MMA Crypt's Prediction Contest 20 : UFC Fight Night 22: Marquardt vs. Palhares

MMA Crypt's Prediction Contest 20 : UFC Fight Night 22: Marquardt vs. Palhares

UFC Fight Night 22: Marquardt vs. Palhares

Date: Sep 15, 2010

Location: Austin, Texas
Venue: Frank Erwin Center
Broadcast: Spike TV (precedes debut episode of "The Ultimate Fighter 12")

MAIN CARD
•Nate Marquardt vs. Rousimar Palhares
•Efrain Escudero vs. Charles Oliveira
•Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau
•Cole Miller vs. Ross Pearson

PRELIMINARY CARD
•Jared Hamman vs. Kyle Kingsbury
•Dave Branch vs. Tomasz Drwal
•Rich Attonito vs. Rafael Natal
•David Mitchell vs. Anthony Waldburger
•Brian Foster vs. Forrest Petz

This "Fantasy MMA Challenge" contest requires that you pick the winning fighters offered in the events, the method in which they will win and when they will win.

Here is how it works:

4 points to pick the winner.
3 points to pick the style of win : decision, sub or KO
3 points to pick when the fight is over if you get the winner right.

Method :

KO (votes as TKO and KO count as the same)
Decision (split and unanimous count as the same)
Submissions (all count as the same)

Most points wins

If there is a tie, the poster with the most posts on MMACrypt.com wins the tie breaker.

* Prizes :

1st Place : 20,000
2nd Place : 10,000
3rd Place : 5,000

Fight picks must be entered in this thread by September 15, 2010 no later than 6:00 pm East Coast Time.

Enter Here

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UFC releases heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee

UFC releases heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee

Heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is a free agent.

A little more than one year after Duffee burst onto the UFC scene with a seven-second knockout of Tim Hague, the 24-year-old is no longer employed by the sport's largest mixed martial arts promotion.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the UFC's decision from multiple sources with knowledge of the move, and Duffee's manager, Alex Davis, confirmed the report.

Davis declined to comment further on the matter or speculate as to the reason behind the UFC's decision.

Duffee wasn't immediately available for comment when contacted by MMAjunkie.com.

Following his record-breaking win over Hague (officially the fastest knockout in UFC's history), Duffee was defeated by Mike Russow at UFC 114 in one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the organization's history. Duffee was in control of the fight for the first two-and-a-half rounds before a right hand left him flat on his back.

Nevertheless, Duffee was targeted for a bout with Jon Madsen at October's UFC 121 event. A lingering knee injury forced him out of the planned contest, and Gilbert Yvel stepped in to take the fight.

It's not immediately evident what Duffee plans to do next, but the massive heavyweight will undoubtedly demand interest from organizations both U.S-based and overseas.

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Cro Cop Interview - Before Contract Renewal But After UFC 115

Cro Cop Interview - Before Contract Renewal But After UFC 115

I found this interview to be interesting. It was after UFC 115 but before he stepped up to fight Frank Mir, so he was still in debating on whether he would keep fighting or not. I don't like doing this but instead of summarizing and posting the more interesting bits, I will post the whole interview because I really think it gives some insight as to the difference between a fighter like Randy Couture, and a fighter like Cro Cop or guys who have been around the world for most of their lives.

If this has been posted before then I apologize, I didn't find it. If so then please someone merge them.

----------------------

02/07/10 Interview with Fighters Only Magazine -

Mirko ‘CroCop’ Filipovic says he is undecided about a return to competition following the expiry of his UFC contract. The Croatian heavyweight and 2006 Pride Grand Prix winner won by submission in his last outing and his behaviour prior to the bout gave every indication that retirement was likely to be his next step.

In a rare interview Filipovic told Fighters Only this week that he has not decided what he is going to do, revealing that he has been toying with the idea of moving into coaching and producing the next generation of fighters.

“I don’t know. First of all I will take a rest, definitely I will talk with Lorenzo [Fertitta, UFC owner]. I closed this last contract with him and yes I will definitely talk with him. But I really cannot say right now if I will continue fighting. I think for me to keep fighting, the conditions would have to be right,” the MMA legend told us when we asked what he had planned.

