jocks who can barely hold down his Burger King assistant manager job, pushing his washed-up dream onto his boney 10-year-old out of “love.”

The Huffington Post also recently had an article about kids in “ultimate fighting” as they put it. Again, Missouri comes up as the state allowing this, as well as Oklahoma. My favorite is this quote from one of the pro-kids in MMA dads:

“When they get out of the cage, they go back and play video games together. It doesn’t matter who won and who lost. They’re still little buddies.”

That’ll work until puberty hits and fills their bodies with enough testosterone to fill a wading pool. That little buddy thing will change real fast. Some have expressed putting an age limit on MMA and their worry that if more kids are actively participating they’ll end up speaking like Rampage Jackson. I’d say no age limit and no sanctioning body to waste their time on tyke fights. Douche-bag parents should just have some common fucking sense. If you want your 7-year-old taking shots in the face, then you, Sir, are a classy human being indeed.

It’s also not the first time “The Early Show” has tackled combat sports. Watch below and believe for yourself.

(“Pweeeeez?” Drew Fickett and Jae Suk Lim, courtesy of Sherdog.)

While you were professing your love for big girls…

— The current frontrunner for the role of Guy Kimbo Slice Will KTFO on EliteXC’s First CBS Show is [drumroll...] James Thompson? According to Sam Caplan, EliteXC was trying to book Ron “H20 Man” Waterman for their May 31st jump-off, but a deal could not be reached, and they started talking to “The Colossus.” Thompson has been knocked out three times in his last four fights, most recently at the hands of Brett Rogers at EliteXC: Street Certified. Seasoned ground specialist Waterman would have been a much more credible opponent for Slice, but EliteXC can’t really be faulted for setting up a guaranteed KO for their most marketable asset in their first network broadcast. I’ve already set the betting line for this one: Kimbo Slice (-15,500) v. James Thompson (+12,000). So if you have fifteen grand and want to pick up an easy Benjamin, go for it.

— Dana White’s craftiness is boundless. On the same day that Tim Sylvia was set to announce his release from the UFC and desire to pursue a fight with Fedor Emelianenko, the UFC prez announced that he’d be renewing his efforts to sign Emelianenko to the UFC. As White said: “We want to make the fights the people want to see…We’ll see what we can do as far as (signing Emelianenko) goes.” We tend to think that previous insults will prevent Emelianenko and his managers from ever dealing with the UFC again, but signing Fedor would both provide current heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with an opponent (are there any contenders left in that division?) while blocking another UFC refugee (Tim Sylvia this time) from getting a fight with Emelianenko. It’s gotta be worth a shot.

— This guy caused a minor shitstorm on Sherdog by passing on a rumor that Saturday’s Shamrock/Le fight was a planned work, intended to set up a three-part rubber match. B.S.? Obviously. But the thing that gives the “work” theory a scrap of believability is that dramatic leg sweep in the third round. Watch it again: We understand why Le let Shamrock get up afterwards — why risk going to the ground if you’re dominating on the feet? — but would Frank actually turn his back on Le for that long while getting up unless he knew he wasn’t going to get pounced on? And how about Frank’s kick that set up the sweep? Have you ever seen such a half-assed front kick thrown in a pro MMA match? It’s like it was meant to be caught…

(Anderson working the hands.)

By CagePotato Guest Contributor Ben Fowlkes

Roy Jones Jr. refuses to let go of the idea of a boxing match with Anderson Silva. Ed Soares, Silva’s manager, says that he spoke with Jones personally on Easter Sunday and Jones expressed serious interest in the fight.

“He told me that he thought that this was a good fight and he wanted to make it happen,” said Soares. “I restated the situation we’re in, that at this moment we have a contract with the UFC, an MMA fight contract, but if there’s a way to make this happen we would love to.”

Now that it’s clear both Silva and Jones want the fight, there’s just one question: What does the UFC think? Turns out, they’re not so crazy about it. Not yet, anyway.

“We’ve spoken about it,” Soares said. “At first, I think there was a lot of resistance. They don’t seem too into it, to be honest with you. We’ve heard from certain people that there’s just no way that this can happen. But never say never, you know.”

Recently the jokesters over at Bodog went ahead and handicapped the bout, despite the fact that it’s only talk at this point, and they pegged Jones as a heavy favorite with a -2800 line. Silva is going off at +1400, which is understandable since he’s never had a real pro boxing match and Jones, you know, has had a few.

Soares, who may well be biased, warns us against underestimating Silva.

