Mirko Filipovic | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

The UFC Planned to Have PRIDE Crossover Fights Back in 2006

("Actually, I think I’ll pass on the UFC. I was offered a movie role that could make me the next Jean Claude Van Damme.")
If you haven’t heard about the PRIDE: Secret Files book published by the Japanese MMA and wrestling magazine, Kami…

("Actually, I think I’ll pass on the UFC. I was offered a movie role that could make me the next Jean Claude Van Damme.")

If you haven’t heard about the PRIDE: Secret Files book published by the Japanese MMA and wrestling magazine, Kamipro, you really need to look that shit up, son.

In a nutshell, the book reveals "30 sealed plans" that never came to fruition for the FEG-era owned organization, which, had they happened could have changed MMA as we know it.

Think of it like "The Butterfly Effect" except instead of Ashton Kutcher, the lead in the movie is Nobuyuki Sakakibara

The book was released in December in Japanese and has since been translated into English by an independent source who is hawking his version online for a nominal donation.

Some of the subjects of the tome include:

• The true ambitions of Lorenzo Fertitta when he bought PRIDE

• DREAM was born from the PRIDE LW GP that was supposed to happen in 2008

• PRIDE 1 was supposed to feature Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Renzo Gracie

• The other side of why Royce Gracie vs Mark Kerr never happened

• A planned PRIDE reality show that fell through

• Evander Holyfield was in talks to fight for the promotion

• "PRIDE Bushido" was originally named “PRIDE Survival”

• PRIDE’s Lightweight division was born from a life or death crisis of PRIDE Bushido

• Mike Tyson was in talks to face Cro Cop, Fedor, and Big Nog

• GSP and Kimbo were close to being signed by PRIDE

• A PRIDE revival that was secretly being planned

Mirko Cro Cop Explains Bizarre Mid-Fight Conversation With Frank Mir at UFC 119

("I took many lessons from this fight. For example, not all Americans are as affectionate as Pat Barry.")
If you were one of the poor bastards who suffered through UFC 119’s woeful main event, you may have noticed Mirko "Cro Cop" …

("I took many lessons from this fight. For example, not all Americans are as affectionate as Pat Barry.")

If you were one of the poor bastards who suffered through UFC 119‘s woeful main event, you may have noticed Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Frank Mir having a little chat in the third round. Mid-fight trash talk, perhaps? A friendly "is that all you got, bitch?" maybe, or the ever-reliable "you ain’t shit"? Not exactly. As Cro Cop explained to Index.hr (translated by Fighters Only), he was asking if Mir would be kind enough to let go of their clinch so they could stand and bang. The exchange basically went like this:

Cro Cop: Let me go, let’s go to the center and fight.
Mir: Let’s go to the mat.
Cro Cop: OK — if I’m on top.
Mir: We’ll stay in the clinch.

Eventually the ref broke them up and Cro Cop got his wish, even though he was knocked out by a knee to the jaw shortly after. Filipovic now joins the super-exclusive club of whacked-out MMA fighters who try to negotiate better positions during a fight, only to be refused by their opponents and then lose in humiliating fashion. At this point, the only other member of that club is Paulo Filho.

After returning to Croatia, Filipovic did another interview in which he flagrantly violated a recent CagePotato Ban — bad Mirko! — and assured everyone that he’ll be returning to the UFC. Twice, in fact…

Gambling Addiction Enabler: UFC 119 Edition

After an unsuccessful stint in rehab, the Gambling Addiction Enabler has returned to do what it does best — make large, ill-advised wagers simply for the thrill of gambling. We’re not saying you should follow our betting advice, necessarily, but there are plenty of opportunities to beat the bookies at UFC 119, which goes down this Satuday in Indianapolis. The betting lines are below, courtesy of bestfightodds.com. If you can’t afford to waste real money, please hit up MMA FightPicker and throw down some virtual PotatoChips on the fights. And if you don’t know what these numbers mean, please read this first.

MAIN CARD
Frank Mir (-220) vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (+215)
Ryan Bader (-165) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (+155)
Chris Lytle (-125) vs. Matt Serra (+120)
Evan Dunham (-204) vs. Sean Sherk (+190)
Melvin Guillard (-150) vs. Jeremy Stephens (+140)

SPIKE TV PRELIMS
CB Dollaway (-295) vs. Joe Doerksen (+270)
Matt Mitrione (-140) vs. Joey Beltran (+136)

UNAIRED PRELIMS
Thiago Tavares (-290) vs. Pat Audinwood (+240)
Steve Lopez (-115) vs. Waylon Lowe (-115)
T.J. Grant (-150) vs. Julio Paulino (+145)
Mark Hunt (-215) vs. Sean McCorkle (+200)

And away we go…

Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club: Is It the Shoes?