“What I mean by that is, first of all the fights have to be inspiring. It has to be an opponent that makes me inspired to go through eight weeks of hell with [trainer Ivan] Hippolyte. People say to me, “Couture has 46, 47 years and he is still fighting, so you still have many years left”. But people forget, he has had 16 or 17 fights altogether in his career.

“I have 35 in MMA and 26 in K-1 and then 44 amateur boxing matches before that - I have had three times more fights than Randy. So of course I am not old in years, but believe me, I have been around!” Filipovic added.

“I have been to Japan 44 times. That is 44 times I got out of bed, went to the airport and travelled all the way to Japan, fought once, twice in a night. 44 times I went to Japan, suffered jetlag, no sleep, broken bones, stitches - at some point you become sick of everything. So I am still thinking about what to do and right now I need some rest. I will talk with Lorenzo and we will see. I just need motivation right now.”

Asked what kind of thing would constitute motivation, Filipovic had a long think before answering.

“I think it means fights with the legends… Randy Couture, Antonio Nogueira and [Gabriel] Gonzaga - definitely Gonzaga. I would like to fight them in that order actually - Couture, Nogueira, Gonzaga. Those are the kind of fights that would inspire me and make me go through eight weeks of hell with Hippolyte again,” he said, referring to the training camp conducted by the Muay Thai supercoach prior to the Pat Barry fight that left CroCop “in the best shape of [his] life”.

“Pat Barry is an excellent fighter, very tough and he can cause trouble for anyone in the UFC today but it is not the same kind of inspiration. I don’t mean to disrespect anyone here but what I am saying is at this point I would only really be interested in big-name fights and in straightening some things out. I need fights that will inspire me,” he explained.

“Since 2003, its inside of me to have a rematch with Nogueira, definitely. He is one of the true legends, a pioneer of the sport, former Pride champion and former UFC champion as well. It would be a very interesting rematch for me. As for Couture, he is also a legend of the sport and a pioneer. When I was with Pride I was asked many times, how would I fight against Couture? Well now we could find out.”

Filipovic also revealed that being able to fight in Europe would be a big incentive. He says he is well aware that most of his career has been spent fighting overseas and he regrets the fact that his European fans have not been able to see much of him.

“If I continue fighting I think would like to fight in Europe very much. First, because of selfish reasons. I am sick of jetlag, sick of spending nine or ten days away from home and away from my family, away from my young son,” he sighed.

“You know each time I go away, it is harder for him and he cries more than the last time. I don’t like this. And my wife is pregnant. I understand that business is business and I am a mercenary but every time I have to leave home it is harder and harder for me.

“And I do not have the same incentive for travel that I used to - I have made decent money in this sport, I have made a name. Maybe I am in the best possible position now to compete. I don’t need the money, those days are behind me. Now I would fight only to entertain my fans and have great fights. So if I decide to fight again and if I close a deal with deal with Lorenzo, it would be interesting for me to fight in Europe in front of European fans who maybe haven‘t had the chance to see me very much.”

So are we likely to see CroCop back in action?

“I don’t know, I don’t know. I need some inspiration I think. But its not about money. Obviously there has to be payment but this is bottom of the list for my motivation.”

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If you want gay, Nick Ring will give you gay

If you want gay, Nick Ring will give you gay

It's been about three months since the last season of TUF ended. That's three full months of tossing, turning and pulling your hair out wondering about Nick Ring's sexual orientation. We need to get closure on Nick Ring's potential homosexuality so we can move on with our llives and stop punishing ourselves for not knowing the answer.

A recent interview by Fighter's Only finally gets us closer to closure on this:

"People call me 'Light in Loafers' and so on. Honestly, I don't really care. Either you're tough or you're not. You can act as tough as you want to; all that matters is what you do in the ring. I'm not all about the tattoos or pit bulls or tight TapouT t shirts. The only place you're going to prove yourself is in the cage. As far as the attitude goes, I'm there to have fun. I think too many MMA fighters are all about trying to play the part and not enough about the training and the conditioning. It is competition but there's no reason to act like a jackass the rest of the time and I think too many guys do. I know what I can do in the ring so i don't care what other people think. Does it matter how I act outside the ring, or does it matter how I act inside the ring? The fight is actually what matters. They tried to portray me as a kind of gay guy or whatever. I thought it was funny and my friends back home all laughed"

"You had Yager on the show. He was very homophobic and he was also a big germ freak. They didn't show that part. He'd complain about people not washing their hands or reaching in to the fridge. I poked a lot of fun at him that way. I would kind of have fun with some of the guys, especially if they were really quirky like Yager was. It was pretty easy. I like Yager. He was fun to live with. He was really homophobic and they started calling me gay so I started acting gay. I was like, 'Ok fine. You want gay - I'll give you gay.'