Author/entrepreneur/retired porn star Jenna Jameson has decided that simply nodding along in support while boyfriend Tito Ortiz does his excruciating TV/video interviews isn’t enough, and she’s taken to her MySpace blog to write a public letter to Dana White. Here’s how it starts off:

I usually don’t comment on nastiness in the press, but I couldn’t ignore Dana Whites’ ramblings any longer. His latest interview referring to Tito as a “moron” for the hundredth time… will not go unnoticed.

so here goes…

Dana White – Pre Pubesent Schoolyard Bully
By Jenna Jameson

Oh man. The rest of the post sounds a lot like the hundreds of other anti-Dana rants you’ve probably read over the last few months on MMA websites and blogs (this one included), but here are the most notable excerpts:

— “Dana White’s insistance of my lack of brain power smacks of 18th century beliefs that women (all women) are inferior to the male species. Ignoring a persons achievements or simply their IQ due to the fact they have a vagina instead of a penis, explains Danas simplicity.”

— “The most interesting story here, is the silence by the UFC. How do they sit back, silent, and allow their ‘figure head’ to endanger the worth of their empire? Business must be tended to with a level head, or it usually self implodes.”

— It is plainly obvious that it isn’t just a coincidence that so many champions have chosen to test the waters beyond the UFC trainwreck.”

— [M]aybe the UFC should mandate steroid testing to company presidents, then maybe the company could continue its massive dominance… with a soft hand.

In Dana White’s defense, he is absolutely post-pubescent. As of now, Jenna’s rant has received 473 comments, including this recent $0.02 toss-in from “Eddy”:

I have no idea who dana white is but this person obiviously is so naive in judging other ppl and talkin shit about ppl they know nothing about..

Fuck the hater’s & happy easter Jenna!!much<333 to You & Tito<333

How true, Eddy.

(Yep, that’s Dana White’s handwriting.)

This thing has been dragging on for a year and now Brandon “The Truth” Vera‘s ex-manager, Mark Dion, is saying Vera should change his nickname to “The Liar” after the botched UFC contract negotiation – resulting in the two splitting and Vera doing nada for a long stretch. An extensive rundown of what started all this is over at cityboxing.com. The report says Vera should have to fulfill the agreement with Dion and give the manager 1/3rd of the dough made from the 2007 Tim Sylvia bout, in addition to $100K from future fights.

The Post It note at the head of this post was apparently penned to Vera from Dana White in the middle of the negotiation process. Here are the details:

– Three fight deal worth $90K/$90K, $100K/$100K, $115K/$115K, and then $150K/$150K, $170K/$170K, $185K/$185K if Vera were to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Or:

– $7 Million over 4 years, plus a $100K signing bonus if Vera were to become champion.

Vera didn’t like the offer, so he and Dion countered with this:

– $150K/$150K, $175K/$175K, $200K/$200K, plus a $1.5 million signing bonus.

Or:

– Insured 10 fights over three years, $3 million per year, plus a $1.5 million signing bonus.

The network TV deal beast was recently conquered by EliteXC when they signed up with CBS for a four-event deal and now their frequent co-promoter, Strikeforce, is following in their footsteps. The California-based company is reportedly ready to sign with one-time UFC possibility, NBC. MMAJunkie says a formal announcement could be made in the next week, though it should be noted that the head cheeses over at Strikeforce have yet to comment. For now, we’ll take “no news” as “good news.”

It’s also possible that Strikeforce may air an event on NBC even before EliteXC goes up – possibly airing a highlight show in April. The highlight shows are popular these days, from Spike TV’s treatment of some UFC events, PRIDE on FOX Sports, to the IFL’s Best Of’s. Time slot would be key for Strikeforce, especially if they start airing live events.

The program will likely air on late Saturday nights (early Sunday mornings) either immediately after or soon after the hit NBC series, “Saturday Night Live.”

Although unconfirmed, there’s speculation that the deal could possibly lead to live or, at the very least, tape-delayed Strikeforce events airing on NBC. However, other than the weekly highlights show, few other details of the deal are known at the time.

What goes hand-in-hand more than “SNL” and “MMA”? Exactly. Seems like they’d pick a better lead-in – say something other than a ratings-challenged show that jumped the shark back in the 90′s. But enough bitchin’ about that.

(“Yeah, scratch that shit. Lower. Still lower!”)

Spike TV has started hyping “TUF 7″ which debuts on April 2nd, with the second episode rolling out a week later. As we’ve mentioned, the show will start with 32 fighters instead of the usual 16. The fighters will first be battling for a spot on the show, which means they’ll be fighting on the pre-show show, or something like that. Either way, it’s an MMA version of March Madness with 16 fighters advancing to compete for UFC contracts. In the first two episodes, we’ll be treated to 16 fights. I just got an erection. Because I’m excited about watching the fights not because of the dudes, pervs. Seriously, grow up! CP loves chicks!

Via MMAWeekly:

“The new format will give us two incredibly intense episodes to launch the season and will weed out some of the guys who might not have the heart and desire that it takes to become a UFC fighter,” said UFC president Dana White about the new season.

While this is certainly just a ploy to squeeze two more episodes worth of ad revenue from the show, it is a ploy I’m loving. I say, let’s expand this bitch to 64 and make a month of it.

