Author: Matt Juul

New York Tourism Committee Approves MMA Bill, Obstacles Still Remain

MMAJunkie.com reports that earlier today the New York State Assembly’s Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development committee passed a bill regulating mixed martial arts in the state of New York.The committee passed bill A04146A by a vote of 1…

MMAJunkie.com reports that earlier today the New York State Assembly’s Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development committee passed a bill regulating mixed martial arts in the state of New York.

The committee passed bill A04146A by a vote of 16-3 and is a first step towards full legalization of the sport in the Empire State.

Several obstacles remain, however, that must be cleared before a vote can take place on the Assembly’s floor.  Also, only seven days remain on their legislative calendar, forcing supporting lawmakers to move quickly on the matter.

The bill will now go to the Codes Committee which deals with the legal aspects of the bill and, if all goes well, bill A04146A will go to the Ways and Means Committee that deals with the financial aspects of the bill

The Rules Committee, which deals with the assembly’s activities on the floor, will be the final obstacle before the bill reaches a vote.

Legislators on both sides of the issue have been adamantly at work on the issue, with Democratic Assemblyman Bob Reilly as the biggest opponent.  It is said that Reilly has the support of Speaker Sheldon Silver who will make the decision as to whether the bill can even receive a vote.

Assemblyman Steven Englebright is the biggest supporter in the Assembly and is optimistic that if the bill reaches the floor that it will be passed, even if they need to enlist the help of Republican votes.

Hopefully lawmakers can reach an agreement on the matter and finally bring the fastest growing sport into the Big Apple.

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Will ESPN Ever Fully Embrace MMA?

Mixed martial arts is steadily entering the mainstream with each passing event.Fighters are being interviewed on more talk shows, casual fans are recognizing more athletes, but there remains one last obstacle before MMA can be considered a legitimate, …

Mixed martial arts is steadily entering the mainstream with each passing event.

Fighters are being interviewed on more talk shows, casual fans are recognizing more athletes, but there remains one last obstacle before MMA can be considered a legitimate, high profile sport.

More coverage on ESPN.

For a long time, the worldwide leader in sports gave little coverage, if any, to the UFC and no coverage at all to the other promotions.  MMA was believed to be bloody and barbaric, relegated to a small section on the company’s website. 

But the last two or three years has given way to a substantial increase in reporting for all the major MMA promotions by ESPN.

In 2008, ESPN started MMA Live as an internet show, mixing traditional analysts and commentators with fighters as a way to cover events.  The show received so much positive feedback that the corporate brass decided to make the internet segment into a television program.

The show, regularly hosted by UFC personalities such as Kenny Florian, Rashad Evans and Stephan Bonnar, has gained a huge following by MMA and casual fans alike despite being aired late at night once a week.

ESPN has also featured some of the sport’s most amazing moments on SportsCenter’s Top Plays. Anthony Pettis’ “Showtime” kick and Anderson Silva‘s front kick knockout are just two great occurrences that appeared on the segment.

But if MMA, and especially the UFC, want to take the next step, then they will have to push for even more coverage by ESPN, specifically in the United States.

ESPN has shown an increased commitment to reporting on MMA, adding more money to their MMA budget recently and partnering with the UFC to televise events overseas.

However, inconsistent coverage on SportsCenter and the terrible time slot for the MMA Live show makes ESPN hesitant to fully embrace the sport just yet.

As the sport continues to grow and gain more and more fans, I have faith that ESPN will certainly start catering to MMA fans and, hopefully, elevate the sport to a higher profile status.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattJuulMMA.

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The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale Results: Ranking the Top 10 UFC Lightweights

With the Ultimate FIghter 13 Finale now finished, the landscape of the lightweight division has changed dramatically.Grinding his way to a decision win, Clay Guida halted the ascent of former WEC Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Guida took down “Sh…

With the Ultimate FIghter 13 Finale now finished, the landscape of the lightweight division has changed dramatically.

Grinding his way to a decision win, Clay Guida halted the ascent of former WEC Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Guida took down “Showtime” numerous times and kept a seemingly dominant position for all three rounds, leading to a unanimous decision victory.

“The Carpenter” is now another win closer to a shot at the title and has risen through the ranks of the UFC’s lightweights.  Here’s how last night’s contestants stack up against the top 10 lightweights in the UFC.

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The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale: Fun Loving Ramsey Nijem Serious in the Cage

The Ultimate Fighter season 13 finalist Ramsey Nijem has gained notoriety for his flippant behavior on the hit reality show.”Stripper Ramsey” earned his moniker for a spur of the moment striptease while in the house.”You know sometimes you go…

The Ultimate Fighter season 13 finalist Ramsey Nijem has gained notoriety for his flippant behavior on the hit reality show.

