The match between "The Axe Murderer" and "The Iceman" was scheduled to take place last year until, according to Dana White, was messed up by Pride officials. The match that was suppose to take place between two dominant champions lost its luster when Silva lost two consecutive matches when he was knocked out by Mirko Cro Cop and Dan Handerson.
Now the match between the two could now be more of a possiblity now than ever due to Liddell's lost last night against Rampage. The match now has luster because it is between two dominant ex-champions. The winner, assuming if the fight were to take place, would take on the winner of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Dan "Hollywood" Handerson. Dan Handerson was announced last night immediately at the beginning of UFC 71 and after the fight between Liddell and Rampage. This is certainly an interesting scenario as we could see the match that alot of us have been waiting for. However, alot of questions remain to be answered. When will the Rampage and Handerson fight take place? What will become of Handerson's titles? What if Rampage were to lose against Handerson, would he hold three titles? Not only that, but if Liddell versus Silva were to take place, when would it? It has been reported across several sites that Silva will be taking 2007 off to train fo a 2008 comeback. Alot is uncertain now, but only one thing stands true: it is a great time for this sport!
May 27, 2007
April 27, 2007
Ortiz & Evans: War Of Words
The verbal fight between Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans has been heating up as of late. The first verbal shot thrown was by Tito Ortiz, when he decided to imitate Don Imus' words by saying he was going to make Rashad his "nappy-headed ho." This was after both fighters had a heated exchange of words in the crowd at UFC 69 in which Tito pushed Rashad and security had to break them up. In response to that, UFC.com has an interview up with Rashad Evans conducted by a radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico (104.7 The Edge) in which he states that Tito Ortiz is "frontin about being Mexican." He also talks about how Tito's tactics only worked on guys that were weaker than him, and that it will have no affect on his performance come UFC 73 on July 7. In regard to the comment made by Tito Ortiz, there is another interview with Tito Ortiz in which he states this about his recent comment:
"What I said was strictly towards Rashad. We get in the octagon and we’re probably one of the most brutal sports alive man. We’re in a very combative sport. I think writing something on the internet is not even close to what were going to do in the octagon. It was a jokingly thing. It made a lot of my friends laugh and a lot of my fans laugh and it was nothing racist at all. The last time I checked I was Mexican and I am the minority. One of my best friends [Quinton] “Rampage” Jackson is African American and the way I look at it - it was a joke. It was a funny joke to me and hopefully Rashad got a little humor out of it himself. "
In the same interview, he talks about having one last fight on his contract and his wish to fight in pride if need be to take on the best. Their bout at UFC 73 will be instrumental to their careers, as it could elevate Rashad Evans to contender status if he were to win and it would hurt Tito Ortiz's career if he were to lose.
"What I said was strictly towards Rashad. We get in the octagon and we’re probably one of the most brutal sports alive man. We’re in a very combative sport. I think writing something on the internet is not even close to what were going to do in the octagon. It was a jokingly thing. It made a lot of my friends laugh and a lot of my fans laugh and it was nothing racist at all. The last time I checked I was Mexican and I am the minority. One of my best friends [Quinton] “Rampage” Jackson is African American and the way I look at it - it was a joke. It was a funny joke to me and hopefully Rashad got a little humor out of it himself. "
In the same interview, he talks about having one last fight on his contract and his wish to fight in pride if need be to take on the best. Their bout at UFC 73 will be instrumental to their careers, as it could elevate Rashad Evans to contender status if he were to win and it would hurt Tito Ortiz's career if he were to lose.
Pride FC Retrospect
For all Pride fans out there, be sure not to miss your chance to relive the past ten years of Pride under Dream Stage Entertainment. This 3 hour special which costs $24.95, will premiere on PPV tomorrow night, August 28th and will feature interviews and fight clips from those who've competed in Pride.
Ultimate Fighter 5 Rating
Last night's episode of The Ultimate Fighter 5 scored a rating of 1.0, according to Nielsen Media Research. That number cannot be good and it shows as the seasons continue on, the numbers are slowly going down.
April 26, 2007
UFC 74 shaping up
The event set to take place just under four months from now, August 25th, is already shaping up to be an explosive one. According to a reporter who cited Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez as his source, UFC 74 will be taking place in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The main event will be Randy "The Natural" Couture defending his UFC Heavyweight Championship versus the man who sent shockwaves throughout the MMA world with his knockout defeat over Mirko Cro Cop, Gabriel Gonzaga. If that was not enough, Dana White recently confirmed that George "Rush" St. Pierre will be taking on Josh Koscheck. George St. Pierre, coming off his title loss to Matt Serra, will be looking to get a win over the man who defeated Diego Sanchez, both of which occurred at UFC 69. The winner of this fight will probably take on the winner of Matt Serra vs Matt Hughes for the UFC Welterweight Championship. However, the winner of both these fights will probably not face each other until late 2007 or early 2008 as Matt Serra and Matt Hughes have been confirmed to be the upcoming coaches for the Ultimate Fighter 6, which is set to premiere this fall. Since it is tradition for rival coaches to face each other at the end of a season, it is safe to go with the assumption. Also, though it has not be confirmed, what would an event in Albuquerque, New Mexico be without their hometown hero, Diego Sanchez? Sanchez is coming off a disappointing loss and fight against Josh Koscheck adding a tint to his record, which puts him at 17-1. No opponent has yet been named for him, but it's a bet that Dana White would want to capitalize on the draw that is Diego Sanchez especially in his hometown. Stay tuned as UFC 74 is shaping up to be an exciting event!
