Its nice to see that Dana might be willing to bring Brock Larson back to the UFC, but I think if we’re going to add any welterweight talent from the WEC it has to be Carlos Condit.

I refuse to get this ppv if Lesnar V Coleman is the main event…I mean Mark Coleman? I doubt he will be able to even walk to the octagon he is so old..he will have to get himself a Rascal to drive down the aisle so he won’t be exhausted before the fight…

Announced pretty early, I hope thats not going to be the main event.

OHHHH NO. It sounds like they are planning on having it be the main event… The WW or LW titles should be ready to be defended at that point in time.

I refuse to get this ppv if Lesnar V Coleman is the main event…I mean Mark Coleman? I doubt he will be able to even walk to the octagon he is so old..he will have to get himself a Rascal to drive down the aisle so he won’t be exhausted before the fight…

He’s a year younger than Randy Couture.

I will go to this, which will be my first UFC. I already booked a room across the street from the target center. Thinking of this will ease some of my pain of just hearing my hero Brett Favre is done.

Anyone know when tickets could go on sale? I will definitly get tickets to this event. It’s about time the UFC came to Minnesota.

I think they are just trying to find someone who is legit so that Lesnar can beat them and get hype behind him but, Coleman is way past it IMO, I hope Arlovski stays and fights Lesnar but, I doubt DANA would want to send his doll packing for getting his head knocked off. put Lesnar against some competition man Kongo, Hearring, Gonzaga, Sanchez, Sylvia, etc… why reach back and find an opponent. anywho I dont think its a good idea to have Sherk on this card he might be fried from the war he will have a few months before UFC 87. it will suck though im sure Sherk would love to fight infront of his home crowd.

should be a good card, i think either the heayweight title or middleweight title might be on the line for the main event,

UFC 85: Martin Kampman makes his return against Jorge Rivera

Most likely a heavyweight title, since it’s due by that time. Herring and Nog rematch? I know Herring doesn’t rate to be a contender quite just yet. Arlovski is probably out of the picture unless he signs a new contract which I doubt will happen.

Possible HW fights
Sanchez vs Mir (coming off wins)
Gonzaga vs Sylvia (coming off losses)
Winner of Verdum and Vera faces Nog? (fighting in June right?) not sure if that’s enough time to be ready by August.

I wonder if bodog takes bets on who si on the most steroids?

He’s a year younger than Randy Couture.

yes but he is not couture, couture is the exception to the age factor he also started late in his mma career you realy can not compare the too.

I just read something that I found to be rather interesting. After the whole Sherk/Franca debacle, you would think that the UFC and the athletic commisions would really be cracking down on the use of illegal performance enhancers. However, for UFC 82, they ONLY tested the winners of the fights. If this were the case when Sherk/Franca took place, Hermes would have never been suspended.

I wonder if bodog takes bets on who si on the most steroids?

huh, funny since brock has never failed a steroid test. but i’m sure facts aren’t going to get in the way of your opinion or anything. it must be nice to be immune to logic.

off the subject

Very interesting!!!! Check it out!!!

Findlly Dana is shown for who he really is!!

March 3, 2008 by Jake Rossen

Tops on the list of apocalyptic harbingers: Adam Sandler’s film career, Sly Stallone in yet another “Rambo,” Leno routinely beating Letterman.

Now you can add Kimbo Slice rubbing shoulders with Andy Rooney.

The knuckle-chaffed Slice (real name Kevin Ferguson (Pictures), for mass media types eager to run a background check) is about to enjoy the most expeditious journey from Miami hood to national phenomenon since Tony Montana.

That’s because Gary Shaw and his ProElite label saw wisdom where the UFC saw folly. Namely, if a network wants you to make creative concessions in exchange for primetime exposure, you don’t puff your chest out like a blowfish. You smile, say thank you, and enjoy the opportunity.

For years, the UFC (via contractually surly Dana White) vowed never to acquiesce to network demands. Their stubbornness was alleged to have cost them a deal with HBO, and it’s not unfair to suggest similar conflicts stalled discussions with broadcast networks.

