The recent information that has been unearthed regarding renowned martial arts trainer Lloyd Irvin and two of his students is nothing short of horrific. One such allegation dates back to 1989, and involves Irvin’s role in the gang rape of a 17 year-old woman. The other involves the rape of one of Irvin’s students on New Year’s Eve, as perpetrated by two other students of the Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts School in Washington, D.C. Despite being vehemently pressed for information over the past few weeks, Irvin has remained silent on both cases, instead focusing his attention on the recovery of the female student that was accosted.

That is, until now.

Irvin recently issued a statement in the form of an open letter that addressed both his own involvement in the 1989 case and that of the New Year’s Eve case currently under investigation. In it, Irvin is both understandably apologetic and sincerely candid while describing the circumstances involved in both cases. Not to take anything away from as well respected a member of the MMA community as Irvin, we have placed the entire letter, completely unedited, after the jump. It’s a long read, but ultimately necessary if you want to understand the events from the perspective of at least one of the parties involved.

Ugh. We here at CagePotato have been debating for days now whether or not we should cover the recent, horrific story involving two Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts School students, which has in turn brought to light the former and similarly shocking allegations aimed at Irvin himself. On one hand, we like to keep things light and humorous around here, and would prefer to wait until all of the evidence has surfaced. On the other hand, sweeping a story as heinous as this under the rug would be a cop out even by our standards. At the end of the day, we are supposed to report on all things MMA, no matter how positive or negative a light they shine on the sport, so here we go.

You might have heard that recently, two well known students of the Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts School – Matthew Maldonado and Nicholas Schultz — were accused of raping a female student of the gym on New Year’s Eve. Apparently, Shultz and Maldonado ran into the victim at a club in Washington D.C. and offered to drive her home, as she was too drunk to drive. What follows are the sickening details regarding what actually happened:

But the men took her to the St. Matthew’s Center parking garage instead, police explained, where surveillance cameras captured Maldanado raping the woman and Shultz joining.

After Maldanado left, police said, the tape shows Schultz raping her repeatedly. She told police he said at one point, “I am sorry. I am a sick bastard.”

Detectives said the woman claimed she had been raped, but it wasn’t until they saw the tape, that the extent of the allegations emerged.

They wrote of the alleged attack “She fell backwards…striking her head against the wall…later struck her head again…and noted she collapsed to the ground…several times…he head again hitting the ground.”

And if that bit of info didn’t have you closing your eyes, covering your ears, and screaming “NO! NO! NO!” while rocking back in forth in the nearest corner, just wait until you see the story these allegations have unearthed involving Lloyd Irvin himself.

Former Team Tompkins fighter Kasheem “The Dream” Peterson was acquitted by a London, Ontario jury Tuesday of all charges against him stemming from an April sexual assault arrest in the city where he was staying for the month to help his then-coach Shawn Tompkins prepare Mark Hominick for his UFC 129 bout with Jose Aldo.

As the verdict was read out, Peterson, who had sat stone-faced throughout the trial nodded to the jury.

(Torres following his unanimous decision loss to social media. / Photo via ESPN)

Update: Torres has released a statement about his release. Check it out at the bottom of this post.

Miguel Torres — former undisputed WEC bantamweight champion and die-hard fan of rape jokes — has been released by the UFC. Dana White confirmed the firing yesterday evening, telling SI.com, “his career with us now is over.”

The reason for Torres’s release was a tweet that reportedly read, “If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises.” Torres later removed the tweet and replaced it with an edited version. White was informed of the tweet second-hand by Michael Landsberg and made the decision to fire Torres shortly after.

So why is Torres being made an example of, when Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans made similar off-color statements recently? Basically, it’s because he didn’t have a good enough explanation.

By Mike Russell

(It looks like we may be able to add “murderer” to Joe Son’s resume below “kidnapper” and above “rapist.”)

A poster on mixedmartialarts.com’s Underground Forum revealed today that former UFC fighter and incarcerated kidnapper and rapist Joseph Hyungmin Son may have been involved in the murder of his cellmate in the California prison he currently is housed in and it appears that the story has some truth to it.