So there you have it. Nick Ring is clearly...well, we still don't really know do we? He never answered the question. Nick told 'Fighter's Only' he was 'with a bunch of friends cruising on a houseboat' while doing the interview. Now if he said he was cruising on a houseboat with some friends playing soduku and watching the musical South Pacific, it would be much more conclusive. He didn't though, so all we really know is if you want gay, Nick will surely give it to you.

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Jardine On Journey to Find Myself Outside UFC

Jardine On Journey to Find Myself Outside UFC

Amarillo, Texas, represents a fresh start for Keith Jardine, but it is also a chance for him to begin his road back to the UFC.

Jardine faces UFC and Strikeforce veteran Trevor Prangley in a non-title light heavyweight bout in the main event of the Shark Fights 13 card on Sept. 11 at the Amarillo Civic Center Coliseum. It will be Jardine's first bout since being released after a 13-fight run with the UFC.

His unanimous decision loss to Matt Hamill at "The Ultimate Fighter 11" Finale in June earned “Fight of the Night” honors, but it also represented the Montana native's fourth straight loss within the promotion. The decision to cut Jardine came shortly thereafter.

"There's no bad feelings; we left on good terms," Jardine said. "I expected it. I've been in a bit of a slump lately and, the thing is, they really want me to go out and beat up a couple guys, and then come back and get in the title picture -- and that's what I'm going to do. "

So “The Ultimate Fighter” season two alum took a short vacation, issued a statement on his Web site and then got back to work at Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts in Albuquerque, N.M. "The Dean of Mean" said he received no shortage of offers upon his arrival into MMA free agency.

The Shark Fights deal was the most impressive.

"They were one of the first ones to come up with a real good offer. They actually wanted me to fight Houston Alexander. I pretty much said yes right away. For some reason the Houston fight didn't work out, but I'm fighting a tougher guy in Prangley," he said.

Alexander ended up on the card's co-main event against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Joey Villasenor, one of Jardine's teammates at Jackson's MMA, is also fighting that night.

Jardine said he's received a lot of support since his loss to Hamill, and he's hoping that loyalty has some carryover into a new chapter of his career.

"That's what's cool about the Shark Fights: It's top-notch competition, and every fight is going to be a great fight. It's on pay-per-view -- a lot cheaper than the UFC so maybe a lot of people will tune in," he said.

Prangley, the Texas-based promotion's 205-pound title-holder, was defeated by Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce “Los Angeles” in his most recent bout in June. The South African wrestler, who fought four times in the UFC, owns notable wins over Chael Sonnen and Travis Lutter.

"He's a tough, gritty veteran. He's been around. I've been watching him since before I was in the UFC," Jardine said. "The thing is it's not like I'm taking a step down. He can beat a lot of the light heavyweights in the UFC right now."

The 34-year-old Jardine's deal with Shark Fights is for one bout only, and it's clear that the man who owns signature victories over Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin has his sights set on getting back to the UFC.

There is no prerequisite for a return to the company other than to win and win impressively, something Jardine is confident he can do.

"It could be anywhere from one fight to two fights," he said, "but it's definitely a matter of time."

Until then, Jardine plans to focus on becoming a more complete fighter.

"I haven't performed nearly to the top of my ability, and that's what this fight is about. That's what this journey outside the UFC is about -- finding myself and getting near the top of my potential," he said. "That's what I'm looking for right now. If I do that the sky's the limit."

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Will the UFC Sink or Swim in Chinese Waters?

Will the UFC Sink or Swim in Chinese Waters?