The fighters competing – per Dave Meltzer – are: Paul Bradley, Steve Byrnes, Mike Dolce, Gerald Harris, Dante Rivera, David Baggett, Matt Brown, Erik Charles, John Clarke, Daniel Cramer, Tim Credeur, Clarence Dollaway, John Hall, Nick Klein, David Mewborn, Mike Marrello, Jeremy May, Prince LaDonas Mclean, Aaron Meisner, Reggie Orr, Matthew Riddle, Jeremiah Riggs, David Roberts, Nick Rossborough, Amir Sadollah, Patrick Schultz, Brandon Sene, Dan Simmler, Jesse Taylor, Cale Yarbrough, John Wood, and Luke Zachrich.

The group will be coached/laughed at/yelled at by Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin.

(Best. Shirt. Ever.)

…at least that’s what was implied in WrestlingonTap’s new quickie interview with EliteXC boss Gary Shaw. When Shaw was asked about Emelianenko’s impending free agency, he said:

We would love to have Fedor with our organization. But Fedor and his people need to be realistic about what they are asking for. He hasn’t had a top fight in awhile. He needs to get back to fighting top competition. In the United States out of sight is out of mind.

So, we’re guessing that Shaw’s camp approached Emelianenko after news of M-1 Global’s impending collapse started to break, but were rebuffed by the two-headed demon of Finkelchtein/Echteld who demanded $2 million per fight and a guarantee that he’d never have to face Kimbo Slice. We commend Shaw for stopping just short of calling Fedor a “farce,” and we have to agree with the underlying message that Fedor Emelianenko’s name only carries weight with hardcore MMA fans, so maybe his management team should actually develop him into a star before they get all prima-donna-y.

Shaw also had some bitter words for his UFC rival, Dana White:

“First of all Dana should be ashamed of using that type of language. There is no reason for it. Dana thinks that he invented the sport of mma. He is very lucky that he had rich friends in the Fertittas to fund the sport…and even more lucky that SpikeTV bailed him out of a $35 million deficit. It’s no wonder that fighters like Tito Ortiz and others are fed up with him. Dana doesn’t care about the fighters and treating them well…

As far as Dana saying that I was never a fan of mixed martial arts, ask him to produce articles or tape on me saying the things he said I said. It can’t happen. I was watching MMA with my son back when Dana was selling used cars…”

Oooooh! That’s the best “I was doing x when you were still doing y” line since Hillary Clinton hit Barack Obama with “I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum-landlord business in inner-city Chicago.” Who could forget that zinger!

(Koscheck/Sanchez 3 will happen when Kos allows it to happen.)

People don’t stop running their mouths just because it’s the weekend. Here’s what you may have missed…

Dana White on haters: “All I have to say about that is don’t ever (expletive) doubt us. All these (expletive) idiots out there that like to talk (expletive) and (expletive) don’t ever doubt us, man. Don’t ever, ever doubt us.”

Josh Koscheck on Diego Sanchez: “I think I’m in his head. He’s only been thinking and focusing about me for the last year. It’s actually kind of nice. He’s in the same shoes I was after The Ultimate Fighter. For two straight years I woke up every morning hating Diego Sanchez.”

Rich Franklin on his future title prospects: “Realistically, another fight with Anderson wouldn’t be that interesting for fans.”

Dana White on stock car racing: “You come over to my house this weekend and we kick back and watch TV. We put on (expletive) NASCAR. We’re like, ‘Holy (expletive). Look at all the (expletive) people at this race. All those fans and this and that. These guys got television deals and merchandise deals and all this crazy (expletive). You know what? Let’s steal two of their drivers, and let’s start our own (expletive) company. We’ll call it (expletive), you know, GASCAR instead of (expletive) NASCAR.’ That’s how (expletive) stupid it is.”

(Fedor and the M-1 crew, in happier times.)

Could Fedor Emelianenko become a free agent after suffering through five months of M-1 Global’s disorganization and managerial impotence? According to a new bombshell dropped by ESPN: The Magazine, hellz to the yeah.

Apy Echteld, one of Emelianenko’s agents, confirmed what a source close to the situation previously told The Magazine: M-1 Global and Emelianenko will part ways some time in the next week, making the Russian a free agent. Divorce negotiations are ongoing right now, with a formal announcement likely for in the next few days. “Officially, yes, Fedor will be a free agent,” Echteld says.

Holy crap, does this mean that Dana White would be willing to resurrect negotiations with the “crazy Russians” and work on making the Fedor/Randy fight happen in the UFC?

“Absolutely, 100 percent, in a heartbeat,” says White. “People think he’s the best — I don’t, not even close. But if it’s somehow possible, I would make it happen…As much as we’ve gone back and forth on this, I would sign Fedor and do everything possible to get Randy in the Octagon with him…because A., it’s a great fight and B., I think Randy would smash Fedor.”

