Wanderlei Silva, Sarah Kaufman, Tyrone Mims: The Morning News Roundup ? 8.13.12

One fighter should be riding off into the sunset, one fighter has the biggest fight of her career coming up, and one fighter was taken from us too soon.  It's a mixed bag of news in today's roundup, so come, grab your cup of joe (or java, or mud, or whatever it is you coffee drinkers imbibe) and join me.  I brought bagels!

  • UFC president Dana White says that Wanderlei Silva ? the legendary Brazilian fighter and PRIDE FC champ ? will fight again.  Hooray? I guess?  Look, I love the "Axe Murderer" as much as the next guy, and watching some of his old fights is akin to watching a snuff film where the participants wear four-ounce gloves and fight shorts.  But it's an undeniable fact that the man has gotten old and is nowhere near the killer he once was.  Remember what happened when he fought Quinton Jackson?  Or Chris Leben?  I don't want to see something like that again.  Do you?  I say give him an executive position in the UFC's Brazil office and let him smile and shake hands and stuff.

 

  • Female bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey is headlining a Strikeforce this weekend, and of course you're going to be inundated with all sorts of things pertaining to her (she is the "new" face of women's MMA, after all).  So, for the sake of balance and yin and yang and whatnot, here's some Sarah Kaufman stuff.  She is challenging Rousey for her belt, you know.

 

  • As I hinted at yesterday, a fighter died at an amateur MMA event in South Carolina on Saturday night.  His name was Tyrone Mims.  This was Mims' first fight, and it was fully-sanctioned and under the auspices of South Carolina State Athletic Commission.  The cause of death won't be known until an autopsy is performed (one is scheduled), but according to onsite accounts, it didn't appear as if Mims took an inordinate amount of damage in his bout, which has led to speculation that a pre-existing condition could've been a contributing factor.  What sort of medical screening do amateur fighters go through?  It varies by state ? in New York or South Dakota, a person can step into the cage after signing a waiver and maybe getting a quick look-over by a doctor, while in South Carolina you need the standard bloodwork done (HIV, Hepatitis B and C), an eye exam and the thumbs-up from a physician.  Regardless of what pre-fight screening Mims went through, though, it's still a tragedy that he lost his life.  He stepped into the cage and took part in a sport we all love; let's honor him by never forgetting and by striving to make our sport better.

 

That's all for now.  Today's the last day of my temp gig here at Cagewriter, but you can expect at least one more post from me, so you can post your parting insults there.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/wanderlei-silva-sarah-kaufman-tyrone-mims-morning-news-141054233--mma.html

Mike Brown  Junie Browning Paul Buentello  Josh Burkman 

UFC flyweight Ian McCall spending 30 days behind bars after arrest for outstanding warrant

UFC flyweight Ian McCall was arrested in Irvine, California last week by the Laguna Beach Police Department when he was spotted and recognized by DEA officers working on a separate investigation. McCall has been very open about his checkered past that included drug abuse. When the detectives ran McCall’s name, it was revealed to them [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2012/08/18/ufc-flyweight-ian-mccall-spending-30-days-behind-bars-after-arrest-on-outstanding-warrant/

Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein

Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez II Betting Odds

UFC president Dana White just confirmed the rematch between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez (Pictured) less than a week ago, but that hasn’t stopped the Gambling Gods from dropping their two cents on the subject. Although dos Santos disposed of Velasquez in merely 64 seconds in November to capture the heavyweight hardware, “Cigano” opens [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/125862/junior-dos-santos-vs-cain-velasquez-ii-betting-odds/

Edgar Garcia Leonard Garcia Andrew Gardner Tiki Ghosn

Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman Real Time Results

Love her or hate her, there?s no denying bantamweight Ronda Rousey has had a tremendous impact on the sport of MMA in little more than a year since turning pro after a career on the mat as an Olympic-medaling Judoka. ?Rowdy Ronda? will try to further her rapid ascension to the top tonight when she [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2012/08/18/strikeforce-rousey-vs-kaufman-real-time-results/

Kazuyuki Fujita Masakatsu Funaki Zelg Benkei Galesić Mauro Galvao

John Gunderson Inks Three-Fight Deal With Resurrection Fighting Alliance

UFC veteran John Gunderson has inked a three-fight deal with the Resurrection Fighting Alliance, who announced earlier today that Ed Soares has taken over the role of the promotion’s president. The Team Tompkins fighter joins the ranks of some of RFA’s recent quality accusations which includes the likes Tyson Griffin, Sergio Pettis, Gilbert Yvel, Chidi Njokuani, [...]

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29922/john-gunderson-inks-three-fight-deal-with-resurrection-fighting-alliance/

Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis  Tony DeSouza  Edwin Dewees 

Jon Jones responds to Chael Sonnen's title-aspirations at 205

It didn?t take long for Chael Sonnen to make an impact in the UFC?s light heavyweight division even though he won?t actually fight inside the Octagon at 205 pounds until the end of the year. Sonnen, who announced last night he was facing Forrest Griffin on December 29, also brought up champion Jon Jones? name on UFC Tonight where he joked about being able to take the title-holder?s belt as though it was the candy of a child on Halloween.

Jones wasted little time responding to Sonnen?s comments, going on Twitter to level his own critique of the colorful, often controversial, competitor.

?The things you say about me hold absolutely no weight. You disrespected Anderson Silva and his country but fought like a child. If you’re going to disrespect me out of nowhere, at least disrespect me to my face like a man,? wrote Jones. ?And you call me a punk? I’m more man than you’ll ever be. You’re not worth my time. Earn a title shot instead of trying to talk your way into one and I’ll be glad to hurt you.?

