Undefeated Heavyweight and Bellator veteran Blagoi Ivanov is reportedly clinging to life in a Bulgarian hospital after being stabbed in the heart early Sunday morning. The former Sambo champion was attending the after party of a boxing tournament when he and his two friends were attacked by a group of eight men carrying guns and knives. The reasoning behind this altercation has yet to be determined, but police have already made several arrests of those believed to be involved in the incident.
Although his friends were able to walk away from the incident with minor injuries, Ivanov was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital following the incident when it was determined that the knife blade, which entered through his armpit, had penetrated his heart. The six hour surgery that followed was successful, but the next 48 hours are critical in determining the fate of the 25 year old, according to inside sources.
Undefeated Heavyweight and Bellator veteran Blagoi Ivanov is reportedly clinging to life in a Bulgarian hospital after being stabbed in the heart early Sunday morning. The former Sambo champion was attending the after party of a boxing tournament when he and his two friends were attacked by a group of eight men carrying guns and knives. The reasoning behind this altercation has yet to be determined, but police have already made several arrests of those believed to be involved in the incident.
Although his friends were able to walk away from the incident with minor injuries, Ivanov was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital following the incident when it was determined that the knife blade, which entered through his armpit, had penetrated his heart. The six hour surgery that followed was successful, but the next 48 hours are critical in determining the fate of the 25 year old, according to inside sources.
Ivanov is perhaps best known for winning the 2008 World Sambo Championships, and specifically, beating none other than four time champ and former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko in the semis along the way. The Bulgarian made the transition to MMA shortly thereafter, and has gone 6-0 with 1 no contest in his MMA career thus far. Aside from scoring two victories inside the Bellator ring, TKO’ing William Penn in just under three minutes at Bellator 38 and choking out TUF 10 alum Zak Jensen back in October, Ivanov most recently dispatched former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez by way of TKO due to retirement on Christmas Eve.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ivanov and his family.
We gotta say, we are really digging these rogue movie parody advertisements for UFC events that have been popping up lately. First we were trated to G.I. Joe’s discussing all things horse related, then Nick Diaz scared us into locking our doors. Now it seems that perennial funnyman Will Ferrell has gotten into the mix of things, or at least his Anchorman character, Ron Burgundy, has.
Along with the classic Anchorman scene, the video combines clips from Buffer’s introductions with a recent appearance by Ferrell at a New Orleans Hornets/Chicago Bulls game in which he introduced the starting lineup. As with many Will Ferrell movies, the clip starts off strong before kinda pitter-pattering its way to the end. Enjoy, or don’t. It’s Friday, so wacky clips are kind of our thing today.
Join us after the jump for another mashup that will make you go into full montage mode.
We gotta say, we are really digging these rogue movie parody advertisements for UFC events that have been popping up lately. First we were trated to G.I. Joe’s discussing all things horse related, then Nick Diaz scared us into locking our doors. Now it seems that perennial funnyman Will Ferrell has gotten into the mix of things, or at least his Anchorman character, Ron Burgundy, has.
Along with the classic Anchorman scene, the video combines clips from Buffer’s introductions with a recent appearance by Ferrell at a New Orleans Hornets/Chicago Bulls game in which he introduced the starting lineup. As with many Will Ferrell movies, the clip starts off strong before kinda pitter-pattering its way to the end. Enjoy, or don’t. It’s Friday, so wacky clips are kind of our thing today.
(Props to Karma for the find.)
We’re not sure what the anonymous narrator is saying (something about linens?) , but goddamn it if this video isn’t inspiring. Will Frankie Edgar be able to pull of another victory come Saturday night? Discuss.
(Seconds after becoming the world’s first active-duty UFC Champion, Brian Stann happened to witness a gang of streetwise thugs kidnapping WWE superstar John Cena’s wife. And now he won’t stop until until the streets…are safe again. Brian Stann IS The Marine 2: The Actual Marine .)
We’re not going to suggest that Brian Stann might be looking past his upcoming UFC on FUEL TV 2 bout with Italian striker Alessio Sakara, because here at CP, we don’t just jump to conclusions. But granted Stann is successful come April 14th, he already has his next opponent in mind. And believe it or not, it’s Michael Bisping. When asked on the subject of dream opponents by EsNewsReporting, Stann was quick to reply:
Michael Bisping. I wouldn’t try to do anything but walk straight through him with a right hand. Here’s the deal: I don’t know Michael personally, sometimes I think he gets a bum rap and I’ve learned not to judge people off the media and things of that nature. After my last fight he had a few comments about my technique and who I was as a fighter that I thought were a little odd. He called me a ‘white belt’ and said that I was ‘exposed’ so I’d love to see him put his money where his mouth is. We can fight and we can solve that. He may be a great guy, I don’t know, and maybe he is, but I would just like to compete against him since he made those comments.
(Seconds after becoming the world’s first active-duty UFC Champion, Brian Stann happened to witness a gang of streetwise thugs kidnapping WWE superstar John Cena’s wife. And now he won’t stop until until the streets…are safe again. Brian Stann IS The Marine 2: The Actual Marine .)