(Cain Velasquez’s new Lugz commercial. Yeah, he smashed that. Props: YouTube.com/MMAFightClub)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link …

(Cain Velasquez‘s new Lugz commercial. Yeah, he smashed that. Props: YouTube.com/MMAFightClub)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– Punch Drunk Preview: WEC 50 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Cro Cop Says He’s Not Ready for UFC 119 but Still Guarantees a First Round Knockout (MiddleEasy)

– Backstage: Ariel Helwani vs. Ed Soares (MMA Fighting)

– Total Fighter Payroll for Strikeforce Challengers Phoenix: $53,250 (MMA Convert)

– 10 Taekwondo Knockouts That Will Blow Your Mind (MMA Scraps)

– Shane Carwin still silent on steroid connection; media as well (Watch Kalib Run)

– Pettis: ‘Roller Doesn’t Want Any Part of My Stand-up’ at WEC 50 (Versus MMA Beat)

– Chael Sonnen Syndrome: Urijah Faber trash-talking his way to the WEC Bantamweight Title shot? (LowKick)

– Rafael Cavalcante: “I have been working hard for not just this fight, but for my dream, every day for six years.” (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Strikeforce Houston: Noons & Gurgel on Standing and Banging for a Title Shot (FIGHT! Magazine)

Big Nog Out of UFC 119 With Injury, Cro Cop to Fill in Against Frank Mir

(Look, we’re just as shocked as you are. Photo via LowKick.com)
According to Fighters Only, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be unable to face Frank Mir in their headlining rematch at UFC 119 (September 25th, Indianapolis), due to an injury that will re…

(Look, we’re just as shocked as you are. Photo via LowKick.com)

According to Fighters Only, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be unable to face Frank Mir in their headlining rematch at UFC 119 (September 25th, Indianapolis), due to an injury that will require surgery. Which sucks for him, but on the bright side, you didn’t really care about that fight anyway. Stepping in for Big Nog will be Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, who has been surging back to relevance with back-to-back stoppage victories over Anthony Perosh and Pat Barry. It’s a huge opportunity for Cro Cop, who would finally become a legitimate heavyweight contender in the UFC with a win over the former champion. Mir hasn’t competed since his TKO loss to Shane Carwin at UFC 111, which followed his quick spanking of Cheick Kongo last December.

Though Nogueira had to undergo knee surgery in 2009, his latest injury is possibly hip-related. Big Nog has also battled staph infections in recent years, which delayed his meeting with Cain Velasquez, and supposedly affected his first performance against Frank Mir at UFC 92. After suffering the only two stoppage losses of his career in his last three fights, it seems that Nogueira has finally learned his lesson about fighting hurt. But after so many tough battles, injuries, and illnesses, will his body ever fully recover?

Vancouver Athletic Commission Release UFC 115 Salaries, Medical Suspensions and Event Revenue Figures

(No wonder Chuck doesn’t want to retire. I’d fight Fedor, Velasquez, Lesnar and Dos Santos in a four-man tag-team match for $500,000)
The Vancouver Athletic Commission released the fighters’ salaries, medical suspensions and revenue figures from UFC 11…

(No wonder Chuck doesn’t want to retire. I’d fight Fedor, Velasquez, Lesnar and Dos Santos in a four-man tag-team match for $500,000)

The Vancouver Athletic Commission released the fighters’ salaries, medical suspensions and revenue figures from UFC 115. According to the report, Chuck Liddell was the highest paid fighter on the card that took in a $4.2 million live gate with a "show" pay of $500,000 USD. Not a bad gold watch for his UFC retirement fight.

Fighters salaries totalled $1.85 million, which accounted for 31% of the live gate of the event. 17,669 attended the second Canadian show put on by the UFC in 2010; 1,296 of whom were comped tickets by the promotion and 1,752 watched the action from private suites. According to the release, only 138 tickets went unsold for the show.

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic was the second highest paid fighter with $150,000 which included a $75,000 win bonus for his rear naked choke submission over Pat Barry. Cro Cop also took home an additional $85,000 for submission of the night, but bonus awards and undisclosed back room bonuses paid out by the UFC are not included in the commission’s salary summary.

12 fighters, including Rich Franklin, Chuck Liddell, Pat Barry, Mirko Filipovic and Rory MacDonald were handed 180 day suspensions while the remainder of the fighters were given from 45-14 days off from training and fighting for lesser injuries or precautionary reasons.

The full list is after the jump: