Bellator Fighting championships CEO Bjorn Rebney is facing the loss of two of the promotions biggest names in former lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez and current middleweight title holder Hector Lombard. Alvarez is on the remaining few fights of his contract while Lombard’s contract finished late last year. Speaking as a guest on MMAWeekly.com Radio, Rebney […]
Bellator Fighting championships CEO Bjorn Rebney is facing the loss of two of the promotions biggest names in former lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez and current middleweight title holder Hector Lombard.
Alvarez is on the remaining few fights of his contract while Lombard’s contract finished late last year.
Speaking as a guest on MMAWeekly.com Radio, Rebney talked about some of the contract negotiations with both fighters. Here is what he had to say about Alvarez, who is set to face Shiny Aoki in just a few short weeks in the main event of Bellator 66.
“We’ve got two fights left, we’ve got the (Shinya) Aoki fight then we’ve got one more after that. he guy has been just unbelievably good and positive for this organization. He’s been good and positive for Bellator, he’s also been good and positive for the entirety of MMA. Much like our situation with Hector Lombard, right now Hector’s a little bit further along cause I signed him earlier than I signed Ed, but you remember Hector and Ed were signed in 08?.
“It’s coming up on four years and that’s the length of the deal when you win world titles and the extensions are done. We don’t have any champion’s clauses in our contracts, which locks guys in for life, so those contracts are going to come to an end. You’re going to have a brief exclusive negotiation period, and when that ends you’re going to have the right to match an offer that anybody else would make, and we’ve got the right to match.”
“We’ll see what happens in the Aoki fight, and we’ll see what happens in Ed’s last fight under the banner and then we’ll address the Ed situation, much like we’ve addressed the Hector situation.”
With the recent failed drug test result of UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem, a void has been left as to who will challenge UFC champion Junior dos Santos next month at UFC 146. The general consensus is that former champ Frank Mir will get the next title shot but it hasn’t stopped fans from starting their […]
Mark Hunt – UFC 144 – Photo by Al Bello/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Image
With the recent failed drug test result of UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem, a void has been left as to who will challenge UFC champion Junior dos Santos next month at UFC 146.
The general consensus is that former champ Frank Mir will get the next title shot but it hasn’t stopped fans from starting their own campaigns for their favorite fighter.
One of those campaigns which is flourishing on Twitter is the #RallyForMarkHunt in reference to former PRIDE and K-1 knockout artist, the ‘Super Samoan’ Mark Hunt (8-7).
Hunt has won three straight and is 3-1 in the UFC, having finished Cheick Kongo in spectacular fashion in Japan last February at UFC 144.
Speaking to MMAjunkie.com, Hunt was flattered by the fans campaign but he’s pretty sure it won’t be him stepping into the Octagon on May 26 versus Junior dos Santos.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll get that call. But there’s a good rally. I’ve got about 300 followers now on Twitter, which is pretty cool.”
Hunt, though, thinks he can deliver an exciting fight with Dos Santos and pull off the upset.
“He’s a striker, I’m a striker, so it’s pretty small gloves,” Hunt said. “In MMA, he could lose.”
On the other hand, Hunt thinks the search is already over.
“I think it’s Mir that’s fighting,” he said. “Have they announced it yet?”
“I’m trying to get out there and be more of myself, for me, especially for this time of my career,” Hunt said. “It’s at the twilight, the end of it, so getting a title shot … for next year, that would be great.”
Following today’s announcement by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem had failed a pre-fight drug test, Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White talked about the situation during a scheduled media call on Wednesday, explaining that he literally learned of the results thirty-minutes earlier. Overeem was tested last week (March 27, […]
(Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images North America)
Following today’s announcement by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem had failed a pre-fight drug test, Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White talked about the situation during a scheduled media call on Wednesday, explaining that he literally learned of the results thirty-minutes earlier.
Overeem was tested last week (March 27, 2012) after a pre-fight press conference for UFC 146, along with five of the other heavyweights competing at the upcoming May event. According to the NSAC, Overeem showed a 10-to-1 level of testosterone-to-epitestosterone level, exceeding the 6-to-1 ratio the commission allows. The Dutch fighter was the only one to fail the drug test.
Speaking to the media, as first reported by theStarPhoenix.com, White expressed his anger over the situation.
“I am beyond pissed about this. I’m so (expletive) mad right now I can’t even begin … The worst part is that he sat in front of us and lied to us… How (expletive) stupid do you have to be? Seriously dumb. Anybody who’s using (performance-enhancing drugs) right now is an absolute (expletive) moron… It’s beyond — what’s the word I’m looking for — it’s beyond belief. It’s beyond comprehension. You’re an absolute moron, a brain-dead absolute (expletive) dummy. It goes beyond a guy have any common sense whatsoever.”
Overeem can still request to have his “B” sample tested to prove his innocence, but for right now his title bout with champion Junior dos Santos is up in the air.
