In retrospect, I guess we shouldn’t be that surprised that Nick Diaz outkicked his coverage and tested positive for weed during a UFC 143 drug screening. After all, this is the guy that hit a bong in the middle of a Strikeforce conference call.
But still, Hendo might fight at heavyweight if we can find him a good match-up. So it’s not all bad.
5 MUST-READ STORIES TO START YOUR DAY
Nick Diaz tests positive for marijuana. Nick Diaz is facing a lengthy suspension after testing positive for marijuana metabolites for the second time.
Diaz’s positive drug test not surprising, but still bizarrely disappointing. Like a father that discovered his son’s weed hidden under the dresser drawer, Ben Fowlkes isn’t angry at Diaz’s failed test, just disappointed.
Dana White ‘beyond disappointed’ in Nick Diaz. White was unexpectedly measured in his short public statement.
Dan Henderson won’t wait for title shot. Now that Jon Jones is tied-up with Rashad Evans, Hendo wants to fight in April or May. More surprisingly, a move up to heavyweight apparently isn’t out of the question.
UFC 143 trending near 400,000 pay-per-view buys. Early estimates have the buyrate for last weekend’s UFC 143 show far exceeding expectations.
MEDIA STEW
TUF 14 prankster Akira Corassani pulls one over on Frankie Edgar.
A man named Michael Page acts like Anderson Silva for 63 seconds then smashes some other unfortunate man with a tornado kick for his professional MMA debut. (Thanks to Sam James.)
Even Fedor can’t help but crack a smile at the water park. (HT: MiddleEasy)
Our own Luke Thomas discusses whether Nick Diaz’s stubbornness could prevent him from ever claiming UFC gold.
UFC heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum takes on former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at the 2004 Jiu-Jitsu World Cup.
A 20-year-old Diego Sanchez runs through Shannon Rich.
Michael Bisping as Cung Le’s next opponent?
“@ryemel0013: @CungLe185 would u like to fight @bisping next? I think that would be a great fight for u and him!” Be a great match up.
— Cung Le (@CungLe185) February 9, 2012
That’s actually not a bad point.
I dont understand why do banks attach chains to their pens? If Im trusting u w/ my money, u should trust me with ur pens.
— Joe Duarte (@JoeDuarteMMA) February 9, 2012
Rampage is almost ready for UFC 144.
O yes, I can wear my tight shirts again…… Hahahaha
— Quinton Jackson (@Rampage4real) February 9, 2012
Would’ve been awesome if it worked.
In high school forrest once faked a seizure to get out of an exam. It didn’t really work He just failed a week later
— Forrest Griffin (@ForrestGriffin) February 10, 2012
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012):
- Bellator 60: Shamar Bailey (13-5) vs. Josh Shockley (8-1); Travis Wiuff (65 – 14) vs. Anthony Gomez (5-1); Mike Corey (11-2-1) vs. Bobby Reardanz (8-10), according to Sherdog.
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s FPOTD belongs to BE reader jim-ma: Tate vs. Rousey and Kaufman vs. Davis: Come on Strikeforce, Play Fair.
Come on Strikeforce, play fair. As Ronda Rousey spent her time pushing for this fight, she spent most of it openly drawing on the looks of her and her opponent as the selling point. She was worried the fight may never happen and, since a fight between two pretty girls is very marketable, she wanted it to happen as soon as possible. For the future of women’s MMA, this seems pretty damning.
As a female fighter, it seems very short sighted to reduce your division to a beautiful sideshow. I understand why Ronda feels the need to make the most out of her career while she can, it just does not reflect well on her female colleagues. There is a great division of fighters there. Tate and Rousey are great athletes, each with their own story and representing wrestling and Judo respectively. That is already marketable.
Found something entertaining, brutal, or bizarre for the Morning Report? Send it to @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in Monday’s post.