Now Shaw and his upstart EliteXC promotion have strolled right through a door the UFC had left open, aligning with CBS for a series of live specials — the same CBS that, thanks to “Survivor,” “CSI” and other ventures, can boast of being the most-watched station in any given week.

It’s conceivable that after 15 years of having a near-monopoly on hematomas, that error is going to finally cost the UFC an appreciable portion of market share.

Consider: The promotion dug itself out of the political and financial quicksand it had suffered for nearly a decade only by aligning itself with Spike, a mundane cable station that was best known for basketball played on giant trampolines. Three years and one amazing live fight later (Forrest Griffin (Pictures) vs. Stephan Bonnar (Pictures)), the UFC now has a funnel for successfully pitching pay-per-view events to its target demographic.

In spite of that influence, Spike is hardly the 800-pound gorilla (or sumo) of the dial. Compared to broadcast networks, Spike delivers a far less substantial audience. The “Ultimate Fighter 6” finale drew 2.5 million viewers in December; on CBS, that number would mean mass firings. One of CBS’ higher-profile failures, the drama “Jericho,” attracted nearly six million viewers last week.

In plain English: Even on its worst day, an Elite broadcast on CBS is likely to double or triple the audience of an average “Ultimate Fighter” episode.

Immediately, Shaw’s enterprise will have nabbed a crucial component of long-term viability in the crowded combat sports market: mass exposure. Having more eyes on your product means more potential for your particular brand of mayhem. Instead of getting quizzical looks from light-on-cash consumers who refuse to sample anything other than the proven UFC offerings, they’ll be met with recognition.

Lifting the UFC’s template and using it on a broader scale is Shaw’s ticket to being a viable competitor. CBS Corporation is a massive enterprise, brimming with publishing outlets and Web destinations, all of which would be beneficial to a barnacle like Elite. (It’s so massive, in fact, that network owner Sumner Redstone also owns Viacom, the head office of Spike, making Elite and the UFC the broadcast equivalent of distant cousins.)

If Elite can look to any precedent, good or bad, it’s obviously boxing. NBC’s “Contender” did little for the sport, but it was also devoid of any real authenticity or media buzz.

Before the advent of pay-per-view and promoter greed, though, boxing was a television staple that helped build the legacies of fighters like Ali, Robinson and LaMotta. Leonard-Hearns was an early success story for the PPV model because both men had been introduced to audiences via the roof antenna. You can’t sell something blocked by a curtain of ambiguity or mystery. (That the UFC was able to attract attention in the mid-1990s without a TV presence grows more remarkable by the day.)

Expect Zuffa to come to a speedy arrangement with one of the other networks soon. While the UFC is certainly not hurting for dollars, the aggression displayed by White would seem to preclude allowing Elite to gain momentum on a free-to-air station. And if a sense of urgency allows for a network to tweak the broadcast, injecting more objectivity into the event, all the better.

You can also anticipate White to begin his prototypical smear campaign in the coming days, minimizing the Elite product and taking special exception to Slice, who has yet to prove himself against credible competition in the ring. (Hard to argue, but how quickly the UFC forgets how it used a long-expired Ken Shamrock (Pictures) to pull record ratings on Spike against Tito Ortiz (Pictures). Better than kicking asses is putting them in seats.)

The news couldn’t have come at a worse time for the UFC, which is dealing with its high-profile athletes surveying a climate hungry for their services. The only thing more headache inducing than competition on CBS is competition that’s using Ortiz or Randy Couture (Pictures) for early momentum.

As the wild card in the equation, Slice certainly skews a bit younger than CBS’ typical demo, but that’s probably the point — whether America is ready for him is another question.

Curiousity got the best of me and I headed over to FightLinker to see what that gay parade was all about. I saw the article about the collaberation with mania, and read the comments. I have come to the conclusion that there are like 4 high school freshman that post on that site. AND THEN I remembered a while back there was an atricle that was linked from mania that had pictures of people that run the mma websites. I remember Jesse looking like a cross between Jeremy Horn, and someone else, I can’t remember. I also remember someone’s head looking like a pineapple with equal hair distribution on the top and bottom. That article was hillarious. The main thing I do remember is that horrifying image of that looked like a 12 year old version of sloth from the goonies.