We’re not going to suggest that Brian Stann might be looking past his upcoming UFC on FUEL TV 2 bout with Italian striker Alessio Sakara, because here at CP, we don’t just jump to conclusions. But granted Stann is successful come April 14th, he already has his next opponent in mind. And believe it or not, it’s Michael Bisping. When asked on the subject of dream opponents by EsNewsReporting, Stann was quick to reply:
Michael Bisping. I wouldn’t try to do anything but walk straight through him with a right hand. Here’s the deal: I don’t know Michael personally, sometimes I think he gets a bum rap and I’ve learned not to judge people off the media and things of that nature. After my last fight he had a few comments about my technique and who I was as a fighter that I thought were a little odd. He called me a ‘white belt’ and said that I was ‘exposed’ so I’d love to see him put his money where his mouth is. We can fight and we can solve that. He may be a great guy, I don’t know, and maybe he is, but I would just like to compete against him since he made those comments.
Both Bisping and Stann are coming off losses to number one middleweight contender Chael Sonnen, the only difference being that Stann succumbed to a second round arm triangle choke at UFC 136 and Bisping dropped a controversial decision at the second UFC on Fox event. Like we said, if Stann makes it by Sakara, who has been a gatekeeper of sorts in his UFC career, a match with Bisping would make perfect sense, don’t you think?
Whether Stann is looking past Sakara or not remains to be seen, but you can definitely tell that Bisping has gotten inside the former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion’s head. Sure, Alessio hasn’t fought in nearly a year, forced out of bouts with everything from ACL tears to bad tuna fish sandwiches, and sure, Sakara’s jaw will probably be to reduced to ash when Stann’s fist finds it. But the fact that he’s already got Bisping on his mind says something about the Brit’s “world renowned” trash talking abilities, and he hasn’t even started yet. A word to the wise Brian, no good comes from looking past an opponent.
(If you think about it, a giraffe is nothing more than a horse with a really, really long neck. Watch your back Olivier.)
No, this is not one of MRuss’ award winning photoshops, although we imagine everyone in the UFC’s heavyweight division wishes it was. It turns out that this beanstalkian figure is Olivier Richter, otherwise known as the tallest man in Holland. He stands at 7’2, or three inches taller than Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve, and according to Alistair Overeem, has already begun to train kickboxing and weight lifting with the hopes of one day making it into the UFC.
(If you think about it, a giraffe is nothing more than a horse with a really, really long neck. Watch your back Olivier.)
No, this is not one of MRuss’ award winning photoshops, although we imagine everyone in the UFC’s heavyweight division wishes it was. It turns out that this beanstalkian figure is Olivier Richter, otherwise known as the tallest man in Holland. He stands at 7’2, or three inches taller than Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve, and according to Alistair Overeem, has already begun to train kickboxing and weight lifting with the hopes of one day making it into the UFC.
It’s obviously too early to tell what kind of fighter Richter will be, but you have to see the potential in a guy that makes the 6’5, 265 lb Ubereem look like a child, a notion that this writer didn’t think was humanly possible. Seriously, my universe is fucking shattered right now. Discuss, Potato Nation, or perhaps start preparing for the day this guy decides to come to your dorm room, beat the fuck out of your roommate, take his bed, smack a couple of your teachers, your professors, your RAs, and your deans.
Perhaps Melvin Guillard has made some DRASTIC improvements to his ground game since joining up with the Blackzilians, or perhaps he simply has some sort of autoerotic asphyxiation fetish, because the hard hitting lightweight recently told MMA Weekly that he wants his next fight to be a rematch against Joe Lauzon, whom you may recall, dropped Guillard and finished him with a rear-naked choke in just under 50 seconds of their UFC 136 bout. According to Guillard, the loss is the only in his career that he felt he truly should have won. Here’s what “The Young Assassin” had to say:
In the 10 losses I have in my MMA career, I haven’t rematched anyone I’ve lost to. Not once, I’ve never really cared for rematches because I felt they won, now I’ll move on. Right now, I’m at the point where this fight means something to me, I have something to prove against Joe Lauzon, so this is a rematch I’m asking for. Right now, I’m looking to watch the fights in Japan and I’m praying that he loses to (Anthony) Pettis because I want a rematch against Joe Lauzon. I don’t want to fight nobody next but Joe Lauzon. I don’t even care how it goes, I just want to see Pettis win and I want an immediate rematch with Joe Lauzon. Hopefully, I can get that rematch by fourth of July in Vegas.
Join us after the jump for a few more interesting musings from Guillard’s interview.
(Come to think of it, we’d watch this again.)
