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Georges St-Pierre Delves into Professional Poker, Signs Deal with 888 Poker

Georges St-Pierre will be on the shelf for awhile. By his own estimation, it’ll likely be at least November before we see the welterweight champion step in the cage for a title unification bout with interim champion Carlos Condit.But St-Pierre’s keepin…

But St-Pierre’s keeping busy with rehab, and now he has a new hobby to keep him busy: poker.

Poker megasite PokerNews.com passed along the info:

Online gaming company 888 announced Thursday that mixed martial arts champion Georges St-Pierre is the company’s newest global ambassador. The current UFC Welterweight title holder recently signed a 12-month deal with 888 that will see him participate in the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event, as well as several other poker tournaments around the globe.

Poker News also reported that St-Pierre will play online poker tournaments to benefit his anti-bullying foundation. The welterweight champ said he’s excited to delve into the popular poker world:

“I am very excited to become a global brand ambassador for Team 888poker,” St-Pierre said. “I have wanted to play poker for a while now as it is a great game of skill. It is not just your cards versus my cards; it is you versus your opponent. However, the most important aspect of my partnership with 888poker is that we are going to generate a great deal of money for my foundation that dedicates its efforts towards anti-bullying causes.”

St-Pierre won’t be the first UFC personality to enter the poker world. Ring announcer Bruce Buffer is a constant presence at poker tournaments around the world, and welterweight Mike Swick has participated in the World Series of Poker. Former heavyweight Heath Herring has also become a regular fixture at poker events.

One interesting question: Will the UFC allow St-Pierre to sport the 888 Poker logo on his shorts in the cage? I can’t imagine that they will. Gambling companies used to be heavily involved in sponsoring UFC events. Full Tilt Poker was once a signature sponsor for events.

But that was before their push into the mainstream and the television deal with Fox. It’s likely that St-Pierre will remain involved with 888 Poker outside the cage, but don’t expect to see him sporting the logo during his fights.

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TUF Live: Making the Grade for Episode 5: Chiesa vs. Larsen

The first season of Ultimate Fighter Live continues to roll along. It hasn’t been a hit with TV viewers, and I haven’t quite been able to pinpoint why. But I do have a theory. Past seasons were taped and then aired months later, which meant that t…

The first season of Ultimate Fighter Live continues to roll along. It hasn’t been a hit with TV viewers, and I haven’t quite been able to pinpoint why.

But I do have a theory. Past seasons were taped and then aired months later, which meant that the producers had a chance to figure out interesting storylines and present them during the broadcasts. The live aspect of this season means that you can’t really build up intriguing stories, because you have no idea what’s going to happen in the live fights.

That hurts the show and makes it feel like an hour of build for a fight between two guys who the audience isn’t all that familiar with.

It’s one thing if you’re watching a UFC Primetime that builds a fight between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans. It’s an entirely different thing to watch a one-hour preview show for a fight between Michael Chiesa and Jeremy Larsen.

That said, I still enjoy the show, and I think it has plenty to offer. Let’s take a look at the report card for the fifth episode.

Jon Anik: A+

Anik isn’t all over the show, but he’s fantastic when he does appear. He’s smooth, polished and adept at relaying important information in an easy-to-digest manner.

I find myself wishing Anik had a bigger role or did play-by-play—having more of the former ESPN broadcaster would be a big positive. He’s adapted very well to the “UFC style” while still maintaining the professionalism that caused Zuffa to hire him away from ESPN in the first place.

Dominick Cruz: B+

Cruz continues to be a positive revelation as a coach on this show, much like Mayhem Miller and Rashad Evans on previous seasons. He has a vested interest in teaching his team and preparing them for fights.

He’s coming off as a likable guy, which is a big change from the “arrogant” Cruz we’ve seen in the past.

Michael Chiesa: B

The live nature of the new format means that there’s less emphasis on the kind of storylines the producers were able to build in past seasons. But Chiesa is one of the more visible characters on the show due to the tragic death of his father in the second week of the season.

He has a great takedown and was able to execute it effectively against Larsen. I don’t believe he’s well-rounded enough to go to the finals or far in the UFC, but it was enough to secure him the win in this episode.

Jeremy Larsen: D

Larsen had no defense for Chiesa’s takedowns, and that was his undoing in the fight. Strangely enough, Larsen believed the fight should have gone to a third round after Chiesa was docked a point for a foul in the first round.

But that’s not how MMA scoring works. Chiesa won the first round, so the point deduction meant that the first round was a draw. Chiesa won the second round, which means he won the fight. It’s not that hard to understand, but Larsen didn’t get it.

