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Fedor Emelianenko: ‘I’m Not a UFC Fan’

Filed under: Fighting, UFC, Strikeforce, M-1 GlobalPre-fight conference calls are generally quite routine affairs. They serve a purpose: getting quotes to reporters to pass on to the fans, but often it’s a lot of words with little meaning. The fighter …

Filed under: Fighting, UFC, Strikeforce, M-1 Global

Pre-fight conference calls are generally quite routine affairs. They serve a purpose: getting quotes to reporters to pass on to the fans, but often it’s a lot of words with little meaning. The fighter always has had “the best camp of my life,” is in the “the best shape of his life,” and has plans to win.

A few colorful characters sometimes stray from the script, but every once in a while you get something unexpected. Heavyweight MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko dropped one of those moments during Friday’s Strikeforce call leading up to his fight with Fabricio Werdum on June 26. Asked by MMA Fighting why their fight was more relevant than the upcoming UFC heavyweight championship bout a week later, the usually soft-spoken Emelianenko explained that the two fights featured four world-class talents. Then, he let out a rare, pointed comment.

“I’m not a UFC fan,” he said through his interpreter, Steve Bash.

Guest Column: To Cancel or Not to Cancel, TUF Is the Question.

(Ah, the good ol’ days…)
As the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter officially comes to a close this Saturday, we’re left with the same complaints we have nearly every season: The format is stale. The fighters aren’t UFC-level. Hey, weren’t the coa…

(Ah, the good ol’ days…)

As the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter officially comes to a close this Saturday, we’re left with the same complaints we have nearly every season: The format is stale. The fighters aren’t UFC-level. Hey, weren’t the coaches supposed to fight each over? And while any asshole with an opinion can say that something needs to change, notable CagePotato commenter Chris "Viva Hate" Morse actually sent us some concrete ideas on how to fix the show. Read his thoughts below and let us know what you think. So crazy they just might work? Or so crazy that Viva Hate should go back to trolling the comments section?

*****

With yet another dismal season of TUF winding down and fans once against asking if the show has run its course, it is obviously time for some improvements. The past two seasons have featured numerous fights that turned out to be large men hugging and slobbering all over each other due to a lack of cardio. The show that partially helped launch MMA into the mainstream is now weaker and weaker by the episode. Here is a list of ways that could help revitalize and reenergize this dying beast.

Season 4 of TUF was the "Comeback" season featuring UFC castoffs trying to get one more chance at glory. Why not take this one step further with TUF 13: The OGs? Bring back early fighters to train with current fighters for the contract. This would be great for two reasons. One, it would show just how far the sport has progressed from the early days. Two, who doesn’t enjoy a little nostalgia? At least we know Tom Lawlor would be glued to the TV. There is a list of guys who would most likely take the shot based on attempts in recent years to get back into MMA. A few names that come to mind are Dan “The Beast” Severn and Oleg “The Russian Bear” Taktarov. Even giving Royce Gracie the invite which would bring in guaranteed ratings. Sadly, Joe Son and Harold Howard will not be available.

Poor Ticket Sales Force ‘UFC on Versus 2’ Out of Salt Lake City

"Some people are sending [us] emails going, ‘You guys are crazy going [to Salt Lake City] on a Sunday; it’s a holy day’…We’re going there on a Sunday. We’re going to Salt Lake City, Utah, and we’re going to put on an event…Talk to God and le…

Well, God has spoken, and he says "no dice." Due to sluggish ticket sales, the UFC on Versus 2 event scheduled for August 1st at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City has been canceled, and will instead be held at the San Diego Sports Arena. Said Dana: "Our television ratings in Salt Lake City have always been strong. When we finally found the opportunity to bring a UFC event there with a great card, I was very surprised and disappointed in ticket sales."

Fans who purchased tickets to the Salt Lake City event will receive a full refund, and tickets to the show at the San Diego venue go on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m. According to DW, it’s the first time in the company’s history that a venue has been changed after tickets already went on sale; UFC 12 comes to mind as an exception, but still, this is basically unprecedented. So what does it mean?