MANIA, PLEASE post a link to this article, I know you remember what I’m talking about. ALSO, what in the world did you do to that person “Tommy” to make him so mad at you, did you sleep with his mom, or did you edit the word “penis” from one too many of his posts?

The link to the comments regarding our site:

http://www.fightlinker.com/Your.Fight.Community/

Would be nice to see Sherk/Huerta if Sherk beats BJ. Then a Nog/Vera or Werdum. I think Herring has shown us what he was originally brought here for, but can they really market Nog/Herring 4 that’s right 4. I don’t think so.

Shonie Carter challenges Dana White and talks Silva, Lesnar and Arlovski
Shonie Carter challenges Dana White and talks Silva, Lesnar and Arlovski

http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content2124.html

On Anderson Silva…

“They better leave that man alone. They need to just let him retire out of the UFC undefeated because all of the other middleweights are incomplete. I keep telling people that this cat is a world-class Jiu-Jitsu guy and a world-class kickboxer. They didn’t want to listen to me, but I try to tell them. Some people just don’t want to believe fat meat greasy. They just hate to know that there are chocolate chips in the vanilla batter.”

On Brock Lesnar…

“Mark’s going to beat his ass. Now he has to fight somebody that’s got muscles and fighting experience. They should’ve put him in a couple of little feeder programs. Honestly, let me make 207. All I need to do is not be able to make light heavyweight. I will beat Brock Lesnar up and people think I’m nuts for saying that, but it’s the truth. They need to get that boy fighting experience before he gets up in that big Octagon. Honestly, those nerves were messing with him.”

On Andrei Arlovski…

“They treat him like a wet food stamp from what I understand.”

On Dana White…

“I want to box Dana. I won’t back out. We can make it an international title for playas; MMA Pimpton title. We can do that and if you hear me backing out, you know that’s my retirement because he paid me off good. I would box Dana and if they want to do this, I’m going to give him a little bit of the playbook. He can hire the best trainers and you know I’m a southpaw so work on that inside game because I got a 75 inch reach at 5’9”. I have monkey arms. The only person longer than me is Georges St-Pierre and he got an inch on me in height. The rest of the welterweights around 68 and 69, but I have a 75 inch reach. Let’s do this man. I want to box Dana White and we could do this shit on PPV. We can do it as a main event. Let’s make it real sweet and let’s do it inside the UFC cage. I’ll put on weight. He walks around at 200."

On his next fight…

“Yeah, I’m fighting April 12th. I know the fans are anxiously waiting and wondering if I’m retired. I’m not retired, I’m just really tired. I’m fighting April 12th and I’m fighting John Cronk again and if ya’ll don’t know, I split him to the white meat when I fought him in King of the Cage. I did two fights that week. I fought John Cronk on a Monday and I fought Buddy Clinton on a Friday. I’ll be fighting John for a title belt in the WFC in either Denver or Arizona; somewhere in the fine United States.”

“I will be fighting at middleweight. John can’t make 170. There’s no sense in making him cut weight to get his head cracked open again. I’ll crack his head at 185.”

He talks about a bunch of other stuff…here’s the full interview:

http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content2124.html

Brock Lesnar vs. Shonni Carter! Anyone? lol

Pretty interesting that EliteXC is the first organization to make a network TV debut. A case of Dana’s stubborness AGAIN causing the UFC to lose out? Sometimes I wonder if he even entertains the fans interests or just sees dollar signs 24/7.

Heard it’s unlikley Nick Diaz is on that card which would be a HUGE mistake, he doesn’t even have an opponenet for his upcoming fight and on short notice he’s probably going to get a less then thrilling opponent. Shaw I’m begging you to bump him to the CBS card, he is what MMA is all about and the guy you want making the first impression on the general public not Kimbo. If this partnership and lack of ratings ruins network TV’s desire to air more and more MMA we’re the ones who lose out. EliteXC better stack the hell out of the card to insure it is sucessful.

