Ohio Athletic Commission investigating Strikeforce?s Brandon Saling

Remember Brandon Saling, the guy who Roger Bowling beat into a pulp at Saturday's Strikeforce card? The one with good stand-up, but no ground game? The one with the neo-Nazi tattoo and the rape conviction?

Let's start with the tattoo. The number 88 and lightning bolts are on Saling's left shoulder. What does that mean, Center for Democratic Renewal and Education?

88 is the symbol that represents 'Heil Hitler.'  H is the eighth letter in the alphabet, hence 'HH' or 88

Saling is also listed in Ohio's sex offender registry as  a "high risk." He was convicted for gross sexual imposition. According to a 2004 report, he faced charges for rape of a person under 13 years. He also served 40 days in jail for a domestic violence charge in 2008.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said the Ohio Athletic Commission will launch a full investigation into Saling's background.

"They're going to launch a full investigation on Monday," he said. "So that's where that's at. As far as you guys know, the policy for Strikeforce and the UFC is that kind of body art, offensive behavior, (and) offensive art is not going to be allowed.

"So that's something we went to the athlete (with). He responded, and we're going to investigate further and see what the truth is."

Saling took Saturday night's fight with Roger Bowling on short notice. He stepped in for Derek Brunson, who was denied a license in Ohio because of vision problems. Saling has a record of 8-6.

Thanks, Bloody Elbow.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ohio-athletic-commission-investigating-strikeforce-brandon-saling-182237629.html

Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves 

Eric Prindle Battling Illness; Bellator 61 Main Event Delayed

A bout with a flu-like illness will see the Bellator heavyweight rematch between Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos delayed for a week. The two were supposed to rehash their season five heavyweight tournament finals bout to finally determine a challenger for Bellator heavyweight champ Cole Konrad.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27914/eric-prindle-battling-illness-bellator-61-main-event-delayed/

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

Get to know the fighters in the flyweight tournament

Dominick Cruz already shared an inside look at flyweight fighters with Cagewriter, but before tuning into tonight's fight's on FX, you may want to get to know Joe Benavidez, Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall a little better. (Yasuhiro Urushitani is not profiled.)

With the UFC on Friday and Strikeforce on Saturday, it's a jam-packed weekend of fights. The flyweight tournament is what I'm most looking forward to, but what about you? Tell us what you're looking forward to this weekend in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/know-fighters-flyweight-tournament-142754986.html

Xavier Foupa Pokam Hermes Franca Rich Franklin Ian Freeman

Thiago Tavares replaces injured Dennis Hallman, faces Tony Ferguson at UFC on FOX 3

Instead of facing a third consecutive opponent with vastly superior experience it looks like Ultimate Fighter 13 winner Tony Ferguson has finally drawn someone with similar seasoning. According to multiple reports, 60+ fight veteran Dennis Hallman has withdrawn from a bout with Ferguson for health-related reasons and will be replaced by Brazilian Thiago Tavares. Though [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2012/03/16/thiago-tavares-replaces-injured-dennis-hallman-faces-tony-ferguson-at-ufc-on-fox-3/

Lee Hasdell Musse Hasselvall Daiki DJ taiki Hata He Peng

?The Ultimate Fighter: Live? Episode 2 Recap

The second episode of “The Ultimate Fighter: Live,” entitled “Embrace the War,” saw the show’s 16 lightweights move into the TUF house and begin their quest for a six-figure UFC contract. Opposing coaches Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber also selected their teams to officially kick off the competition. After winning the coin toss, Faber got [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/109475/the-ultimate-fighter-live-episode-2-recap/

Justin Eilers  Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis

Nick Diaz?s attorney doesn?t take kindly to calling his client a liar

Nick Diaz's disciplinary hearing in front of the Nevada Athletic Commission for allegedly failing a post-fight drug screen after his loss to Carlos Condit on Feb. 4 in Las Vegas at UFC 143 figures to be a doozy.

The hearing isn't scheduled yet, though it's expected to be sometime next month. If things remain as contentious as they have been between Diaz's attorney Ross Goodman and the commission this week, tickets are going to be harder to come by than those for the Final Four.

Goodman has taken an aggressive stance and asserts that Diaz has not tested positive for a banned substance. Goodman argues that Diaz did not test positive for Delta-9-THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, but rather for marijuana metabolites. Those metabolites are an inactive ingredient in marijuana and are not on the World Anti Doping Agency's banned list that Nevada uses, Goodman said.

