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Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva Set; Carlos Condit Waiting to Hear on BJ Penn

Any regular reader of MMA Fix knows that we’ve been on board the Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben train for some time, so now that the UFC has officially confirmed the bout for July 2nd, we’re pretty stoked. Yes, yes, a rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wandy would be amazing, but it seems pretty clear […]

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Any regular reader of MMA Fix knows that we’ve been on board the Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben train for some time, so now that the UFC has officially confirmed the bout for July 2^nd, we’re pretty stoked. Yes, yes, a rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wandy would be amazing, but it seems pretty clear that because Silva’s coming off a lengthy layoff due to knee surgery, he’d like to fight once before facing his Brazilian foe. Not sure if fighting a guy like Leben constitutes as a warm-up though, considering his left hand could double as a sledgehammer when he’s doing odd and ends around the yard.

Last week we credited Carlos Condit for stepping up to the plate and offering to fight BJ Penn, in response to the news that Jon Fitch is injured and will no longer face Penn as scheduled. It was a ballsy move by Condit, and although most fans should be down with that fight, questions remain as to whether BJ is interested. Condit’s manager Malki Kawa informed MMA Weekly that they’ve formally approached the UFC about the fight, however, they’re still waiting to hear back.

“I’m not really sure what’s holding it up right now. Hopefully Condit’s the guy they call to do it,” Kawa stated. “I don’t know if there’s a better fight than Condit for him, but we’re excited about the opportunity and hopefully, if Joe Silva, B.J. Penn, and the UFC feel like it’s something they want to do, Carlos is itching. He texts me every day ‘any word on B.J.?’ I’m hoping that’s what happens for him.”

Maybe the delay on this means it’s a no go….

Nick Diaz Says Fighting Friends “Disgusting Thought”

For some time now, it appeared as though the chances of two noteworthy teammates fighting was about as likely as Strikeforce being bought by the UFC…, and then, well, the friendship between training partners Rashad Evans and Jon Jones went right down the commode after the two agreed to fight. Nick “Don’t be Scared Homie” […]

For some time now, it appeared as though the chances of two noteworthy teammates fighting was about as likely as Strikeforce being bought by the UFC…, and then, well, the friendship between training partners Rashad Evans and Jon Jones went right down the commode after the two agreed to fight. Nick “Don’t be Scared Homie” Diaz was recently asked about the teammates fighting issue on a Strikeforce teleconference call, and the welterweight champ didn’t mince even one word, when Jones vs. Evans was raised as an example. (Thanks to MMA Weekly for the quotes)

“That’s what they’ve got them doing and they’re not focused on what’s important to them in life. I’ve got what works, and I’ve got what’s got me there and that’s my team. That’s a disgusting thought to have to fight my brother. I don’t even appreciate being asked about that,” Diaz said.

“They’re not real training partners though,” Diaz said about Jones and Evans. “You don’t understand, they’re like 10 years apart for one and they didn’t grow up training together…”

Now that Mr. Diaz is back in the Zuffa fold, Dana White and crew are no doubt looking forward to more ‘straight shooting’ from the Cesar Gracie star… In the meantime, if you’re not excited about Diaz facing Paul Daley next Saturday, you best keep that to yourself. To bet on the fight head here.

Carlos Condit Offers to Step in for Injured Jon Fitch

Recently we heaped “now that’s what’s up” praise on Rich Franklin, for saying he’s a wee bit curious about testing his skills again Jon “Bones” Jones. Well, Carlos Condit is the latest fighter to get his name on our props list, by stating on Twitter he’s willing to step in for the injured Jon Fitch […]

Recently we heaped “now that’s what’s up” praise on Rich Franklin, for saying he’s a wee bit curious about testing his skills again Jon “Bones” Jones. Well, Carlos Condit is the latest fighter to get his name on our props list, by stating on Twitter he’s willing to step in for the injured Jon Fitch at UFC 132. (Yeah, if you’ve been offline for a day or so, sorry to break it to you, the Fitch, Penn rematch is postponed…sh-t hurts, but we’ll get through this together).

“It would be an honor to fight a legend like BJ Penn, one of my favorite fighters ever. If the call comes, I would take the fight in a second.”

Nice. Condit has won three bouts in a row and is coming off a ‘holy eff’ KO of Dan Hardy in October, and while he found himself in trouble in his victories over Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald, there’s no denying that the former WEC champ is ridiculously tough. In other words, a bout between him and Penn could be pretty badass.

Will it happen though? It’s hard to say. Coming off what was a pretty memorable and impressive performance against Fitch (yeah, yeah, aside from the third round), Penn might be hesitant about taking on a guy that’s not knocking on the title shot door just yet. If Penn fights Condit and wins, he still needs to get through Fitch, if he loses to Condit, well….things won’t exactly be ‘rosy’ career wise. So does Penn wait for Fitch? Or help us fans out by taking on Condit?

At any rate, here’s hoping Fitch enjoys a speedy recovery.