Echteld responded in a poetic fashion that’s common to Russians: “If everybody is willing to put a little wine in the water, then we have something to work with.” Through his spokesman, Couture declined to comment.

Well this is fucking awesome! The long international nightmare that was the M-1 Global farce looks like it’s about to end, and Fedor can move on with his life. Except not so fast. Maybe it’s just good old-fashioned denial, but M-1 Global prez/CEO Monte Cox is still insisting that Fedor ain’t goin’ nowheres. “As of right now, M-1 Global and Fedor are still working together,” he told MMAWeekly.com:

Cox declined to comment about the ESPN article, but said M-1’s plans were still underway for its first event on American soil, a June 14 card at the Sears Center in the Chicago area, still expected to feature Emelianenko. The show has been rescheduled from a May 3 date at the Allstate Arena, also in the Chicago area.

Monte Cox probably just didn’t get the memo yet, which is understandable because M-1 memos first have to be translated from Russian into English, and that takes time. Anyway, cross your fingers that M-1 swirls down the shitter, because Fedor signing to fight Randy in the UFC would pretty much solve everyone’s problems.

UPDATE: From Sherdog: According to one source that asked not to be identified, M-1 will likely expect Emelianenko to return a $1.5 million signing bonus he was paid last September. Negotiations should be finalized by Tuesday of next week, the same source said.

Earlier: Aleksander Emelianenko to Headline Next Month’s M-1 Challenge?
Way earlier: “Like all children, I was afraid of darkness.”

— Further support for the “Andrei Arlovski is leaving the UFC” theory: Though he got a rapturous response from the crowd on Saturday, Andrei Arlovski wasn’t given the honor of a post-victory interview with Joe Rogan, like Jorge Gurgel, Diego Sanchez, and Josh Koscheck were granted in earlier undercard fights. As soon as he chalked up his win, a commercial for Harley-Davidson filled the jumbotrons. Nothing to see here, folks. Luigi Fioravanti was similarly snubbed after his win over Luke Cummo, but I just figured it was because nobody cared to hear him. Anyway, all appearances of civility are out the window.

— Speaking of the Pitbull, one of his current sponsors is do-it-yourself online print shop CafePress. So that’s another thing we have in common.

— In the press conference after UFC 82, Dana White said that Jon Fitch would be next in line for a title shot after “this whole Matt Serra and Georges St. Pierre thing gets figured out.” White implied that Fitch could have sat out and waited for his title shot, but instead he stepped up and took the fight with Wilson. Ouch, Karo! With his win over Chris Wilson, Fitch tied Royce Gracie’s ’93-’94 streak of eight-consecutive victories in the Octagon, which hadn’t been matched since.

— Also during that press conference, Dana White revealed that he recently made Randy Couture another offer to fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. “We’re waiting to hear back from him,” White said.

(The future centerpieces of the UFC.)

I don’t make a habit of reading askmen.com unless I’m researching how to properly organize my closet or how taking a cooking class can make me a better lover – my closet has never looked better by the way – but MMA News is directing attention to askmen’s article, 5 Things You Didn’t Know: The UFC. The piece digs up some absurd stuff we knew and some we didn’t about the organization. Case in point:

1- It was supposed to involve alligators
If nothing else, you can’t successfully accuse the original promoters of the UFC of failing to think big. Specifically, in addition to such outrageous ideas as putting electric fences around the ring, one of their many schemes was to include live alligators thrashing around in moats. Fortunately, UFC doctors were a bit more practical in their thinking, advising against such plans because of the potential harm these could do to the fighters.

Was Bob Meyrowitz behind the curtain on this one? It doesn’t give an exact date as to when the gators were to make their appearance, but I’m guessing YAMMA’s showman had crocs and gators as an idea for a new “surface”.

Point number two details John McCain’s flip-flop on his stance concerning MMA, specifically the UFC. That we are well aware of – as we are of point number five, which is that Dana White kept Tito in the UFC in 2006 by offering to go three rounds with him – a ploy that likely won’t work this time around.

(Will Kimbo kick ass after “Without a Trace”?)

MMA Junkie is reporting that ProElite – the parent company of EliteXC – is set to announce a partnership with CBS to air their events. An agreement has apparently been approved between both parties.

The EliteXC airs on Showtime under EliteXC and ShowXC. As we already stated, EliteXC and Kimbo has had at least something to do with Showtime’s recent spike in subscribers. Showtime is cheaper than dishing out for UFC pay-per-view events every month and you get to see tasteful adults films late at night as a bonus. This rumor is easy to buy into because CBS owns Showtime and has certainly recognized the channel’s cross-over potential to network television – “Dexter” airing on CBS being a recent example. EliteXC: “Street Certified” pulled in a sold-out crowd and pulled in over 500,000 viewers to Showtime. Sure, Kimbo was a major part of that, but other EliteXC shows will reap residuals from him being in their fold. Network execs know that larger-than-life sports personalities draw ratings, so naturally they’d want to be in the Kimbo business.