I wonder if El Matador will fight in his college hometown. August will have been over six months of rest for him…. GO HUERTA!!

off the subject

Very interesting!!!! Check it out!!!

Findlly Dana is shown for who he really is!!

March 3, 2008 by Jake Rossen

Tops on the list of apocalyptic harbingers: Adam Sandler’s film career, Sly Stallone in yet another “Rambo,” Leno routinely beating Letterman.

Now you can add Kimbo Slice rubbing shoulders with Andy Rooney.

The knuckle-chaffed Slice (real name Kevin Ferguson (Pictures), for mass media types eager to run a background check) is about to enjoy the most expeditious journey from Miami hood to national phenomenon since Tony Montana.

That’s because Gary Shaw and his ProElite label saw wisdom where the UFC saw folly. Namely, if a network wants you to make creative concessions in exchange for primetime exposure, you don’t puff your chest out like a blowfish. You smile, say thank you, and enjoy the opportunity.

For years, the UFC (via contractually surly Dana White) vowed never to acquiesce to network demands. Their stubbornness was alleged to have cost them a deal with HBO, and it’s not unfair to suggest similar conflicts stalled discussions with broadcast networks.

Now Shaw and his upstart EliteXC promotion have strolled right through a door the UFC had left open, aligning with CBS for a series of live specials — the same CBS that, thanks to “Survivor,” “CSI” and other ventures, can boast of being the most-watched station in any given week.

It’s conceivable that after 15 years of having a near-monopoly on hematomas, that error is going to finally cost the UFC an appreciable portion of market share.

Consider: The promotion dug itself out of the political and financial quicksand it had suffered for nearly a decade only by aligning itself with Spike, a mundane cable station that was best known for basketball played on giant trampolines. Three years and one amazing live fight later (Forrest Griffin (Pictures) vs. Stephan Bonnar (Pictures)), the UFC now has a funnel for successfully pitching pay-per-view events to its target demographic.

In spite of that influence, Spike is hardly the 800-pound gorilla (or sumo) of the dial. Compared to broadcast networks, Spike delivers a far less substantial audience. The “Ultimate Fighter 6” finale drew 2.5 million viewers in December; on CBS, that number would mean mass firings. One of CBS’ higher-profile failures, the drama “Jericho,” attracted nearly six million viewers last week.

In plain English: Even on its worst day, an Elite broadcast on CBS is likely to double or triple the audience of an average “Ultimate Fighter” episode.

Immediately, Shaw’s enterprise will have nabbed a crucial component of long-term viability in the crowded combat sports market: mass exposure. Having more eyes on your product means more potential for your particular brand of mayhem. Instead of getting quizzical looks from light-on-cash consumers who refuse to sample anything other than the proven UFC offerings, they’ll be met with recognition.

Lifting the UFC’s template and using it on a broader scale is Shaw’s ticket to being a viable competitor. CBS Corporation is a massive enterprise, brimming with publishing outlets and Web destinations, all of which would be beneficial to a barnacle like Elite. (It’s so massive, in fact, that network owner Sumner Redstone also owns Viacom, the head office of Spike, making Elite and the UFC the broadcast equivalent of distant cousins.)

If Elite can look to any precedent, good or bad, it’s obviously boxing. NBC’s “Contender” did little for the sport, but it was also devoid of any real authenticity or media buzz.

Before the advent of pay-per-view and promoter greed, though, boxing was a television staple that helped build the legacies of fighters like Ali, Robinson and LaMotta. Leonard-Hearns was an early success story for the PPV model because both men had been introduced to audiences via the roof antenna. You can’t sell something blocked by a curtain of ambiguity or mystery. (That the UFC was able to attract attention in the mid-1990s without a TV presence grows more remarkable by the day.)

Expect Zuffa to come to a speedy arrangement with one of the other networks soon. While the UFC is certainly not hurting for dollars, the aggression displayed by White would seem to preclude allowing Elite to gain momentum on a free-to-air station. And if a sense of urgency allows for a network to tweak the broadcast, injecting more objectivity into the event, all the better.