Goodman is clearly going to fight the case bitterly, and on Thursday, he railed against statements made by the public information officer for the Nevada attorney general's office.

Yahoo! Sports on Monday and Tuesday reached out to Christopher Eccles, the Nevada deputy attorney general who represents the athletic commission, seeking comment on points Goodman raised. Under a new policy instituted by attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto, however, her deputies are not allowed to speak to the media as they have in the past.

As a result, public information officer Jennifer M. Lopez returned the call for Eccles and later released a statement. Via email, Lopez said, "Not only did Nick Diaz violate the law by testing positive for marijuana metabolites, but he also lied to the Commission on his Pre-Fight Questionnaire when he swore that he had not used any prescribed medications in two weeks before the fight."

It is unusual for a spokesperson for an attorney general's office to call a person who will soon have a hearing in front of a state regulatory agency a liar.

Her statement probably wouldn't have been given much notice, though, had she said Diaz must have been mistaken when he checked no to a question asking if he'd taken any prescription medications in the preceding two weeks prior to the Feb. 3 weigh-in.

But saying outright that Diaz lied put Goodman even more in attack mode. He came out swinging on Thursday and insisted that Diaz did not lie when he checked no when he said he had not taken any prescription medications in the preceding two weeks.

The Nevada law that deals with medical marijuana doesn't regard it as a prescription drug. No doctor is able to prescribe it because it is a controlled substance.

Chapter 453A.210 of the Nevada Revised Statutes lays out the requirements to obtain a registry card for medical marijuana. To get the card, patients must comply with the following regulations:

(1) The person has been diagnosed with a chronic or debilitating medical condition;
(2) The medical use of marijuana may mitigate the symptoms or effects of that condition; and
(3) The attending physician has explained the possible risks and benefits of the medical use of marijuana;
(b) The name, address, telephone number, social security number and date of birth of the person;
(c) Proof satisfactory to the Division that the person is a resident of this State;
(d) The name, address and telephone number of the person's attending physician; and
(e) If the person elects to designate a primary caregiver at the time of application:
(1) The name, address, telephone number and social security number of the designated primary caregiver; and
(2) A written, signed statement from the person's attending physician in which the attending physician approves of the designation of the primary caregiver.

"Nowhere in there does it say that the attending physician is prescribing marijuana," Goodman said. "And so, for obvious reasons, before you speak and call someone a liar, you think you'd do a little bit of due diligence and understand what the Nevada law actually says."

Diaz manager Cesar Gracie said in a 2009 interview with MMA Fighting that "Nick has a prescription for marijuana in California. He has had a prescription for the last couple years, so it's a legal drug for him. He has the prescription for ADHD [Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder], and he says it helps him."

But Goodman said it is all irrelevant. He said no reasonable person regards marijuana as either a prescription drug or an over the counter medication.

"It's not like you walk into the pharmacy and start looking around on the shelves and hope to pick up a bag of marijuana," Goodman said. "That's ridiculous. No reasonable person would believe that medical marijuana falls under the category of over the counter medications."

Curiously, though, in his response to the commission, Goodman himself made a big deal about a prescription. He referenced NRS 484C.210, which deals with prohibited substances. Goodman bolded a section which said "if the person who uses the substance has not been issued a valid prescription ... "

Diaz may ultimately be forced to accept a lengthy suspension. He was suspended for six months in Nevada in 2007 for failing a marijuana test. On Jan. 31, boxer Matt Vanda had a hearing after testing positive for a second time. Vanda was suspended for a year and fined 40 percent of his purse.

If Diaz goes down, though, he's not going to make it simple on the commission. This isn't going to be a case where the fighter hangs his or her head, is lectured to by the commissioners and then apologizes profusely and meekly accepts the punishment issued.

Goodman will make certain of that.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/nick-diaz-attorney-doesn-t-kindly-calling-client-215030731.html

Aldrin de Jesus  Todd Duffee  Marvin Eastman  Stav Crazy Bear Economou 

Randy Couture at NCAA Wrestling Championships (Videos)

Former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Randy "The Natural" Couture was on-hand at the 2012 NCAA Wrestling Championships this week in St. Louis, Missouri. Couture was there in support of his alma mater, Oklahoma State University, and to promote his book "The Last Round."

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27917/randy-couture-at-ncaa-wrestling-championships-videos/

Leonard Garcia Andrew Gardner Tiki Ghosn Dennis George