And with Dana White ruining every chance of getting the UFC on network television – CBS was once the frontrunner to air UFC events – networks have started seeking other organizations to sign up. CBS and EliteXC is by far the marriage with the least hoops to jump through, so we could get this announcement very soon. The events would be broadcast live in prime-time and probably every month.

This could be a very large step and do for MMA what network TV has done for Arena Football…okay, bad example, but you get what I’m saying about the exposure. And I know I probably don’t even have to mention it, but “What Would Kimbo Do?” would be natural fit for CBS’s Saturday morning kid’s programming. Story line ideas now being accepted.

(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.”

(My shorts rock the party!)

Rumors have been swirling about Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic’s retirement/leaving the UFC/switching organizations for the past week or so. He currently makes $350k per fight, plus bonuses and was signed to the contract when many thought he would dominate his division. After losing 2 of 3 fights and having no appeal for the UFC, Dana White has asked Cro Cop to sign a somewhat less-lucrative contract – the option being to re-sign or to sit out the remainder of the contract.

Has Cro Cop made a decision? Here’s yesterday’s non-announcement from his personal blog:

“I promised to share some news with you today and I feel bad by not doing so. There are some reasons for this that I can’t speak of at the moment. However, I promise to make the statement as soon as possible. Thank you for supporting me and I hope that little more patience is not too much to ask.”

And then today, he followed that up with a prelude to an announcement:

“I’m off to Tokyo! A big announcement will come straight from Japan tomorrow (February 13). When the official part is done I’ll be able to provide more information about everything, and believe me, I have many things to say. What you could easily guess by now is that I won’t be retiring. I’ll keep on fighting, it’s my life, it’s what I do.”

So he promised an announcement tomorrow (the 13th). And you’ve got to love the classic Dana in this one. He’s more than willing to let – actually make – Cro Cop sit out the remainder of his contract, and is equally as willing to dump millions on a lawsuit against Randy Couture for wanting to do the same thing.

(Fedor feeding the geese, or catching them for his supper? You be the judge.)

We’ve heard from Randy Couture about all the shit surrounding the attempt to make the Fedor/Randy fight happen and the subsequent lawsuit spin-offs. And we’ve heard from Dana White almost daily defending his ridiculous position. Now we’re hearing from Fedor Emelianenko himself about the fight and Lex Luthor’s repeated public bashings of him. In an open letter to Dana White that was posted on m1mixfight.com, the site of Fedor’s management team, the Russian superstar let it all out.

As posted on MMA Junkie:

As Emelianenko wrote (keep in mind it’s been translated by a third party):

Numerous times have I read mister White’s statements on Internet concerning myself. In my opinion, allowing yourself to say those things is not a sign of a gentleman or a grown man at all! If he candidly wants to prove himself right then let my fight with Randy happen or let me face the reigning UFC champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. In the future I wouldn’t want to hear those statements in my address ever again and I won’t tolerate that.

My last fight in Japan proved that I’m ready to fight anybody with any height advantage, skillset or experience. I have fought and still wish to fight the best athletes. The Randy fight is my goal number one right now, he’s a great fighter and this is a very unfortunate situation when too strict and one-sided UFC contracts don’t let this fight happen.

The whole world is eager to see me fight your champions, people don’t want to listen to your press-conferences. I’m signed with M-1 Global and this promotion is ready to organize such fights under our banner or in co-promoted events.

Fedor wants to fight the best. For those out there who thinks he only takes mediocre fights, he wants to shut them up. But he didn’t sign with the UFC because of the restrictive contracts and Dana White’s business tactics. We all know Dana’s style. If you don’t want to play by his sometimes-absurd rules, he’ll make it his life’s work to kick shit on your name. And he’s tried to do that with Fedor and now Randy.

Yet again, M-1 is ready to make this happen. Fedor has penned a letter begging for it. Randy is willing to be sued in order to hold out for it. Dana, you blow.

It’s taken complaints from fighters and bitching from fans, but it appears Dana White and the UFC might actually put out their own official fighter rankings. The Sun printed a fan Q&A with the bald baron of fight and while not confirming anything, which always seems to be the case, White hinted that it could be on the horizon – although not too soon.

Numerous media organizations – CagePotato included – have produced rankings of all the fighters and other MMA outfits rank their own fighters. The UFC has refused to rank their fighters, which would at least give us an idea of who might get a title shot soon or how far away a fighter is in getting a shot. Here’s how the questioning transpired:

Will the UFC ever set up a ranking system in each of the weight divisions so people know which fighters are in line for a title shot? For example, fighters could score points for winning fights and lose points for any defeats they incur. – Dean Hayward, Leicester

White: “Actually, Dean, I said we’d never do that because I figured people would say our rankings are biased. But, when you look around at some of these other rankings that are out there I think we probably will do our own after all. I have no idea when we will get to that, though. I wouldn’t look for any rankings anytime real soon.”

