Remember when Scott Coker said Gina Carano would be returning to the Strikeforce cage in 2011? Well, apparently he was lying.
(“BRB….LOL!”)
Remember when Scott Coker said Gina Carano would be returning to the Strikeforce cage in 2011? Well, apparently he was lying.
MMAFighting is reporting that “sources close to Strikeforce” have indicated that the former female face of MMA who took a hiatus from the sport to make a movie, will not fight on the promotion’s remaining card of the year on December 17.
The next time we’ll see “Crush,” who has been conspicuously out of the public eye for the better part of the last two years, will be January 20 on the big screen when her first major motion picture “Haywire” will be released in theatres. The film, which is directed by Steven Soderberg and also stars Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton, Michael Fassbender and Channing Tatum, is rumored to have been a flop in test screenings, prompting producers to reshoot scenes and recut the movie in an effort to improve it. The fact that it’s opening in January during one of the slowest release slots, speaks volumes about how much hope the theatre is giving the movie, which is basically a revamp of Bourne Identity with a female lead.
According to the Brazilian website GLOBO, UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva and former number one contender Vitor Belfort will be the coaches on the Brazilian version of The Ultimate Fighter, which begins filming in South American country in March 2012.
UFC officials, however told MMAJunkie this afternoon that the report is erroneous, but take the denial with a grain of salt. Remember the company has been guarded in the past when it comes to revealing TUF coaches prior to approximately the month before shooting begins for logistical reasons. The other reason why they could be denying the report, if it is in fact true, is that Silva is likely to face Chael Sonnen in February and it would come off as though they are expecting “The Spider” to win if they were to announce him as a coach, especially if it’s likely that he will defend his title against Belfort at the conclusion of the season. Smoke and mirrors.
Personally, I’d like them to bring in Uncle Chael to coach opposite Anderson. Hell, I’d watch the whole season without subtitles and on mute just to see Anderson’s facial expressions whenever Chael addresses him. It probably won’t happen since 3/4 of the Brazilian MMA fan base don’t know what playing the heel is, which is probably tied into the absence of the Internet in the country and because they often mistake buses for horses.
(“Your face still has my footprint on it, bro.”)
According to the Brazilian website GLOBO, UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva and former number one contender Vitor Belfort will be the coaches on the Brazilian version of The Ultimate Fighter, which begins filming in South American country in March 2012.
UFC officials, however told MMAJunkie this afternoon that the report is erroneous, but take the denial with a grain of salt. Remember the company has been guarded in the past when it comes to revealing TUF coaches prior to approximately the month before shooting begins for logistical reasons. The other reason why they could be denying the report, if it is in fact true, is that Silva is likely to face Chael Sonnen in February and it would come off as though they are expecting “The Spider” to win if they were to announce him as a coach, especially if it’s likely that he will defend his title against Belfort at the conclusion of the season. Smoke and mirrors.
Personally, I’d like them to bring in Uncle Chael to coach opposite Anderson. Hell, I’d watch the whole season without subtitles and on mute just to see Anderson’s facial expressions whenever Chael addresses him. It probably won’t happen since 3/4 of the Brazilian MMA fan base don’t know what playing the heel is, which is probably tied into the absence of the Internet in the country and because they often mistake buses for horses.
Tryouts for the show will take place in the coming weeks, during which time more info should be revealed about the format and location, but it’s unlikely the coaches will be announced until December or January. We’ll just have to watch Belfort’s Twitter posts the next couple months for any tweets about traveling to Brazil for six weeks or about being disrespected at the gym.
It would definitely fly in the face of Dana White’s earlier assertion that Vitor wasn’t ready for a title shot yet, but then again, that wouldn’t be the first time “The Baldfather” contradicted himself *cough* Kimbo *cough*.
Dana White is like a walking, talking, movie trailer. He reveals just enough to get his audience hot with anticipation, only to deny them with the necessary answers as to why they were watching him in the first place. During the UFC 136 pre-fight press conference, and in accordance with multiplesources, “The Baldfather” apparently revealed that the winner of the upcoming bout between Brian Stann and submission savant Chael Sonnen at UFC 136 would be next in line for a chance to dethrone Anderson Silva. Sort of. Maybe.
The question that sparked all the fuss was as follows: “How could you feel that if Sonnen wins, he deserves a shot at the title but if not Stann doesn’t?”
To which DW responded:
(Who honestly wouldn’t want to see this again?)
Dana White is like a walking, talking, movie trailer. He reveals just enough to get his audience hot with anticipation, only to deny them with the necessary answers as to why they were watching him in the first place. During the UFC 136 pre-fight press conference, and in accordance with multiplesources, “The Baldfather” apparently revealed that the winner of the upcoming bout between Brian Stann and submission savant Chael Sonnen at UFC 136 would be next in line for a chance to dethrone Anderson Silva. Sort of. Maybe.
The question that sparked all the fuss was as follows: ”How could you feel that if Sonnen wins, he deserves a shot at the title but if not Stann doesn’t?”
To which DW responded: “Stann’s been on a tear and has beat some good guys and has looked good doing it. Leben, Santiago, and now Chael? It would be tough to deny him.”
