Remember six months ago when UFC President Dana White boldly proclaimed he wasn’t scared of the internet, and then UFC.com was promptly — and very publicly — vandalized by an internet hacker group, one of whom hilariously ended up being a 13-year-old Australian boy?
And remember how the main hacker, JoshTheGod, later released White’s personal information to the public — address, social security number, criminal record, the works — except it wasn’t really White’s information at all, but that of an unfortunate Las Vegas woman, Julie Breeler?
Well, JoshTheGod just got taken down by the feds.
It turns out Mir Islam, as he goes by in the real world, was involved in a credit card fraud scheme that fell victim to a two-year FBI sting dubbed Operation Card Shop. According to the New York Times, Islam “sold stolen credit card information and had data on 50,000 credit card accounts,” and was among 24 individuals arrested yesterday by the federal sting, which spanned thirteen different countries. The hacker reportedly met the end of the line after “buying cards from an undercover agent and trying to use one at an A.T.M. on Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.”
The lesson here, ladies and gentlemen? As always, never trust someone whose calling card is a bright-eyed portrait of Adolf Hitler.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
UFC.com hacker caught by FBI. An online hacker involved in the January attacks on the UFC was among several individuals arrested by federal agents in eight different countries as part of the FBI’s international cyber crime takedown.
Silva, Jones nominated for ESPY. UFC champions Anderson Silva and Jon Jones, along with boxers Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Andre Ward, were nominated for the 2012 ESPY’s ‘Best Fighter’ category.
Marquardt frustrated by TRT questions. In advance of his title fight against Tyron Woodley, Strikeforce welterweight Nate Marquardt voiced his frustration at the media by stating he was sick of answering questions about his past TRT use.
Evans would drop to 185 for Silva. Former light heavyweight titleholder Rashad Evans said he would reconsider his commitment to 205 pounds if the UFC offered him a fight against reigning 185-pound champion Anderson Silva.
Soares stunned by Silva trash talk. Anderson Silva’s manager, Ed Soares, was just as surprised as the rest of us by Anderson Silva’s verbal tirade on Monday’s UFC 148 conference call.
MEDIA STEW
After eight years stuck at brown belt, Joe Rogan can finally call himself a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.
Well, this clip quickly jumped from “okay, that’s kind of cool,” to “this is easily the best thing I’ve ever seen.” (HT: Reddit)
Señor Sonnen was cageside at UFC 139 to give play-by-play (and a little comic relief) for one of the most legendary fights in MMA history.
Before Anderson Silva ever felt the burn from Chael Sonnen, “The Spider” fought Sonnen’s primary training partner, the legendary Dan Henderson, back at UFC 82.
The UFC is pulling out all the stops for its UFC 148 marketing blitz, including an Avengers-style comic book featuring our two illustrious heroes.
WORLD CLASS GRAPPLING HE HAS, JOE
Here’s the pic of @joerogan getting his black belt 🙂 lockerz.com/s/220347174
— Eddie Bravo (@eddiebravo) June 27, 2012
NEXT MISSION: SURPASS FOOTBALL
“Today, MMA is second only to football in world appeal”, Newsweek Magazine
— victor cui (@victoronefc) June 27, 2012
WELL THAT MAKES IT ALRIGHT
This is about an hour after I double legged Jason Varitek’s wife instagr.am/p/MZ2-3Uqb7U/
— Joe Lauzon (@JoeLauzon) June 28, 2012
To be fair, she tried to knee me in the face
— Joe Lauzon (@JoeLauzon) June 28, 2012
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Wednesday, June 27, 2012):
UFC on FOX 4: Jamie Varner (20-6-1, 2 NC) vs. Joe Lauzon (21-7)
Super Fight League: Jeff Monson (46-13-1) vs. Todd Duffee (7-2) on September 8
Super Fight League: Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (12-10) vs. Trevor Prangley (25-9-1) on October 6
Super Fight League: Satoshi Ishii (4-2-1) vs. Jimmy Ambriz (16-18-1) on October 6
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day is a scoop from James Goyder, who writes: Roger Huerta ‘disappointed’ over soccer-kick knockout loss but feels ‘well looked after’ with ONE FC
The big news of the weekend, not just in Asia but all over the world, was Roger Huerta’s brutal knockout loss at the hands (and feet) of Zorobabel Moreira at ONE FC 4: “Destiny of Warriors.”
In his first comments since that disappointing (and controversial) defeat, he had nothing but kind words to say about ONE Fighting Championship after making his debut for the Asian promotion.
“It was disappointing to lose like that but overall the experience of fighting for ONE FC was very positive and I feel very well looked after. I was very impressed by the first show, the Malaysian fans were awesome.”
The loss has reportedly cost Huerta a fight with DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki but ONE FC is set to put on 18 shows in 2013 and currently has cards booked for Manila on August 31st and Singapore on October 2nd. Prospective opponents at lightweight include Eduard Folayang, Ole Laursen, Arnaud Lepont and Eddie Ng.
One possibility is that Huerta will stay at welterweight for a fight with Phil Baroni. This match up was originally set to take place at ONE FC: ‘Destiny of Warriors’ but was cancelled after Baroni suffered a surprise TKO loss to Chris Holland a couple of weeks before the fight. However there is a possibility it could be resurrected in time for ONE FC: ‘Pride of a Nation’ in the Philippines.
Found something perfect for the Morning Report? Just hit me on Twitter @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s post.