One of the significant bits of news to be revealed in the aftermath of UFC 118 last weekend was the push by the UFC to enter the Chinese market. Not only did they once again reinforce their stance that they want to tap into one of the biggest consumer markets in the world with their brand of extreme fighting, but they announced the hiring of Mark Fischer, a former executive of the National Basketball Association:

The fight organizer and promoter for the form of sports-combat called mixed martial arts announced that it would be setting up a foothold in Asia. The company didn’t specify where it would set up shop, but its new chief in Asia is Mark Fischer, a former exec with the National Basketball Association Inc., who lives in Beijing.

As part of its sop to Chinese audiences, the UFC is also touting the addition of an Inner Mongolian lightweight bruiser named Zhang Tiequan to a televised bout through its sister organization, World Extreme Cagefighting. The group said it will also leverage its existing ties with the China National Wushu Federation to drum up support and talent.

Some media members believe China will be a tough nut to crack due to the cultural barrier and the fact that Japan has historically been a difficult market to enter because of those differences between Western culture and their own. But the UFC may have a leg up over any of the other major mainstream sports in that mixed martial arts identifies with the people of China due to being the birthplace of many forms of martial arts.

Furthermore, Fischer seems to be the best qualified man for the job, having helped the NBA become a billion dollar entity in China by signing huge sponsorship deals for the sport. While the NBA has found success overseas, other sports like NASCAR and the NFL have found little interest. Most sports have only recently made strides to break into the market, and that presents an unique situation for the UFC. They are on even ground with some of the largest sports in North America in this new market, and their brand of action could be exactly the type of entertainment that could flourish over baseball, football, and racing.

Historically, China has been a hub of combat sports in Asia for quite some time, although not as well-known as Japan and Korea. Boxing has been around since the 1920's, but only in a local capacity. The Communist Party banned it during the country's revolution in the 60's, but it returned when Chinese leaders realized that competition may be a way in which the Chinese could earn worldwide respect.

They've only recently found success in boxing as Zou Shiming won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and he also won the 2005 Amateur Boxing championships along with a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Wushu, Taekwondo, and other martial arts are also big in China, and those combat sports will act a feeder system for the sport. There is some concern, however, that the UFC will be too brutal for the normal fans of those sports, but that type of deterrence has been prevalent in almost any new market. Germany, England, and Australia provided some backlash when the UFC arrived there, and even Japan and the United States had similar movements against the sport in their infancy as well.

With a history of combat sports that fall along the lines of traditional mixed martial arts, it's hard not to take a crack at an untapped market like China. Boxing is taking off in the country due to Shiming's success, and Wushu and Taekwondo should provide some interest in mixed martial arts right off the bat. Regional promotions have already been operating for a few years in the region as well, and that should drum up more interest along with providing a feeder system for the UFC to build off of.

Like any new market however, talent and skill will be at a minimum for quite some time. The WEC recently announced the signing of lightweight fighter Tie Quan "The Mongolian Wolf" Zhang, an undefeated fighter out of Beijing, China. While this is an obvious first step in getting some attention cast on a Chinese fighter in a new market, it isn't exactly going to be an easy ride for the fighters in the infant era of Chinese mixed martial arts. Perhaps, Chinese 120kg Greco-Roman Olympian Liu Deli could be lured away from Sengoku and become a legitimate heavyweight challenger, but I wouldn't hold out hope on that happening.

The biggest worry, however, is the lack of success in China by regional promotions. While I'm sure the UFC will argue that the quality of their show is miles ahead of any regional promotion in China, I find it hard to ignore the fact that Art of War has a tough time filling arenas even when tickets are free. If they can't sell tickets, how does one expect them to sell pay-per-views? Advertising will certainly help spread the word to centers like Beijing and Shanghai, but can the sport attract enough fans to turn a profit or will the region serve as a money pit?

The next few years should be very interesting for the UFC. While they've undoubtedly enjoyed success in North America, China is a region that they will need to tread lightly. The UFC doesn't want to overextend themselves and pour money into a market that just isn't catching on, but they've taken the steps to ensure the optimal exposure of their brand. The Ultimate Fighter reality show will provide a means to not only gaining talent, but gaining interest as well. Whether or not it'll take off like it did in the United States remains to be seen, but I have an inclination that it's going to be very tough to rake in the millions of dollars they make in North America without a few breakout stars who are good enough to compete with fighters here.