I’m assuming that this is one of DW’s many ways to get the notion across to his fighters that title shots are often based on impressive performances rather than win streaks (ie. Jon Fitch). Hopefully this will provide some much needed spark for Sonnen, who has admitted to not feeling his best leading up to his match with Stann. Keep in mind, the last person that apparently fought Stann at less than 100 percent was Chris Leben, and it did not end well for him.
And it is hard to deny that Stann has earned it. The man has had possibly the best year of any non-title holding fighter out there, scoring back-to-back TKO’s of Leben and Jorge Santiago, respectively. Combine that with a successful win in his middleweight debut against *cough* Mike Massenzio *cough* and that would be enough to earn Kenny Florian a title shot in any division he wanted for the next few years.
Now, I must admit that I am a little conflicted about who I want to win this one. On one hand, I am a big fan of Brian Stann, because how can you not be? But on the other, I don’t see Stann’s orthodox striking being very effective against a freak like Silva, and though I consider Chael to be a trollof sorts, there’s no denying that he had the best showing against Silva and could give the champ another run for his money in a possible rematch. But now with Henderson in the mix, it’s likely that Stann could get overlooked based on his ability to draw PPV numbers alone.
Another outside factor here is the simple fact that the Hendo/Rua match is being held at light heavyweight, yet Dana is making no mention of the winner getting the next shot against Jon Jones, after Rashad Evans of course. Either way, it looks like Dana has got some ‘splainin to do.
What say you Potato Nation? Stann or Sonnen, who takes it and how, and does the winner deserve the title shot? Also, would you rather see Hendo fight Jon Jones or Anderson if he is successful against Rua?
Despite Rashad Evans‘s belief that Jon Jones will fake another injury to duck him, it’s looking like the two best frenemies could settle their grudge by the end of the year. MMAFighting reports that the UFC is in the process of setting up a light-heayweight title match between Jones and Evans at UFC 140 (December 10th, Toronto), and the booking could be made official within the next 24-48 hours.
Despite Rashad Evans‘s belief that Jon Jones will fake another injury to duck him, it’s looking like the two best frenemies could settle their grudge by the end of the year. MMAFighting reports that the UFC is in the process of setting up a light-heayweight title match between Jones and Evans at UFC 140 (December 10th, Toronto), and the booking could be made official within the next 24-48 hours.
Jones has already fought three times this year, and a UFC 140 booking would mean just a two-and-a-half month turnaround; wear-and-tear might be a concern for Bones at this point. Still, the UFC was lacking a marquee fight for their return to Toronto, and this is one that fans have been clamoring for. Here’s what the lineup looks like right now…
MAIN CARD
Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir
Antônio Rogério Nogueira vs. Tito Ortiz
Brian Ebersole vs. Rory MacDonald
Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung
PRELIMINARY CARD
Dennis Hallman vs. John Makdessi
Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz
Igor Pokrajac vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
Rich Attonito vs. Claude Patrick
Mitch Clarke vs. John Cholish
UFC 137 will take place on Saturday, October 29, from a sold out Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. After some moves, the fight card is set (pending any training camp injuries). The main card will be broadcast via pay-per-view, while Spik…
UFC 137 will take place on Saturday, October 29, from a sold out Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. After some moves, the fight card is set (pending any training camp injuries). The main card will be broadcast via pay-per-view, while Spike TV will carry two fights. Pay-Per-View Card Georges St-Pierre vs. […]
Jackson: We just found out who the spy was, and he’s terminated. He’s no longer working right now. So we found out exactly who the spy was…and it’s true, everything I said was true.
Jones: So who was the spy, Rampage? If you don’t mind answering that. Why don’t you tell the world who the spy was?
Jackson: We just found out who the spy was, and he’s terminated. He’s no longer working right now. So we found out exactly who the spy was…and it’s true, everything I said was true.
Jones: So who was the spy, Rampage? If you don’t mind answering that. Why don’t you tell the world who the spy was?
Jackson: You know who the spy was. Only reason why I won’t tell the world who it is, because the guy did work at MusclePharm and the guys at MusclePharm found him and they fired him, and I didn’t want to bring MusclePharm on top…His name is Leonard, and you know Leonard because you were sending him K-Swiss shoes and stuff and everything from your manager. He’s great friends with your manager, and you know I’m telling the truth.
Jones: I was sending him K-Swiss shoes? I have no clue who Lennox [sic] is, Rampage. You need help, buddy.
Jackson: Whatever, dude. You sound guilty, homey.
Speculation has centered on Leonard Amenta, an Executive Vice President of MusclePharm who resigned last Friday. As Jones tweeted in response, “Sucks some poor guy at musclepharm got fired over rampages paranoia.”
Quinton Jackson has been training at the MusclePharm gym in Denver for the past two months, as part of a personalized training camp that has cost over one million dollars. (Not all of that came out of his own pocket, thankfully.) Damn. I wonder how much of that was spent on high-tech surveillance equipment?
Question: Assuming a spy existed in Rampage’s training camp, do you really think that Jon Jones knew about it, or that he ordered the recon mission himself? I’m still willing to believe that this was a rogue employee who leaked info to Jones’s manager for his own motivations. What inside information could Jones possibly hope to gain here? Hell, we already know how Quinton throws that hook…