You can also anticipate White to begin his prototypical smear campaign in the coming days, minimizing the Elite product and taking special exception to Slice, who has yet to prove himself against credible competition in the ring. (Hard to argue, but how quickly the UFC forgets how it used a long-expired Ken Shamrock (Pictures) to pull record ratings on Spike against Tito Ortiz (Pictures). Better than kicking asses is putting them in seats.)

The news couldn’t have come at a worse time for the UFC, which is dealing with its high-profile athletes surveying a climate hungry for their services. The only thing more headache inducing than competition on CBS is competition that’s using Ortiz or Randy Couture (Pictures) for early momentum.

As the wild card in the equation, Slice certainly skews a bit younger than CBS’ typical demo, but that’s probably the point — whether America is ready for him is another question.

i dont know what you mean whem you say finally dana is showing his true colors w/ this article. listen i know dana is no mr sunshine and does infact flat out lie about things. but i do believe him when he says that he and the ferttitas do love what they do, they do care about the fighters and they do care about the sport. now i also know that they care about their wallets as well and i dont blame them. i do agree that dana is going to have to start bending more, open up the wallet alot more and find some way to sign w/ a major network. i know one of the big deals w/ the ufc and cbs/hbo is production control(frankly i never knew why they cbs/hbo would want to change anything about an already succsessful production that the ufc has), but if this is what it takes then dana needs to do it. i laso agree w/john that he needs to be more flexible w/fedor and vice versa now that that door might be open again. if this happens you know randy will follow and all will be right again. peace!

El Matador deserves a title shot in his next fight or a least a number one contender match with Ken-flo or the Answer frankie edgar,if Ken-flo loses to j-lau.

Brock Lesnar is going to be a BEAST !!! Theres nothing wrong with getting experience in the Octogon. Atleast he calls out big names and won’t care who he fights. Kimbo is having his opponents fed to him, very carfully hand picked. I watch Elite XC only because its on showtime. I wouldn’t buy it, but I would buy a UFC PPV with Brock cause he won’t have an opponent that doesn’t have a chance. We all knew Mir had a chance to win and thats what was so exciting about the fight. Kimbos fights on the other hand, we all know what happend with that Bo Cantrell guy, he got payed to take a dive but didn’t play it off that good. I mean come on Gary Shaw is a boxing promoter and all know what happens in boxing.

I wonder if El Matador will fight in his college hometown. August will have been over six months of rest for him…. GO HUERTA!!

I forgot all about Huerta, maybe he can get the winner of Sherk/Penn, or fight Griffen or Florian.

I would love to see El matador whip Ken Flo

Sherk is going to obviously be fighting on this card which will be in his hometown. Too bad he wont have a title to defend, so they are going to find someone good to match him up against to apeal to the fans. I say Sherk vs. Frankie Edgar for this event wouldnt be bad. Minnesota loves its wrestlers, so let 2 of the best lightweight wrestlers raaastle it out in Minnesota.

This is a perfect event for Huerta to make his return at…Give him the winner of Florian/Lauzon

The lightweight division is stacked! i wouldnt want to fight in that division, i think theyre going to see alot more jon fitch’s and roger huertas down there, 5-8 win streaks with no title shot… theres just way too much talent in one division, kenny florian, sherk, bj penn, nate diaz, huerta, guida, griffin, mac danzig just joined the mix…

i dont know what you mean whem you say finally dana is showing his true colors w/ this article. listen i know dana is no mr sunshine and does infact flat out lie about things. but i do believe him when he says that he and the ferttitas do love what they do, they do care about the fighters and they do care about the sport. now i also know that they care about their wallets as well and i dont blame them. i do agree that dana is going to have to start bending more, open up the wallet alot more and find some way to sign w/ a major network. i know one of the big deals w/ the ufc and cbs/hbo is production control(frankly i never knew why they cbs/hbo would want to change anything about an already succsessful production that the ufc has), but if this is what it takes then dana needs to do it. i laso agree w/john that he needs to be more flexible w/fedor and vice versa now that that door might be open again. if this happens you know randy will follow and all will be right again. peace!

i did not write the article and don’t agree with all of it i just thought it was an interesting take on what happened.

yes but he is not couture, couture is the exception to the age factor he also started late in his mma career you realy can not compare the too.