The main event will be Randy "The Natural" Couture defending his UFC Heavyweight Championship versus the man who sent shockwaves throughout the MMA world with his knockout defeat over Mirko Cro Cop, Gabriel Gonzaga. If that was not enough, Dana White recently confirmed that George "Rush" St. Pierre will be taking on Josh Koscheck. George St. Pierre, coming off his title loss to Matt Serra, will be looking to get a win over the man who defeated Diego Sanchez, both of which occurred at UFC 69. The winner of this fight will probably take on the winner of Matt Serra vs Matt Hughes for the UFC Welterweight Championship. However, the winner of both these fights will probably not face each other until late 2007 or early 2008 as Matt Serra and Matt Hughes have been confirmed to be the upcoming coaches for the Ultimate Fighter 6, which is set to premiere this fall. Since it is tradition for rival coaches to face each other at the end of a season, it is safe to go with the assumption. Also, though it has not be confirmed, what would an event in Albuquerque, New Mexico be without their hometown hero, Diego Sanchez? Sanchez is coming off a disappointing loss and fight against Josh Koscheck adding a tint to his record, which puts him at 17-1. No opponent has yet been named for him, but it's a bet that Dana White would want to capitalize on the draw that is Diego Sanchez especially in his hometown. Stay tuned as UFC 74 is shaping up to be an exciting event!
Sean Sherk talks on fighting Mayweather, Jr.
In an interview conducted by RandomSpeak.com, Sean Sherk talks about fighting Mayweather among other things. Here is a snip from the interview:
"Well, you know honestly in a boxing match, of course he'd beat me in a boxing match. In an MMA fight, he would be in for a beating. I mean, he's not going to knock me out with one punch; I've got a hard head and have been boxing for 13 years so it's not like I don't know how to box. So, he'd have to land a lot of punches to stop me from taking him down, and me being one of the best wrestlers in the sport, there's no way he could stop me from taking him down.I don't think that fight would last longer than a minute, to be honest with you. And I don't think he should be talking about something that he can't back up, because I'll fight him tomorrow. I literally would, if they called and asked me to fight Floyd Mayweather, Jr. tomorrow, it's done. He's not going to fight me though, and he's just running his mouth. I don't really respect that a whole lot."
Definitely an interesting interview. It seems as Mayweather has gotten the whole MMA community talking with his comments on how any boxer would defeat a UFC fighter. Seems as though it is nothing but publicity for his upcoming fight against Oscar De La Hoya which some are labeling boxing's "Last Big Fight."
"Well, you know honestly in a boxing match, of course he'd beat me in a boxing match. In an MMA fight, he would be in for a beating. I mean, he's not going to knock me out with one punch; I've got a hard head and have been boxing for 13 years so it's not like I don't know how to box. So, he'd have to land a lot of punches to stop me from taking him down, and me being one of the best wrestlers in the sport, there's no way he could stop me from taking him down.I don't think that fight would last longer than a minute, to be honest with you. And I don't think he should be talking about something that he can't back up, because I'll fight him tomorrow. I literally would, if they called and asked me to fight Floyd Mayweather, Jr. tomorrow, it's done. He's not going to fight me though, and he's just running his mouth. I don't really respect that a whole lot."
Definitely an interesting interview. It seems as Mayweather has gotten the whole MMA community talking with his comments on how any boxer would defeat a UFC fighter. Seems as though it is nothing but publicity for his upcoming fight against Oscar De La Hoya which some are labeling boxing's "Last Big Fight."
Tito Ortiz on MADtv
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz will make an upcoming guest appearance on MADtv that airs May 5th at 11 pm ET/PT and at 10 pm Central Time.
Source: http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=EventDetail.home&eid=618
Source: http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=EventDetail.home&eid=618
Couture undeterred by Gonzaga
During an interview on Sherdog's Beatdown radio show, Randy "The Natural" Couture talks about taking on Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74 and whether a fighter as big as Gonzaga reminiscent of Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez would be problematic for Captain America:
"Those were big guys that gave me problems. And I said then that yeah those styles at that time in my career were issues for me. I did well against strikers and more pure strikers, and both those guys were very very good grapplers and I found myself underneath a much bigger opponent with a good grappling base and that's gonna be a long night for a lot of people, myself included. I think I have technique and ability now that I didn't possess then to survive and not be stuck underneath, even a guy with Gonzaga's grappling ability and I'm gonna fight tooth and nail not to end up there first and foremost. That's really the last place I wanna be underneath a 245 pound Gonzaga with a good ground and pound skill and a good grappling base. And I'm sure that he'll go back and look at those tapes and think that's where he wants to put me. I have to use my mobility again against a bigger fighter and find angles and vary my attack so he's not sure whether I'm throwing striking or throwing a shot cause I know he's gonna be worried about me putting him on the ground as well which he didn't have to worry about with Mirko."
"Those were big guys that gave me problems. And I said then that yeah those styles at that time in my career were issues for me. I did well against strikers and more pure strikers, and both those guys were very very good grapplers and I found myself underneath a much bigger opponent with a good grappling base and that's gonna be a long night for a lot of people, myself included. I think I have technique and ability now that I didn't possess then to survive and not be stuck underneath, even a guy with Gonzaga's grappling ability and I'm gonna fight tooth and nail not to end up there first and foremost. That's really the last place I wanna be underneath a 245 pound Gonzaga with a good ground and pound skill and a good grappling base. And I'm sure that he'll go back and look at those tapes and think that's where he wants to put me. I have to use my mobility again against a bigger fighter and find angles and vary my attack so he's not sure whether I'm throwing striking or throwing a shot cause I know he's gonna be worried about me putting him on the ground as well which he didn't have to worry about with Mirko."
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