Perhaps Melvin Guillard has made some DRASTIC improvements to his ground game since joining up with the Blackzilians, or perhaps he simply has some sort of autoerotic asphyxiation fetish, because the hard hitting lightweight recently told MMA Weekly that he wants his next fight to be a rematch against Joe Lauzon, whom you may recall, dropped Guillard and finished him with a rear-naked choke in just under 50 seconds of their UFC 136 bout. According to Guillard, the loss is the only in his career that he felt he truly should have won. Here’s what “The Young Assassin” had to say:
In the 10 losses I have in my MMA career, I haven’t rematched anyone I’ve lost to. Not once, I’ve never really cared for rematches because I felt they won, now I’ll move on. Right now, I’m at the point where this fight means something to me, I have something to prove against Joe Lauzon, so this is a rematch I’m asking for. Right now, I’m looking to watch the fights in Japan and I’m praying that he loses to (Anthony) Pettis because I want a rematch against Joe Lauzon. I don’t want to fight nobody next but Joe Lauzon. I don’t even care how it goes, I just want to see Pettis win and I want an immediate rematch with Joe Lauzon. Hopefully, I can get that rematch by fourth of July in Vegas.
Guillard also stated that his dislike for Lauzon has dramatically increased over the past couple months thanks to Twitter, go figure. Apparently Lauzon had some less than nice things to say about Guillard in the wake of his first round submission (also by rear-naked choke) loss to Jim Miller at the inaugural UFC on FX event. Shortly after the fight was over, Lauzon posted, “Some people never learn…that looked familiar.” That statement, along with several other comments Lauzon made expressing his frustration over Guillard’s claims that the loss was a fluke seem to have angered Guillard to no end:
Lately on my Twitter some posts have been popping up and I’m like what the hell is this? So I’m looking and next thing I know it’s people talking about Joe Lauzon hit the nail on the head, he was right, so I went in and read the article and all of a sudden he’s blasting me talking about he slapped me and he choked me out, and Melvin’s going around telling everybody I got lucky.
I never said the dude got lucky. I said it was a good fight, I always gave Joe Lauzon the respect that was due, and I thought he was the better guy that day. Did I think the fight was a fluke on my part? Yeah, the fight was a fluke on my part, but I never took anything from him. So I guess he misinterpreted what I said.
Guillard has grown so heated over Lauzon’s recent comments, in fact, that he has threatened to violate the CP ban of bringing back your old self when discussing his future pans for “J-Lau.”
The new me, I’m trying to be respectful and handle it the right way, but at this point right now I’m kind of fed up with it. The old me is about to come out on Joe Lauzon. He’s about to take Rich Clementi’s place of being that guy that I just don’t like.
If you recall, Clementi and Guillard had an epic war of words before, during, and after their UFC 79 battle. If you also recall, Clementi won that fight by way of REAR-NAKED CHOKE. Afterward, Clementi and Guillard nearly came to blows yet again when Clementi told Joe Rogan in the post fight interview that Melvin “still hadn’t learned his lesson.” Ironic.
What do you guys think? Does Guillard deserve another shot at Lauzon, or should we be talking about the fact that a man who was being touted as the next lightweight title contender not too long ago is now asking for rematch against an opponent who would hypothetically be coming off a loss? Discuss.
The sixteenth of December in the year 2000 marked the last time the UFC made an appearance in the Land of the Rising Sun, and to celebrate, we’ve managed to pull some strings and dig up the entire pay-per-view event for your viewing pleasure. Because here at CP, we like to consider ourselves the cool step dads of the MMA blogosphere. Though we may not be around as much as we should, when we show up, you best believe we bring the nudie mags, cigarettes, and that funny smelling water that makes you all giggly and tired. Sure, your mom says it’s evil and thinks it killed your old dad, and sure, when you come to there’s change missing off the dresser, but at the end of the day, you’re just happy we brought you a gift, right?
The sixteenth of December in the year 2000 marked the last time the UFC made an appearance in the Land of the Rising Sun, and to celebrate, we’ve managed to pull some strings and dig up the entire pay-per-view event for your viewing pleasure. Because here at CP, we like to consider ourselves the cool step dads of the MMA blogosphere. Though we may not be around as much as we should, when we show up, you best believe we bring the nudie mags, cigarettes, and that funny smelling water that makes you all giggly and tired. Sure, your mom says it’s evil and thinks it killed your old dad, and sure, when you come to there’s change missing off the dresser, but at the end of the day, you’re just happy we brought you a gift, right?
Featuring Chuck Liddell vs. Jeff Monson, Dennis Hallman’s SECOND lightning quick submission win over Matt Hughes, a light heavyweight championship tilt between Pat Miletich and Kenichi Yamamoto, and a headlining middleweight championship bout between Tito Ortiz and Yuki Kondo, UFC 29 was nearly as stacked as UFC 144 looks to be, and delivered several exciting finishes from the Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
UFC 29 also featured the UFC debut of Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland, and according to its Wikipedia page, was the first event to play music in-between rounds. Why they decided to use anything but Onmyo-Za is beyond me. Anyway, check it out before it gets taken down.
One thing to watch for: At one point in the broadcast, Mike Goldberg refers to the Japanese ring girls as “title holders in their own right.” Not exactly sure what he meant by that, but the man sticks to his guns.