I wonder if El Matador will fight in his college hometown. August will have been over six months of rest for him…. GO HUERTA!!

I hope Jeff Monson comes out of retirement to fight in his home state…I would rather see him fight Lesnar then Coleman…But we all know Monson is the man and the UFC and Brock would be scared that the snowman would freeze out the career of that poser Lesnar… GO MONSON WOOO!

good enough.

Anderson Silva is in the Twin Cities this Friday scheduled to make an appearance at a local MMA event. With the timing of the announcement of the MN PPV, I am eager to see if they make announcement that Silva may “return this summer”. I honestly think that they will have two title fights in the event that Anderson takes on Okami next. That will be a tough fight to market on its own with two non-english speaking fighters. If Sherk beats Penn, things line up well.

http://www.mythnightclub.com/events/index.php

Early card prediction :
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami
Sean Sherk vs. TBD
Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Coleman
Roger Huerta vs. KenFlo/J.Lau

Brock Larson vs ?
Tommy Speer vs. ?

Debut of Marcus Lavasseur @ 155. He was a college wrestling teammate of Huerta’s at Augsburg College. His resume reads like Koscheck’s (only better). Undefeated in all four years of competition. Undefeated in MMA comp in eight or nine fights.

mark Coleman is old and out of shape, but he was fighting the so called baddest hw on the planet just a year and a half ago. I think it will be an interesting matchup, but in no way is it a headliner.

i’d like it if lesnar and huerta were on the card but i could do without sherk or maybe he’ll b the nap time fight of the card like he always is. well in my eyes he is and i’m from minnesota and i cheer the hometown but he makes it so hard to cheer for him. when he can’t finish any fighter they put in with him. sorry but he is the reason i feel they need to change how they score takedowns. if u don’t do anything with it NO points. i wish the ufc would do what pride did with the red and yellow cards if one or the other stalls take money away. come on sherk you say u got endurnce but you never go balls to the wall. you always slack off. you end your next fight then you can start to talk some of the things u say but until u end a fight SHUT UP!and the benji fight or anyone b4 that doesn’t count.

mark Coleman is old and out of shape, but he was fighting the so called baddest hw on the planet just a year and a half ago. I think it will be an interesting matchup, but in no way is it a headliner.

don’t count him out yet! lesnar counted out mir and looked what happened he lost and lost quickly. lesnar is his own hardest fight. he is just to cocky. he looked like a punk in his last fight but he did show signs of how good he COULD b. i’m not gonna pick until i see them talk and if lesnar is taking this as a joke fight like u r.

They gotta have exciting huerta in the mix. Give him the winner or loser of the knflo/lauzon fight thats coming up in april! ~blah

They gotta have exciting huerta in the mix. Give him the winner or loser of the knflo/lauzon fight thats coming up in april! ~blah

that sound like a great idea. that would be a great fight and would love to see it.

IMO Joe Stevenson is one of the only fighters strong enough to compete with the muscle shark. but i think El Matador has the skill to deal with S.S. he has come back from getting out muscled by C.Guida and D.Evans.i hope one of these guys gets to fight S.Sherk.

that sound like a great idea. that would be a great fight and would love to see it.

I would worry about Kflo in the Octagon with Huerta..

This match is bull shit. Come on! Does Mark OLDMAN have any chances of winning this fight?

I think this could be a great card. Lets say Sherk get his title back. I’d like to see Roger get a chance at the title. Two guys from Minnesota with different fighting styles. Could be a good one. As for Coleman. I love MMA I dont care to see Oldman. Brock vs Vera now that would be a good one. Looks like the lighter weight class’ are the ones to watch.

BJ will eat sherk for supper. If it wasn’t for the steroids any one of 7 knees to head would have knocked him out in the last fight. Roger and Brock are the Minnesotan’s I like to see. I think Roger would beat Sherk if they end up fighting.