Here’s what the poster, SoCal PriznGard posted today:

“I am the first to break this news! Ex UFC fighter, Joe Son has murdered his cellmate. While serving a life sentence for gang rape, Joe Son has been attacked several times by other inmates who do not tolerate rapists in prison. It has not yet been determined why he killed his cellmate or how.

No troll. Fact: celly found dead. Joe and dead guy only ones in cell together. Guard doing count, sees celly is unresponsive, medical arrives. CPR performed. Celly has trauma to chest area. Pronounced dead. Innocent until proven guilty but looks like he did it. These are the only facts that I have right now. Investigation still in progress since it just happened on Monday around 5:00 pm.”

CagePotato.com spoke with a representative from the prison’s litigation department, after being passed on by Wasco’s public information officer this morning, and when asked whether or not Son was involved in said incident, we were told that a press release on the situation is forthcoming, likely later today — meaning that there is at least some truth to the rumor.

(Whitehead posing with his attorney outside the courtroom after today’s hearing.)

Mike Whitehead made an Alford plea of “no-contest” to felony charges of attempted sexual assault in Nevada State court today and could face between two and 20 years in State prison at his January 19 sentencing. The minimum jail term for the “category b” offence is 2 years, which could mean Whitehead may get out after a year and change on good behavior. This may not seem like a positive for a man facing jail time, but considering he was originally arrested on charges of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, open and gross lewdness and also faced possible drug charges involving 40 marijuana plants found growing in his home, “Iron Mike” is likely counting his blessings that State prosecutors accepted his lawyer’s plea deal for the lesser charge.

(That asshole better get used to wearing outfits like this in jail.)

By the time Joe Son fought at UFC 4 and subsequently had his balls minced by Keith Hackney, he figured he had gotten away with a vicious armed kidnapping and rape he committed with a buddy four years prior. Three years later he was cast as Random Task in the Mike Myers hit Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and probably thought his crime would never be solved. Eleven years later, the cold case thawed when the Korean-born sub-par fighter, actor and human being was arrested for an unrelated parole violation and a DNA submission was linked to the Christmas eve 1990 assault on a then-19-year-old woman whose life would never be the same after Son and his co-accused plucked her from the street in Orange County and drove around for a few hours taking time raping and sodomizing her while terrorizing and penetrating her with a handgun.

The pair made their victim believe that she was going to die, no matter if she cooperated with their demands or not before releasing her with the caveat that her life was “her Christmas present from them.” How thoughtful.

Well, that fat bastard won’t get to breathe the air of a free man for at least 16 years, but it’s more likely that he’ll spend more behind bars, especially if prosecutors and his victim have any say in the matter, and they will. He was sentenced to life in prison this afternoon with the possibility of parole.

(Why so glum, Joey? Prison is a magical place, just *full* of gang-rape.)

Justice has finally defeated UFC veteran/actor/rapist Joe Son. The thong-clad scumbag‘s gang-rape trial came to an end yesterday, with Son eating a felony conviction that could put him in prison for the rest of his pathetic-ass life. SFGate has the details:

Joseph Hyungmin Son was found guilty of one felony count of torture Thursday. A statute of limitations had expired on other counts. Prosecutors say Son and an accomplice pulled the victim into a car on Christmas Eve in 1990 and drove her toward Huntington Beach as they beat her with a gun and raped her. The investigation had gone cold until Son was required to provide a DNA sample in 2008 in connection with a vandalism sentence. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison.

Four years after the rape, Son debuted in the UFC as a Bible-thumping nutpunch-magnet. Any guesses on how long he’ll last in prison?

If he wasn’t fond of living in a posh mansion with 17 other dudes, something tells me he’s not going to like his future abode much either. (Pic: Las Vegas Sun)

MMA veteran Mike Whitehead tapped out before heading into the biggest fight of his life inside a Clark County, NV courtroom yesterday. As reported by the Las Vegas Sun, prior to the start of his preliminary hearing, Whitehead and his attorney reached a deal with prosecutors that will see him plead guilty to one felony count of attempted sexual assault.

Those who have followed the case will note that the former TUF competitor was initially charged with doing far more than attempting a sexual assault. Whitehead was arrested for sexually assaulting a female friend following a bar-b-que at the fighter’s home in April of last year. Whitehead invited the victim and her friend to stay the night after they’d had too much to drink; once the pair had passed out in his bed, he allegedly removed the clothes of one of the women and began having sex with her while fondling the other female. The victim awoke and ordered him to stop, but he continued for several more minutes before sitting quietly in a chair next to the bed.