Sonnen Wants Titles, Not Money-Fights

?Bones? also labeled Sonnen as a ?coward? and a ?cheater?.

Instead of things ending there, Sonnen responded to Jones? statement by poking fun at the 25-year old?s recent deal with Nike and arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol.

?Boarding plane to Oregon now, home of your corporate wage masters. Next time you are in town, knock on my door. Don’t drive,? chimed Sonnen on Twitter.

The comment was quickly addressed by Jones who replied, ?You’re an idiot if you think I haven’t heard every DUI joke in the book. I applaud the original ones (but) that’s powerless.?

Though the two are far from meeting inside the cage it looks like the seeds have at least been planted for a new rivalry featuring Sonnen and a seemingly unbeatable champion.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Source: http://www.fighters.com/08/15/jon-jones-responds-to-chael-sonnens-title-aspirations-at-205

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen 

Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman Real Time Weigh-In Results/Video

Death-threats aside, tomorrow night?s bout between Strikeforce bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and challenger Sarah Kaufman is poised to be one of the most memorable match-ups in the history of the sport. However, before the two can tussle in the cage they have to first make the 135-pound limit in order to officially receive a green-light [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2012/08/17/strikeforce-rousey-vs-kaufman-real-time-weigh-in-results/

Chris Dolman Edson Drago  Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte

Hector Lombard, Frank Trigg, Jamie Varner: The Morning News Roundup ? 8.10.12

Fighting injured.  When fighters' paychecks are contingent upon them getting into the cage and performing like trained monkey/gladiator/Rock'em  Sock'em Robot hybrids, we're going to get a lot of dudes who eschew proper medical care and healing for the sake of being able to make mortgage payments.  It's just a fact of life.  And it's made even more prevalent when you factor in the money promotions put into hyping those particular matchups and whatever emotion fans invest in those particular fighters.  All that amounts to a heck of a lot of pressure on those who might be injured.  If, by now, you've figured out that today's morning news roundup deals with someone having fought injured, you are correct!  Follow the jump to collect your prize!

  • According to former Bellator champ-turned-lukewarm UFC middleweight Hector Lombard, his recent Octagon debut at UFC 149 was tainted by a pre-existing injury.  What was holding him back?  A fractured sternum.  Yikes.  That's almost as bad as the time Tito Ortiz fought with a fractured skull, a ruptured disc, a torn ACL, rickets and Whooping Cough.  Anyway, Lombard ended up losing a lackluster split decision to Tim Boetsch, so yeah, sure, a busted sternum could do that.

 

  • Former UFC welterweight Frank Trigg was arrested on domestic violence charges in Las Vegas, N.V.  Details are sparse, but MMAFighting has ascertained that he's out on bond, and that this isn't the first time issues have arisen between Trigg and his estranged wife.  Double yikes.

 

  • Resurgent UFC lightweight Jamie Varner says he could've won his UFC on FOX 4 fight against Joe Lauzon (Lauzon won and both men got a fat Fight of the Night bonus), but it would've been boring if he'd gone that route and done what he'd needed to win.  Okay.  Thanks? I guess?

 

  • The matchup between B.J. Penn and up-and-coming star Rory MacDonald has allegedly been rescheduled for the UFC on FOX installment slated for December.  This is according to fighter-turned-TV personality Nate Quarry, who said this on MMA Uncensored on SpikeTV last night.  However, since I can't very well link to a TV show (Can I?  Can I plug my computer into my DVR?), here's BloodyElbow reiterating those very words.

 

That's it for now.  Follow me here on Twitter.  If you dare.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/hector-lombard-frank-trigg-jamie-varner-morning-news-135509229--mma.html

Tadhg Steamfist Dixon Joe Doerksen  Chris Dolman Edson Drago 

Chris Weidman: ?It?s going to be awesome to beat Anderson Silva.?

28-year old middleweight Chris Weidman is currently riding on a wave of confidence based on his success as an amateur wrestler combined with a 9-0 record thus far in MMA including recent wins over Demian Maia and Mark Munoz. Seen by many as the UFC?s top contender at 185 pounds, Weidman has been actively lobbying for a fight with champion Anderson Silva for the past few weeks though unsuccessful thus far in his attempts to bait the divisional king into a bout.

Weidman recently sweetened the pot for Silva at a Q&A session with fans in Denver for UFC 150 where he not only said he would finish ?The Spider? but was willing do to so in front of the Brazilian?s countrymen if need be.

UFC President Dana White Gives Thoughts on Weidman-Silva Scrap

?I truly believe I can beat him. I wouldn?t be asking for this fight if I didn?t believe it. I don?t only believe I can beat him, I believe I can go out there and finish him. It?s going to be awesome to beat Anderson Silva,? beamed Weidman, adding on the possibility of a match-up in Brazil, ?I wouldn?t shy away from that. For me to get a ?W? over him in Brazil? Imagine that. I?m looking to take the biggest challenge possible.?

Silva fought in July and is believed to be sitting out until 2013 in hopes of possibly being paired with welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in a long awaited ?super-fight? between the two pound-for-pound greats. His camp has also come out to say Weidman isn?t a big enough star to merit Silva?s attention in the Octagon regardless of his recent accomplishments in the ring.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Source: http://www.fighters.com/08/12/chris-weidman-%e2%80%9cit%e2%80%99s-going-to-be-awesome-to-beat-anderson-silva-%e2%80%9d

Marcus Aurelio  Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz Azeredo  Luciano AzevedoÂ