“Stripper Ramsey” earned his moniker for a spur of the moment striptease while in the house.

“You know sometimes you got to pay the bills I guess,” Nijem joked when asked about the impromptu show during Thursday’s media conference call. 

But what viewers may not know, Nijem is definitely a serious mixed martial artist.

Training with John Hackleman at the Pit in California as well as the Pit Elevated gym in Utah, Nijem knows when it’s time to stop playing games.

“After my first fight I think that people realized that I’m a serious fighter and I turn it on when I fight”, he told the media.

Nijem used his time on the show to showcase his skills, submitting his first two opponents via rear naked choke.  Clay Harvison, his quarterfinals foe, tapped to his vicious choke in less than a minute into the first round.

But his most impressive victory came over the sly Chris Cope, a 2nd round TKO win that won Nijem a spot at the finale.

Training with Court McGee and Jonathan Brookins, Nijem and his team knew how to keep his finale appearance a secret.

“We all went through it with Court (McGee) when he was in the finals, you know everyone in the gym kind of understands, ‘don’t ask’ and it wasn’t that bad because I wasn’t the first one and Brookins trains with us now, so people understood the importance of keeping it under wraps.” 

Facing Tony Ferguson in the finals, Nijem and his coaches have been studying Ferguson’s tapes very carefully especially since his last professional match was against teammate Brock Jardine.

“I definitely paid close attention to his latest and newest fights.”

Commenting on his time on the show, Nijem did not plan on being portrayed as a “goofball”, saying that the show’s producers edited him that way. 

Despite that, Nijem said, “It was more just being myself and doing what I do normally, being comfortable and relaxed.”

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Tito Ortiz Tells Unbeaten Matt Mitrione to "Win a Fight"

A very heated Tito Ortiz divulged to his “Inside MMA” partner Kenny Rice recently just what went down between the former UFC Light-Heavyweight champion and up and coming heavyweight Matt Mitrione at the UFC Summit.During the event, Mitrione, who has ad…

A very heated Tito Ortiz divulged to his “Inside MMA” partner Kenny Rice recently just what went down between the former UFC Light-Heavyweight champion and up and coming heavyweight Matt Mitrione at the UFC Summit.

During the event, Mitrione, who has admitted to lambasting Ortiz in the past, approached the former champion to introduce himself.  Ortiz was well aware of his past statements, specifically about his former adult film star girlfriend Jenna Jameson, and did not take kindly to this seemingly benign gesture.

As Ortiz contests in the video, he took Mitrione’s remarks “personally” and as “disrespectful.”

Visibly rilling himself up in the short segment, the long time UFC veteran called Mitrione a “d****ebag” and told the Ultimate Fighter alum to “win a fight”.

This remark is quite unusual considering that Mitrione is undefeated in his MMA career.

Scoffing at the idea that Ortiz’s new rival can cut down to 205, it would be a very interesting to see if this grudge match ever occurs in the Octagon.

Ortiz ended the piece calling for Mitrione to “respect the guys that paved the way,” something Ortiz should know quite a bit about through his years of trash talking..

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UFC 130: Is Miguel Torres One of the Most Underappreciated Fighters Ever?

One of the most skilled fighters to come out of the UFC and WEC merger, Miguel Torres was on a roll in his early days with the WEC.Defending his bantamweight championship belt three times, Torres was one of the most highly touted fighters in the lower …

One of the most skilled fighters to come out of the UFC and WEC merger, Miguel Torres was on a roll in his early days with the WEC.

Defending his bantamweight championship belt three times, Torres was one of the most highly touted fighters in the lower weight class divisions.

Enter Brian Bowles.

Looking to defend his title for a fourth time, Torres failed, knocked out by Bowles in the first round.

The jiu-jitsu ace didn’t rebound well either, tapping out to Joseph Benavidez last March.

The once highly praised Torres now seemed to be pushed to the back of everyone’s minds.  How could opinion of his skill change that quickly?

Unfortunately forgotten by the fickle fans, Torres quietly bounced back, slowly accumulating two consecutive wins coming into tonight’s fight with Demetrious Johnson.

Lost in all the talk of Urijah Faber versus Dominick Cruz, the former WEC champion is looking to fly back onto everyone’s radar and enter title contention.

Let’s not forget, Torres was one of the most dominant champions while in the WEC, defeating the likes of Japanese superstar Takeya Mizugaki and Pride veteran Yoshiro Maeda.

A win over “Mighty Mouse” will definitely bring Torres more attention as he looks to plow through the UFC’s newly added bantamweight division.

If the former champion can keep up his winning ways, look for him to fight for the belt real soon.

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