Chris Tickle: F

Tickle constantly complains. That may be a result of editing, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire. There’s always something preventing him from properly training.

This week, it was an alleged case of gout, of all things. He continues to complain about being tired, being punched and a bunch of other things. Coach Dominick Cruz is getting tired of Tickle, and I’d wager that’s the case for his teammates as well.

He’ll fight Joe Proctor next week (despite suffering from gout), and UFC fans—and perhaps even his teammates and coaches—will rejoice if he loses.

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Alistair Overeem Files for Nevada Fighter’s License, Will Be at April 24 Hearing

Alistair Overeem has filed an application for a new fighter’s license with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.The news was first reported by The Flying Knee. Keith Kizer, executive director of the commission, confirmed the news with Bleacher Report o…

Alistair Overeem has filed an application for a new fighter’s license with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The news was first reported by The Flying Knee. Keith Kizer, executive director of the commission, confirmed the news with Bleacher Report on Sunday. Kizer also said that he “assumes” Overeem will be in attendance for an April 24 hearing regarding his test failure for elevated testosterone to epitestosterone.

Kizer also told Bleacher Report that Overeem has also not requested that his B-sample be tested.

When a fighter gives a urine sample during the drug screening process, his urine is divided into two samples. If the A-sample fails, the fighter has the option to request that the B-sample be tested. If the B-sample is clean, the fighter likely would not be punished.

Filing a license application is a risk for Overeem. If his application is denied due to the test failure, he likely would not be able to apply for a new license until April 2013.

It’s the same situation Josh Barnett found himself in with the California State Athletic Commission during the Affliction: Trilogy ordeal. Barnett wasn’t technically suspended by the commission, but only because his license was expired. Barnett never applied for the license for fear that he would be denied, which would effectively suspend him from fighting for one year.

Things are getting interesting. It would seem—at least from the outside looking in—that Overeem is confident the commission will accept his explanation for his elevated testosterone levels. If he weren’t absolutely confident in his defense, he wouldn’t apply for a fighter’s license for the reasons I stated above.

Overeem’s job, reputation and at least one year’s worth of earnings are on the line. If he is refused a license in Nevada, the UFC will not use him for shows in other parts of the world until he’s served the one-year “suspension.” They used Chael Sonnen – despite him not reapplying for a California license – because he served the full one year suspension. Overeem would not be extended the same grace.

If Overeem is released from the UFC due to this situation, he could fight in Japan. But most major American commissions – and Nevada falls squarely in this space – frown on fighters accepting fights in non-regulated countries when they are suspended in America. But if Overeem is denied a license and cannot re-apply for one year, he technically would not be suspended because he isn’t a licensed fighter.

April 24 is going to be one interesting day.

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MMA Weekend Preview: Bellator 64, Super Fight League Highlights Action

We stand on the doorstep of yet another weekend with no UFC action, but never fear. There’s still plenty of cagefighting to go around this weekend, if you know where to look. Let me serve as your guide to all of the fisticuff action coming your way ove…

Friday

Event: Bellator 64 (Windsor, Ontario, Canada)

Viewing: Spike.com/MTV2, 7 p.m. ET

Bellator’s latest season six offering is the best fight card of the weekend, and by a wide margin. It features an intriguing main event between welterweight champion Ben Askren—who barely won a controversial decision over Jay Hieron in his last outing—defending his belt against the always-dangerous Douglas Lima. Askren is a fantastic wrestler, of course, but Lima has been a singularly devastating fighter over the past two years. He comes into the fight with a nine-fight winning streak and a very real chance of dethroning Askren for the belt.

There’s also some sweet tournament action. Alexandre Bezerra and Marlon Sandro face off in a featherweight tournament semifinal, while the bantamweight tournament features two fantastic fights: Travis Marx vs. Masakatsu Ueda and Rodrigo Lima vs. Hiroshi Nakamura.

UFC/WEC veteran Chris Horodecki fights on the preliminary card.

Event: The Ultimate Fighter Live (Las Vegas, NV)

Viewing: FX, 10 p.m. ET

Michael Chiesa takes on Jeremy Larsen in the latest episode of the venerable reality show.

Saturday

Event: Super Fight League 2 (Chandigarh, India)

Viewing: YouTube.com, 9:15 a.m. ET

Super Fight League 1, which featured Bob Sapp tapping out to a double-leg takedown, was one of those events that you categorize as “so bad it’s awesome.” Don’t get me wrong, I loved the show. Quite a bit, in fact. But I probably loved it for all of the wrong reasons, the main one being the incredible Super Fight League theme song.

Super Fight League 2 should be more of the same. The main event features hulking heavyweight Todd Duffee taking on Neil Grove. It’s not the best fight in the world, to be sure, but at least we’ll get a real finish instead of the sketchy pro-wrestling stuff Sapp came out with the last time around.

You’ll also get to see Minowaman taking on Alexander Schlemenko and Ryan Healy vs. Paul Kelly. Those are two fights with real potential to be awesome.

And hey, it’s a free show. You can watch the whole thing on YouTube. All you need to do is wake up a little early (or a lot early, if you live on the West Coast).

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Video: UFC 145’s Jon Jones Recreates Classic Muhammad Ali Image

Jon Jones is without question one of the fastest-rising stars in the UFC.His meteoric rise to the top of the sport—many pundits, myself included, rank him as the second-best pound-for-pound fighter in the world—has been breathtaking. Two ye…

Jon Jones is without question one of the fastest-rising stars in the UFC.

His meteoric rise to the top of the sport—many pundits, myself included, rank him as the second-best pound-for-pound fighter in the world—has been breathtaking. Two years ago, Jones was still a virtual unknown.

Now? He’s one of the most famous fighters in the world and is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest—if not the absolute greatest—fighters in the short history of mixed martial arts.

Comparisons to legendary boxer Muhammad Ali were inevitable. Both made their debuts at a young age. Ali remained undefeated for the first 11 years of his professional career before finally losing to Joe Frazier in the historic “Fight of the Century.” Jones has a loss on his record to Matt Hamill, but we all know that “Bones” is undefeated for all intents and purposes.

UFC Magazine acknowledges those links between Ali and Jones with the cover of their latest issue. It features Jones in a fighting pose underwater in a direct reference to Ali’s legendary Time Magazine photo from 1960.

Here’s the story behind the Ali photo, courtesy of the Michael Hoppen Gallery:

Schulke was assigned a story to photograph a young promising boxer who had just won gold at the Olympic games. His first photographs of Cassius Clay in his gym captured the confidence and charisma of this young man who would become Muhammad Ali, one of the most recognised faces in the world. Clay was desperate to be featured in LIFE magazine and after viewing some of Schulke’s underwater photography concocted the story that he trained underwater, fooling both Schulke and the editors at LIFE magazine. Schulke’s unforgettable images of Ali “training” underwater were run by LIFE magazine who would not have run the story without these iconic and inventive pictures.

In the above video, the UFC takes you behind the scenes for Jones’ version of the photo. It’s one of the best covers that UFC Magazine has featured to date.

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UFC 148: Michael Bisping Chose Tim Boetsch Because He Wants a Title Shot

It’s almost inconceivable that Michael Bisping hasn’t received a title shot. He’s been around the UFC forever, and he’s easily the most marketable European star in the company. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that he’s one of the most marketable stars…

I understand the reasoning. Bisping always seems to lose the big one just as he nears title contention, as witnessed in his losses to Rashad Evans, Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen. Those were the big fights, the ones that could have earned Bisping his long-awaited chance at gold, and he lost them.

The loss to Sonnen was different, though. Bisping put up an admirable performance in a fight that was much closer than anyone expected going in, and the loss didn’t hurt him in the way a typical defeat would. He’s still close to that elusive championship fight and a win over Tim Boetsch at July’s UFC 148 might finally be the thing that puts him over the top.

Bisping told MMAjunkie Radio that he chose Boetsch over a potential bout with Cung Le for that very reason:

“Because Tim Boetsch is coming off a great win over Yushin Okami, it just made more sense and was the more appealing matchup,” Bisping today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “It’s also a tougher matchup for me, but I want to win that next fight and stake a claim to that title shot.

“I think beating Tim Boetsch rather than Cung Le gives me more grounds to do that.”

Boetsch has experienced plenty of success since moving to middleweight. There isn’t a soul in the world who can tell you he doesn’t deserve to be mentioned as a top-10 fighter, not after his mauling of Yushin Okami.

Bisping made a wise choice in facing “The Barbarian”—as much as we love seeing Cung Le fight, beating him wouldn’t do much to advance Bisping’s career prospects. At this point in time, that’s all Bisping should consider when deciding whether or not to accept a fight.

Boetsch is a tough dude, but I fully expect Bisping to beat him by decision and then go on to face the winner of the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen rematch later this year.

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