When White was asked to pick who he thinks will be on top in each weight division in January of 2009, he deflected the question and only hinted that he thought Anderson Silva might be there. Although he thinks Dan Henderson could take Silva down in March.

(“Ma, the telly has men fighting and bleeding on it!”)

Not much going on today, but we do have some MMA on TV news for you. Over at 15 Rounds, Dana White has said some interesting things about the rumored network TV deal with the UFC.

The long awaited debut for the Ultimate Fighting Championship on a major network may not be very far off. Ongoing conversations are heating up. UFC President Dana White expects major progress in the next few days.

“I am going out of town tomorrow for a week. Hopefully, I’ll come back with good news,” White said.

And here we go again. Just when you think Dana has blown every chance to sign with a network, this pops up. Rumors have been swirling about what network would agree to air UFC events and this just adds to the intrigue.

The other TV deal involves the IFL. 5oz of Pain has the lowdown:

The International Fight League’s next two cards on February 29 in Las Vegas and April 4 in East Rutherford, NJ will be televised on HDNet and on Fox Sports Canada.

The 29th event will feature battles such as Ryan “The Lion” Schultz vs. John Gunderson, Matt Horwich vs. Ryan McGivern, and Fabiano Scherner vs. Roy Nelson. The April 4th show is not set just yet.

(Is Cro Cop leaving the UFC?)

Here’s what else was happening in the world while your thoughts were being dominated by Brock Lesnar:

— Gary Herman of 15 Rounds reports that Brandon Vera will be returning to the Octagon in June against a yet-unnamed opponent, and Dana White has given Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic a deadline of today to decide whether he wants to remain in the UFC; Filipovic’s last fight was a decision loss to Cheick Kongo at UFC 75 in September 2007.

— Josh Barnett announced on his MySpace blog that his next fight will be against Hidehiko Yoshida at World Victory Road’s Sengoku event on March 5th in Tokyo. Barnett hasn’t competed in a professional MMA bout since his unanimous decision loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at PRIDE Shockwave on New Year’s Eve 2006. Yoshida is a former Olympic gold medalist in judo who has a 7-5-1 MMA record, with notable wins over Don Frye, Mark Hunt, and David “Tank” Abbott. According to Barnett, M-1 never offered him a fight with Aleksander Emelianenko, and the rumored Roger Gracie/Yoshida matchup is total rubbish.

— Because of a military commitment, Tim Kennedy has been forced to drop out of the IFL’s season opener at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on February 29th. Though he was scheduled to face middleweight champion Matt Horwich for the 185-pound belt, a new press release has announced that Kennedy has been “called to service,” and that Ryan McGivern will be taking his place. A member of Pat Miletich’s Silverbacks team, McGivern has a professional record of 11-5, and previously defeated Horwich by unanimous decision at the IFL Championship Final on 12/29/06.

— In a post-UFC 81 interview with Mr. Sunshine, Dana White referred to Hong Man Choi as “Long Duk Dong.” Funny or offensive, depending on your perspective.

(Dan Lauzon as “Jigsaw”)

World Championship Fighting’s new season is set to kick-off on February 8th. Along with some okay fights, the WCF has already announced they’ll have Dana White’s bald head glaring under the lights that night. And as if that wasn’t enough, they’ve got another announcement on their website. Seems that “Tapout” – the Versus reality show made by the guys at Tapout that travels around profiling up-and-comers – will be filming at the event as well.

MMA Fightline has a portion of the press release:

World Championship Fighting announces the filming of the “Tapout” reality show at the February 8 event.

The Tapout Crew will be filming another episode of their self-titled reality show on the Versus network at the World Championship Fighting (WCF) event in Wilmington, Mass., on Feb. 8 where Brockton-native Dan Lauzon will be the featured fighter for the episode which documents the Tapout Crew’s quest to search for the best up and coming Mixed Martial Arts fighters in the Country.

As a testament to the phenomenal growth of Mixed Martial Arts, The Tapout Crew went from selling t-shirts out of a trunk in the parking lot at mixed martial arts (MMA) shows in California 10 years ago to building their company into the largest apparel brand in the sport. The Tapout Company now grosses millions of dollars per year, has their own magazine publication, their own television reality show and sponsors many of the top fighters in the world including those in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Shall we stroke each other a little more?

(Rousimar Palhares…future middleweight superstar?)