When asked about his contingency plan for the title match White responded “I don’t have a plan ‘B’.”
With one event under their belt, the Indian based Super Fight League promotion is ready to host it’s second show this weekend in Chandigarh, India. Mixed martial arts has yet to make it big in the country of 1.2 billion people but it’s a destination that UFC president Dana White plans on bringing the sport […]
With one event under their belt, the Indian based Super Fight League promotion is ready to host it’s second show this weekend in Chandigarh, India.
Mixed martial arts has yet to make it big in the country of 1.2 billion people but it’s a destination that UFC president Dana White plans on bringing the sport as well as his companies “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series.
So it should come as no surprise that when SFL CEO Ken Pavia looks at the country he sees a wealth of “untapped potential” when it comes to fans and upcoming fighters.
Pavia was a guest on “The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo” on Tuesday to talk about the upcoming SFL 2 event this weekend and the “potential” market that India presents for the sport of MMA.
“The first event sold out, no seats were available the day of the event,” Pavia told Mauro Ranallo on The MMA Show. “We were on the front page of the Mumbai Times — the No. 1 circulated English newspaper in India — two times the week of the first event. The second event this weekend is sold out. We have seven events the rest of the year, a reality show, and 12 next year. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. The WWE is big out here but it’s starting to wane now that (the Indian fans) have realized it’s fake, so we’re looking to capitalize on it.”
The early success of the SFL is a positive sign for a sport that Pavia says has no real competition in the country.
“Virtually nothing,” Pavia said of what kind of MMA competition his promotion faces in India. “Bellator’s on a very small cable station. This is complete virgin terirtoy. They were confused by the first event and thought it was professional wrestling. It was incumbent upon us to educate them. It’s like 1993 and UFC 1 all over again. But the celebrities we have have brought us attention and our television deal reaches 500 million homes. We’re five times bigger than NBC in the U.S., which reaches 95 million homes. We hope that we’ll get people to watch it for the first time.
“We have 1.2 billion fans here and they pay big money for sporting events. The only thing that’s bigger is cricket and English Premier League soccer. Bollywood sells out all their shows, and we’re looking to take that audience. We have so much untapped potential in our thumbs.”
Not only that, but the goal is to also cultivate the talent that India possesses which, Pavia admits, is raw at this point in time.
“The Indian fighters have always been cannon fodder for fighters in the region and haven’t had a chance to adavnce to bigger shows so the progress has been retarded a little bit,” he said. “I think we have phenomenal athletes in India but they haven’t been exposed to the right trainers or opportunities, so we built an Olympic-style training centre and we have Benji Radach and Dennis Hallman as the coaches for the next few months.We have excellent athletes that are a little bit green, but they have potential.”
Also featured on Tuesday’s Podcast was Bellator fighters Eric Prindle and Travis Marx, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, and New York subway hero Joe Lozito.
Former UFC heavyweight, and current super-heavyweight fighter, Sean ‘Big Sexy’ McCorkle (16-3) saw a six fight win streak stopped this past Saturday night (March 31, 2012) in the main event of the Worldwide Mixed Marts Arts (WMMA) 1 event in El Paso, Texas. McCorkle had been on a tare since his release from the UFC […]
Former UFC heavyweight, and current super-heavyweight fighter, Sean ‘Big Sexy’ McCorkle (16-3) saw a six fight win streak stopped this past Saturday night (March 31, 2012) in the main event of the Worldwide Mixed Marts Arts (WMMA) 1 event in El Paso, Texas.
McCorkle had been on a tare since his release from the UFC after losing two straight, making his last appearance just over a year ago at UFN 24 losing to Christian Morecraft via technical submission.
Saturday night saw McCorkle take on Brian Heden in a super-heavyweight bout, with ‘Big Sexy’ taking the fight to his smaller opponent in the first. A visibly tired McCorkle looked too finish in the second round but was instead finished himself after slipping of his opponents back, then having his arm pinned by Heden to the mat and then subsequently finished with hammer fists for a TKO loss.
McCorkle took to the Underground Forum board to express his embarrassment for his performance, swearing he would retire from the sport if he fought so badly again.
I was going to respond earlier than this, but I first wanted to get the chance to watch my fight from last night in order to verify that I looked as bad as I thought I did. So I just got the chance to watch it, and I didn’t look nearly as bad as I thought. I looked worse. Way, way, worse.
I don’t know what the hell that shit was supposed to be, nor do I have any explanation, excuses, theories or anything else. I can promise all you guys, my fans and haters alike, that the next time you see me embarrass myself in an MMA cage, will be the last time. I embarrassed myself in the Struve fight so badly that I thought I could never top it. Last night was worse times ten.
I have absolutely no explanation for my cardio problems. I don’t know if it’s a physical problem, psychological problem, a diet or a training problem. I do know that I have struggled with cardiovascular endurance my entire athletic career. Even during high school basketball. I can’t figure it out. I was coming off back to back training camps when I fought Stefan Struve that had lasted a literal 23 weeks. That’s almost 6 months straight 6 days a week of intense cardiovascular training. And I gassed in 90 seconds.