Thiago Silva Admits to the Old Fake Piss Trick

Just a few weeks ago the MMA world was buzzing about Thiago Silva’s impressive beat down, nose smashing win over Brandon Vera at UFC 125. After Silva’s UD loss to Rashad Evans last January, one of the baddest looking dudes in the sport appeared to be back on track. Then, of course, the NSAC reported […]

Just a few weeks ago the MMA world was buzzing about Thiago Silva’s impressive beat down, nose smashing win over Brandon Vera at UFC 125. After Silva’s UD loss to Rashad Evans last January, one of the baddest looking dudes in the sport appeared to be back on track. Then, of course, the NSAC reported something might be funky with Silva’s drug tests, and yadda, yadda, yadda, it was confirmed this week by the commission that the pee-pee submitted by the light-heavyweight may not be human. Now that’s how you tarnish a win…

Well, apparently Silva won’t try to talk his way out of this by claiming some sort of grand conspiracy against him, or that he’s been eating nothing but discount hotdogs for months so no wonder his piss was off. In a statement posted by MMA Junkie today, Silva admitted to urine tampering, and he will now accept the NSAC’s wrath.

“I used a urine adulterant when giving a sample following my fight with Brandon Vera. I did so in an attempt to alter the results of the test and knowingly broke the rules of the Nevada (State) Athletic Commission. This was a terrible decision on my part for which I will be punished. I am prepared to accept this punishment, learn from it and move on. I apologize to the commission, the UFC, Brandon Vera and the MMA fans.”

Silva went on to say, and this is not an excuse rather a statement of what went down according to him, that he trashed his back heading into his bout with Evans, and then, reinjured it again while preparing for Vera. Thus, in order to fight on January 1st, he took “injections in my back”. Well, looks like Silva will be back on the bench anyhow.

Brock Lesnar Admits Cain Velasquez Delivered Ass Whooping

It was only a few months ago that speculation was rampant as to whether or not Brock Lesnar would ever fight again, following his ‘that’s it?’ defeat to Cain Velasquez in October. According to some, the UFC was about to lose one of, if not, its biggest draw.
Well, of course, not only is “The Minnesota […]

It was only a few months ago that speculation was rampant as to whether or not Brock Lesnar would ever fight again, following his ‘that’s it?’ defeat to Cain Velasquez in October. According to some, the UFC was about to lose one of, if not, its biggest draw.

Well, of course, not only is “The Minnesota Monster” not ready to hang up the 4 oz gloves, Lesnar has jumped square in the middle of the scalding spotlight, coaching the upcoming season of TUF, appearing on Jimmy Fallon, and writing a book. All this before the usually grumpy, ‘don’t talk to me’ former champ is set to fight Junior Dos Santos in June. People are talking lots of Brock again and Dana White couldn’t be happier.

In a recent interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, Lesnar finally talked about the vicious pounding he received from Velasquez at UFC 121, and he didn’t sugar coat what happened .

“I just watched the fight a week ago, and I think it boils down to last year I had a lot going on in my life. I fought through diverticulitis; made my comeback and fought through Shane Carwin, and then fought Cain Velasquez. As I watched the fight I could see that there was probably, I wasn’t able to overcome Cain’s…I really don’t know what happened. He beat my ass; that’s what happened. If I put it that way. It’s one of those things; I don’t like to lose and you dust yourself off, get back on the horse and here I am.”

Things are always interesting when Brock’s around no? Lesnar also discussed that whole bit with The Undertaker and coaching TUF; check out the entire interview here.

Rich Franklin Concedes He’s Curious About Fighting Jon Jones

For a lot of ‘I’m the biggest’ UFC fans, the closest thing they’ll experience to MMA combat is opening an anonymous Twitter account (with a contrived yet snarky name of course), so that they can hurl some slur at a fighter from thousands of miles away. Pretty badass….For other, more grounded and evolved humans, they understand that it takes serious balls to even step in the Octagon, much less win a fight, and thus, have a ton of respect for anyone that throws down in the cage or ring.

Why the lecture? Well, Rich Franklin recently did an interview with the Springfield News-Sun, where the former middleweight champ served up a little reminder about the kind of fighting spirit many fighters have. At a time when Jon Jones is dismantling everyone who is put in front of him, including a certain legend named “Shogun” Rua, Franklin has apparently been wondering how he might do against the emerging superstar. (Thanks to MMA Mania for the heads up)

“You see guys like that, and you’re like, ‘They’re bigger than me, and they’re stronger than me,’ but I’m a fighter, and there’s a part of me that still wants to fight them and see how I’d do,”

Wow; now that’s an effin fighter (to steal Dana White’s thunder). Not sure if at this point in Franklin’s storied career that would be such a good idea, but hell, ya never know right? Franklin also stated in the interview that he knew Jones was going to “be a stud” after the first time he saw him fight, adding “He’s got an 84-inch reach, and he’s 6-foot-4. It’s just crazy.” Yeah, we’re with you on this one champ.