We recently told you that the UFC had signed Brazilian fighter Rousimar Palhares and now it looks like his first action is being slated for May. MMA Junkie is reporting that Palhares will pop his UFC cherry Mary 24th. His opponent will be Ivan Salaverry, who is 12-5 and has been spotty in the UFC against good fighters. He owns a notable win against Joe Riggs, but has struggled in the UFC since. Salaverry literally just received the fight offer and it’s expected to move forward.

Palhares trains with Brazilian Top Team and recently won Fury Fighting Championship’s 185lb Grand Prix tournament. He’s won five fights in a row and is a die-hard disciple of BJJ – he’s won five of his fights by submission. He’s never been knocked out and his lone professional loss was to Arthur Cesar.

This should be a good one for Palhares to get his feet wet in the UFC. Dana White and Co. are hoping he’s a future star in the lagging middleweight division and he looks to have the skills to fulfill their hopes. By the time the fight rolls around, it will be a year since Salaverry has fought – a loss to Terry Martin. An injury kept him away from the game for a while, but if he’s at full speed now, he’ll be a nice test for Palhares.

Their fight will be on the UFC 84 card – which was originally UFC 85 until UFC 83 was…what number are we on again? Anyway, you guys know that old chestnut by now. The possible heavy hitters on the card could be Tito Ortiz in his UFC swan song vs. Lyoto Machida and the Sean Sherk/BJ Penn fight-to-the-death match. With new blood like Palhares thrown in, too, I’m digging how this one’s shaping up.

(Got your attention? Good…read on.)

Since our earlier report, more fighters have been added to the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. It’s now being reported that a Mississippi dude has been picked to step into the TUF 7 cage. Jeremiah Riggs is 1-0 as a pro, soooooo there’s not too much we can know about him yet.

The fighter used to be a sheriff’s deputy and fought in Alabama as an amateur. His pro debut was back in September, where he beat Craig Sjoerdsma via submission (on strikes). MMA Junkie had this to say:

Although he’s had little professional experience, Riggs has sought out some quality training. A source close to Riggs told us that the fighter recently spent some time in California training with Strikeforce world middleweight champ Frank Shamrock. Riggs was set to become part of the San Jose Razorclaws — an International Fight League team coached by Shamrock — but after never winning a team matchup, the IFL disbanded the team after the 2007 fight season.

As for his personality, “Jeremiah’s just a freakin’ crazy country boy,” we’re told.

Just can’t wait to have another “freakin’ crazy country boy” among us – especially one actually from the south. Other TUF 7 additions being reported, are:

(Lesnar, pre penis tattoo.)

“If Brock Lesnar can back up all the things he’s saying, he might become the biggest star in mixed martial arts.”
–Dana White

Good God, the build-up to Brock Lesnar stepping into the cage this weekend at UFC 81 can only be likened to the feeling of downing three cans of refried beans with a twelve pack of Arrogant Bastard – then not being allowed access to the john. We’ve touched on this and have totally expected it, but when it’s actually here – it’s still a little overwhelming. Everywhere you turn, there is a Lesnar story, update, quote, picture of him scowling or a link to a new video. As if we couldn’t see enough of his penis tattoo…

As expected, the UFC is pushing the Brock drug on their site – they even print it twice on the page in case you have trouble reading it the first time:

UFC All Access: Brock Lesnar hosted by Rachelle Leah
Go behind the scenes to see how the former WWE star Brock Lesnar gets ready for a real battle against Frank Mir in his first fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The show’s premiere is this Thursday (January 31st) at midnight on Spike TV. It will show again on Saturday (February 2nd) at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. MMA Junkie also had a piece about the show. But wait…there’s more Lesnar for you pro-wrestling, NFL-hating fans. Bloody Elbow’s Luke Thomas has a good description of Lesnar’s abilities – or what we kinda’ know about them, at least via this video:

1. His striking is god awful. He has good power (I think), but this video clearly shows his rudimentary footwork and awkward guard position. People don’t realize it, but the stand-up game is incredibly complicated and takes a long time to master. 2+ years isn’t enough, not even for an athlete of Lesnar’s caliber.

2. He does look to pass the guard. This is a good sign for Lesnar. He’s not content to sit in guard. He actively works for better positioning once the fight hits the floor, a tactic that could easily overwhelm Mir if he’s not careful.

3. His wrestling is fantastic. We already knew this, but his reflexes in catching Kim’s kick and immediate knee-tap takedown are impressive.

4. He is aggressive from the outset. Expect Lesnar to close the distance on Mir very quickly and look to put him away with every punch or pass.

Beyond this, it’s hard to say anything else. We don’t know about his gas tank and we don’t know about his submission defense. I’m sure he’s working at break neck speed to bring those up to par, but until we’ve had a chance to evaluate them, they are unknowns. But all that and more could change Saturday.

(“Luke Zachrich, Come on Down!”)

More fighters are being rumored as contestants for The Ultimate Fighter 7.