All of that said, I will admit 100% like an idiot, despite Tom Erikson’s constant pleading to me to never take any fight for granted, I underestimated Brian Heden. I watched 2 of his fights, looked at who he’d fought and beat/lost to and thought “If I couldn’t beat this guy while I was drunk, I need to quit fighting.” And I couldn’t beat him sober. I came in about 20 lbs heavier than I should have. I resorted to throwing hay makers 2 minutes in, because I was worried about how it would look if I didn’t finish him in the first round. I was completely spent halfway through the first.
I’m not going to be like everyone else and make excuses. I have none. All due respect to Brian because he showed up in decent shape, and showed a lot of balls hanging in there when the going got rough in the first round, but he’s not on my level, skill wise, athletically, or any other area of MMA except cardio. It doesn’t matter how nice or fast your car is, if there’s no gas in the tank.
The next time I gas in a fight and lose because of it, I will retire. End of story. I will not continue to embarrass myself, my family, my coaches, my training partners, or the promotion that is paying me to fight ever again. Losing sucks. Losing because you didn’t prepare correctly for a fight sucks even more.
I catch a lot of heat from a lot of people on here and twitter who buy into my whole persona. I know that the reason I have so many haters is mostly my fault. I’m OK with that. I once read a book by Eric Bischoff titled “Controversy Creates Cash”, and have used a lot of Bischoff’s ideas and philosophies to market myself. It has helped me become mildly famous, and gets me paid way better than I should be, so I have no regrets about that. The one thing that does bother me though is that so many fans genuinely seem to hate who they think I am, when that really is not me at all. I’m the nicest guy in the world in real life. Almost too nice. People that really know me can’t believe that I fight. They also say they can’t believe their eyes or ears when they watch me in interviews. It’s like a completely different person. I guess I really wish people understood that it’s all supposed to be funny, even when it’s not. That I have absolutely no malicious intent behind anything I say. I’m just trying to make you guys laugh.
I don’t really know where I go from here. My plan was to fight once a month, every month in 2012 until I racked up so many wins that the UFC couldn’t deny me another shot. But that loss last night, pretty much erases my 6 straight wins before that, and now I’m kind of back to square one. Wherever and whenever I decide to fight next, I can promise you that I will be a completely different fighter than what you guys saw last night. If not, you’ll never see me again.
I want to thank all my supporters and fans, and even thank the haters I have that are genuinely funny, because I laugh at jokes about me all the time. Funny is funny.
Former UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee (6-2) will look for his first win since 2009 when he faces former Bellator Season Three Heavyweight Tournament finalist Neil Grove (11-5-1) in the main event of the Super Fight League 2 show this coming weekend in India. Duffee is 0-2 in his last two matches, having been off for […]
Todd Duffee
Former UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee (6-2) will look for his first win since 2009 when he faces former Bellator Season Three Heavyweight Tournament finalist Neil Grove (11-5-1) in the main event of the Super Fight League 2 show this coming weekend in India.
Duffee is 0-2 in his last two matches, having been off for more than a year since his last bout, a knockout loss to Alistair Overeem in December 2010 for the DREAM heavyweight title. Duffee had been scheduled to fight last July at DREAM 17 versus Nick Gaston but was forced to withdraw due to injury.
The heavyweight is currently training out of the American Kickboxing Academy gym in San Jose, California in preparation for this fight. He tells Lowkick.com he is hoping to battle three more times this year and wants to prove that he is “better in all categories” than opponent Neil Grove.
What do you know about Neil Grove as a fighter? What are your advantages in this match-up? Neil is tough and game and he comes to fight. I feel all the advantages are mine in this match-up. I am the better athlete, boxer, kickboxer, wrestler, jiu jitsu. I feel like I am better in all categories.
After losing to Mike Russow despite dominating the fight, and getting Alistair Overeem on short notice – do you think like this time you’re finally getting a proper chance to display your skills as a fighter? I am not worried about showing off my skills I am more concerned with winning the fight and staying busy the rest of the year. Eventually people will get to see my skill set the more I fight. I feel each fight is different and I have a lot of different styles and game plans of fighting I am capable of displaying.
What is the biggest difference between the 2010 version of Todd Duffee, and the one who’s going to fight Neil Grove? I do not shave my entire body any more. I mean, I’ve got some incredible training all over the country and landed at the best team in the country. I’m sure I have made some improvements but in all honestly I do not think my skill set has been seen to begin with, so it’s hard to pin point exact things.
What are your goals for 2012 as a fighter? Win this fight and get three more in to finish out the year.
Duffee and Grove meet on April 7, 2012 at the T-Mobile Arena in Chandigarh, India.
Bellator Fighting championships CEO Bjorn Rebney is facing the loss of two of the promotions biggest names in former lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez and current middleweight title holder Hector Lombard.