Exclusive: Karo Parisyan Talks About Overcoming His Demons, His Meeting With Scott Coker and Asks For Another Chance

Our own senior editor, Mike Russell was on hand at last weekend’s MMA Expo in Toronto, where he caught up with a number of MMA fighters, including former UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan.
As always, “The Heat” had a lot to say about…

Our own senior editor, Mike Russell was on hand at last weekend’s MMA Expo in Toronto, where he caught up with a number of MMA fighters, including former UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan.

As always, “The Heat” had a lot to say about a variety of subjects including how he’s turned the corner from his highly publicized depression and anxiety issues that he revealed to us included thoughts of suicide, his upcoming fight in Australia, what really happened during his meeting with Strikeforce president Scott Coker, his hope that fans will forgive his past mistakes and aspiration to one day compete again in the Octagon.

Parisyan admits he screwed up and that digging himself out of the hole he dug for himself will be an arduous task, but points out that he is prepared to do whatever it takes to earn back the respect of the MMA community and to one day make it back to the UFC.

“Rampage” Jackson Says He Wants Rematch With Forrest Griffin Next

Since “Rampage” Jackson lost by UD to arch nemesis Rashad Evans at UFC 114 last month, there’s been a lot of speculation as what’s next for B.A. Baracus 2.0 (yes we’re aware that the Mr.T version graced the TV screen well before the internet ravaged the world). During Jackson’s ‘he said what now?’ tiff with […]

Since “Rampage” Jackson lost by UD to arch nemesis Rashad Evans at UFC 114 last month, there’s been a lot of speculation as what’s next for B.A. Baracus 2.0 (yes we’re aware that the Mr.T version graced the TV screen well before the internet ravaged the world). During Jackson’s ‘he said what now?’ tiff with Dana White, the former light-heavyweight champ maintained that he had always wanted a crack at Lyoto Machida, rather than coach TUF (and then fight Evans). This, coupled with the fact that White was recently quoted saying that Machida may fight Jackson next, led many of us to conclude that indeed, “Rampage” and “The Dragon” would soon throw down.

Well, you might want to hold on just a second there folks, as in a recent interview with the U.K.’s MMA Bay, Jackson had this to say when asked about who he wants to fight next:

“I want to rematch Forrest; you know what I’m saying? Forrest is a good fight; he has good strategy. It’s a fighter’s fight, stand-up and stuff like that. So I want to get a fight with Forrest. I heard that he would be available and everything, so I would like to go fight Forrest.”

“The main reason I want Forrest is not just because he beat me, but how he acted, like he really thought he won.”

If you recall, Griffin worked his way to a UD win over Jackson at UFC 86, in what was a pretty damn close fight. Jackson clearly didn’t agree with the decision, or apparently, how Griffin “acted” afterwards. To hear more from Rampage on the subject, check out the full interview here.

Dana White Says James Toney vs. Randy Couture Set

Last week, before a one armed Rich Franklin (for all intensive and dramatic purposes) crushed the hopes of “Iceman” fans everywhere, we passed along word that said James Toney was taking his sweet ass time to sign the bout agreement for his UFC 118 (which prompted several Fix staffers to go into hysterics). Of course, […]

Last week, before a one armed Rich Franklin (for all intensive and dramatic purposes) crushed the hopes of “Iceman” fans everywhere, we passed along word that said James Toney was taking his sweet ass time to sign the bout agreement for his UFC 118 (which prompted several Fix staffers to go into hysterics). Of course, if you’ve even turned on your computer over the last few weeks, you’re more than aware that the charismatic boxer / soon to be MMA fighter, is supposed to fight Randy Couture at the August 28^th event in Boston.

Well according to Dana White this past weekend, all this speculation about Toney possibly waffling is grade A bs, as the UFC boss man not only confirmed the fight to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, MMA Junkie is also reporting that the fight is set. If you’re a huge or old school MMA fan, who’s grown desperately tired of debating with boxing purists that MMA fighter’s aren’t legit, let the Mr. Burns saying ‘excellent’ impersonations fly.

So, there you have it, and with the rematch between BJ Penn and newly minted lightweight champ Frankie Edgar scheduled as the headliner, Boston’s made out pretty good on this thing huh?