It was already reported that Luke Zachrich and Mike Marrello will be contestants on the show, and now it looks like they’ll be joined by Prince Mclean, Steve Byrnes, C.B. Dollaway, Aaron Meisner, and Matt Brown.

Mike Marrello is a Chicago middleweight with a record of 6-1-1. He has fought for the Xtreme Fighting Organization and King of the Cage, with his loss coming at the hands of Terry Davinney via kimura. Davinney has since lost three in a row. Mike Marrello is also a former Marine and joins Cincinnati-bred Luke Zachrich on the show, who is 7-1. Luke has also fought for King of the Cage and Xtreme Fighting Organization. A Dan Severn-trained fighter, Zachrich’s only loss was to Danny Ruiz via a first round armbar.

Aaron Meisner is out of Philly and is undefeated in his three pro fights – all by KO or TKO. He last fought at Extreme Challenge 78. Also reportedly joining the middleweights will be Prince Mclean and his 4-5 record. Like Luke Zachrich, he’s based in Cincy. But unlike Luke, he’s lost five straight and has proven injury prone. He is an interesting selection for the show, since he’s more on a downward spiral and not on the rise. This one is worth keeping an eye on.

C.B. Dollaway, who is 6-0 and has been impressive, will also be stepping before cameras for the show. He was a kick-ass wrestler in college and has improved his striking with every match. He’s out of Arizona and has fought with HDNet Fights, Rage in the Cage and the IFO. His debut featured a TKO slam 17 seconds into the bout.

Tito Ortiz confirmed on Sirius’s Fight Network Radio yesterday that he has accepted a May 24th fight with undefeated light-heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida, but because of disputes over money and a lack of respect from the UFC’s top brass (sound familiar?), it will be his last for the organization:

Expecting a rematch with “The Ultimate Fighter 2” winner Rashad Evans, Ortiz (15-5-1) said he begrudgingly accepted the bout with the Japanese-Brazilian fighter who toppled PRIDE sensation Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou with a second-round submission at UFC 79 “Nemesis” on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.

“I was expecting a bigger fight. I think the fans were expecting a bigger fight,” said Ortiz. “I got pressed into it, and all of a sudden, it’s all over the Internet that Tito Ortiz won’t fight Machida. I’m just looking to get my final fight over with the UFC.”

On the topics of money and respect, Ortiz was out for blood:

“They said I wasn’t worth the money. I was worth no more than what I’m getting paid now, and I’m not a commodity to them anymore. I’m not as viable to them anymore. That was a sign of disrespect…With Dana in charge, I don’t think [another title shot] will ever happen for me. Dana has bad blood for me and nothing but bad blood. They’re going to try and ruin me…[The UFC] could care less about the fighters. Fighters are a dime a dozen. They’ll keep coming. Dana is really out for himself and the company. He doesn’t give a s–t about the fighters.”

So let’s take it from the top. Ortiz’s desire for a re-match with Rashad Evans comes from a place of personal honor; he wants to avenge his draw against who he perceives as an inferior fighter. But if he thinks that another bout with Evans would be a “bigger fight” in terms of PPV buys/general hype than a fight against top contender Lyoto Machida, he is deluding himself. Fan interest lies with Machida now, not Evans — Ortiz fans will show up to his last UFC appearance no matter who he fights. Of course, neither opponent would pull in dollars like Ortiz’s bank-breaking wars with Chuck Liddell and Ken Shamrock, but Ortiz vs. Machida is the fight that UFC fans genuinely want to see.

Clearly this is more about looking good in his last fight. Though Ortiz could probably dominate Evans in a rematch, Machida has made everyone from Rich Franklin to Stephan Bonnar to Rameau Sokoudjou look stupid, and Ortiz isn’t the guy to figure out how to beat him. Unfortunately, Ortiz’s relationship with the UFC isn’t good enough for Dana White to hand him an easy win for his farewell performance; instead, he’s being used as a gatekeeper for the light-heavyweight division’s upper-echelon. Maybe now he wishes he hadn’t been such a pain in Dana White’s ass.

As for money, the Fight Network reports that Ortiz has made over $1 million per fight in his latest outings. (We’re guessing a large chunk of that comes from a percentage he receives from PPV revenue.) Ortiz is convinced he’s worth a lot more, but he’s drifting further and further from #1 contender status, and other guys are overtaking him, both in terms of talent and marketability. Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin have basically made Tito Ortiz obsolete. In other words, he’s not worth a lot more that a million per fight, and the UFC knows it. To some extent, Tito must know it too. Hence the hostility.

But Ortiz has to be careful with his words until that last fight is in the can. I doubt the UFC will try to road-block his involvement with other fight promotions to the extent that they’ll do to Randy Couture — as a beloved champion, Couture is more of a painful loss to the UFC than a loudmouthed aspiring actor on the downswing. But as we learned last week, if you make enough harmful statements in the press, you’ll have a lawsuit waiting for you.