(But they both look like such gentlemen.)

This isn’t a good week to be a former UFC fighter charged with rape.

By Friday the trials of Joe Son and Mike Whitehead will both be underway.

(“Did I mention I bought Jimmy Dean sausages and I let her use my Star Wars pillow?”)

In spite of earlier reports that Mike Whitehead had reached a plea bargain deal with prosecutors in his felony sexual assault case, it looks like the former UFC fighter will now go to trial in an attempt to refute and disprove the allegations against him.

According to court records, Whitehead’s preliminary hearing will commence on August 19 at 9:00 am in Clark County district court in Las Vegas, NV. The case will be heard by Justice Janiece Marshall.

The preliminary hearing was originally set for last September, but because of delays and an apparent plea deal that either fell through or Whitehead decided not to take, there was a nearly one-year delay in bringing the case to trial.

(A homeless man who claimed to be Franca turned himself in last Monday)

More details have emerged in Hermes Franca’s sexual assault case and let’s just say, it doesn’t look good for the former UFC lightweight contender.

According to Fox 12 Oregon, the alleged victim is under the age of 14 and the pair of “unlawful penetration” charges indicate that Franca used an object (or numerous objects) on her.

(Photo courtesy of Eddie Manuel Photography)

London, Ontario police today revealed that they had arrested 28-year-old Las Vegas-based welterweight fighter Kasheem “The Dream” Peterson in connection with a sexual assault that occurred on the outskirts of the city southwest of Toronto at approximately 6:30 am Friday morning.

The victim, a 21-year-old woman who was not from the area and who had met Peterson prior to the alleged assault, reported the attack to police over the weekend and folowing an investigation by police, the Philidelphia native was arrested and charged with sexual assault, forcible confinement and choking someone with the intent of committing sexual assault.

(Why go to trial? Refuting DNA evidence is like fighting GSP. You aren’t going to win unless you’re a short loudmouth from New York… Serra? No, we meant “My Cousin Vinny.”)

Accused rapist Joseph Hyungmin Son, perhaps better known to MMA fans as Joe Son, will finally get his day in court according to the Orange County District Attorney’s office. After being imprisoned for two-and-a-half years while awaiting trial on charges that he and an unnamed accomplice kidnapped and raped an unnamed female victim in 1990, the onetime UFC fighter who played Random Task in the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, will see his case brought before the courts on March 24. The facts of the case will be presented by Orange County Deputy District Attorney Eric Scarborough of the Sexual Assault Unit and will be contested by a jury of Son’s peers.

If you’re unfamiliar with the case, be forewarned that the details of the crime after the jump are unsettling.

(Someone’s nervous. Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

- Kim Couture’s opponent misses weight, looks scared. (Xtreme Couture)

- That UFC ad campaign trashing other sports? Yeah, it was bullshit. (Fightlinker)

- “Ninja” Rua says his bro is fixing to mess Mark Coleman up. (Tatame)

- “Human Weapon” arrested for rape, but D.A. won’t file charges. (TMZ)

- “Babalu” Sobral will break his hand on Southworth’s face if need be. (NBC Sports)

- Strikeforce betting odds. Feel like putting a fin on “Bang” Ludwig? (BestFightOdds)

- Joe Riggs only regrets that he didn’t get to smash Kimbo first. (MMA Rated)

- Men 18-34 are stupid, apparently. Bummer. (Holy Taco)

- Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler.” Count me in. (Screen Junkies)

- Wal-Mart’s new CEO shakes things up. (Wall Street Fighter)

- The rare ‘party girl parking garage beatdown’ caught on tape. (Nothing Toxic)

Former IFL fighter and Team Quest member Devin Cole was arrested for rape in Oregon over the weekend. Sherdog reports that Cole was picked up at 7:40 am on Saturday morning and charged with two counts of first-degree sexual penetration and two counts of first-degree sodomy and is being held on $5 million bail.

Needless to say, this is very bad news for the MMA community. The former All-American wrestler at Southern Oregon University left Team Quest recently and defeated Vince Lucero in the Palace Fighting Championships in May.