The UFC will also need to provide enough reward for fighters to out pace the pay that Sanda fighters are currently making in the country. If they can provide a better way to make money for those fighters, we'll see a steady transition of those fighters into MMA in the country. That should begin to bring those combative sports sponsors over as well.

Can the UFC swim in Chinese waters? My gut says no, but there is some optimism here. They'll likely have to spend quite a bit of money to get the sport some interest from businesses in the region, and they'll have to spend the money to pay fighters more than what Sanda is currently giving fighters now. But I don't think those are huge obstacles. I do, however, think that's the major key to the puzzle. With Sanda losing fighters and being unable to keep up with the UFC's pay scale, it should act as a catalyst to bigger and better things. Whether or not the fans will be there when that time comes is the ultimate question.

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Yves Lavigne Remains Unbiased: Josh Koscheck Statements Were False

Yves Lavigne Remains Unbiased: Josh Koscheck Statements Were False

According to the Franchise Montreal, Yves Lavigne feels that he may have justifiable cause to take legal action against Le Journal de Montreal for false statements released during a recent “alleged” interview.

And who could blame him—particularly if the statements were indeed false?

What was said?

Well, if you don’t already know, then you’ll just have to visit MMA Crypt to find out (please note the disclaimer at the top in bold, red lettering) as the original article has now been pulled off the shelf.

So far, the only statements released by Yves Lavigne through all of this, have been the following (by way of Ringside Report Host, David Simon’s Twitter account):

“I NEVER gave an interview to that journalist. I NEVER gave an interview regarding GSP vs Koscheck. My lawyer is taking care of this matter."

As a response to Mr. Lavigne’s apparent interview, Josh Koscheck was quick to state the following on his Twitter account:

“UFC referee, Yves Lavigne is clearly not suited to be a referee after his rant of personal attacks and opinions on me as a fighter. It’s supposed to be his job to look at a fight unbiased, but how can anyone trust this guy to fairly referee any fight ever again after his comments? It's scary to think this guy has been calling fights in the octagon for this long. It's very fair to say Mr. Lavigne will never ref one of my fights again. I would never put all my hard work as a fighter or my livelihood in the hands of this ref.

“The (UFC) and the commission would be irresponsible to let him continue his job- any call this guy makes would have to be questioned. You call MMA a professional sport? Well, professional starts at the top. Never would an NFL, NBA or other major sports official state there personal opinions publicly about a player and keep their job. I now question every call Yves has ever made as a referee. Hopefully no fighter ever has to step into a fight with Yves Lavigne as referee. Better get that resume ready Lavigne…..”

Koscheck is absolutely correct when he says that it is a referee’s job to remain unbiased.

In fact, Koscheck instantly reminded me of a similar conversation that I had with Mr. Lavigne himself, during an interview that I did back in June of this year.

These particular details of the conversation were never included with the original interview because it was a part of our post-interview conversation and was in my opinion, completely off the record.

I wish I had the voice recording (I checked but the follow-up conversation was never recorded—again, it was strictly off the record), but instead, I will do my best to recount the conversation without obviously putting words into Mr. Lavigne’s mouth.

Yves and I were engaged in some friendly dialogue as we were clarifying specific details from our recent interview (I believe it had to do with the “Iron Butt” motorcycle ride).

I then asked for Yves’ opinion on the upcoming Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin fight.

Big mistake.

Mr. Lavigne quickly corrected my line of questioning by reminding me that it would be completely inappropriate for him to ever try to choose sides between two separate fighters.

It didn’t matter that Lavigne wasn’t scheduled to be the Official in this particular bout, because he knew that at some point down the road, he would find himself in a position to officiate one of these two men and as such, he wanted to remain as unbiased as possible.

Yes, he even used that word—“UNBIASED.”

No fighter should have to feel as though the referee is against them before the fight even starts.

So imagine that, fight fans—Yves Lavigne refused to pick the winner of a fight that he wasn’t even a part of in a private conversation that was completely off the record.

In my view, there is NO CHANCE that Mr. Lavigne ever bad-mouthed or gave an opinion on Josh Koscheck.

It just doesn’t make any sense.

Does it?

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