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Is Affliction Finally Gone?

The guys over at MMAJunkie.com have the latest on the cancellation of Affliction’s third event. So it begs to ask, as a promoter, have Affliction thrown in the towel? I know they say they’re coming back, but how much more money did they burn here? I can’t imagine it, poor people like me I’m sure will never know what it’s like to piss so much money away. And I will be interested to see if any lawsuits arise because of this late cancellation. Probably not, but you never know in the current economy, there may be some pissed off people here who lost some real cash.

A quick solution might be to use Fedor and whomever they choose to replace Josh (please let it be Vitor), and move them over to the Strikeforce card.  They’ve worked together in the past, but could they do it here?  That would give them a little more time to promote the fight and hang in there a little longer.  Strikeforce needs it anyways, as that card already lost Overeem in his fight and Joe Riggs in his rematch with Nick Diaz.

Even though Affliction are the butt of many jokes, they put on some memorable fights. If they’re done, that sucks. I love fights and this means one less event to look forward to between UFC’s. Look, they had the worst production, some horrible ideas like having irrelevant old metal bands play shitty music between fights, and used the same guy in their main events for each event they pulled off (and tried to pull off), but some fans are so die hard about seeing fights or about seeing Dana and the UFC go up in flames, they actually fought hard and defended every bad decision. Affliction had enough of a die hard, predetermined fan base ready to go, but they pissed that opportunity down the drain by making absolutely horrible decisions. Justifying Tim getting $800,000 dollars for a fight is hard to pull off without looking insane. I would trust my money with a filthy alcoholic hobo before I did some clown giving Tim that much money.

I already said in an earlier post after Josh failed his test, that the fallout from his failure will be significant in a couple of ways including the damage it does to the Affliction organization as a fight promoter, and that I thought this was the end.  I think I’m still correct in saying that.  So you know where I stand, now I’m curious what some of you think.  I put up a poll on the right side of the page asking the question… is Affliction done?

If Fedor was in the UFC

All the trouble Affliction is having with finding Fedor a “suitable” opponent has me thinking.  If Fedor was in the UFC and his opponent dropped out, you can bet they would have several legit heavyweights ready to go.  Just think about some of the matches possible:

1. Brock Lesnar (4-1)
2. Mirko “Crocop” Filipovic (25-6)
3. Randy Couture (16-9)
4. Shane Carwin (11-0)
5. Cain Velasquez (6-0)
6. Junior Dos Santos (8-1)
7. Cheick Kongo (14-5)
8. Frank Mir (12-4)
9. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1, 1 No Contest)

There are some great fights there.  A rematch with Mirko would be awesome.  The fight with Randy Couture would be great too.  And then there is Brock, and holy shit that could sell huge with the UFC hype machine behind it.  The only one I wouldn’t really want to see from that list is probably another fight with Nog. But this is why Fedor needs to fight in the UFC.  Most of those guys would be more entertaining than anything else out there right now.  More than Brett Rogers, Jeff Monson or Vitor. What the fuck Vadim Finkelchtein? Get with the damn program you crazy fucking Russians.

And by the way, I don’t think he’ll be with the UFC anytime soon, if ever. If Affliction goes under, there is the new show in town, M-1 Global. M-1 is having their first “major” event, and you know that is where Fedor will be, since Vadim is also one of the guys running that promotion. Obviously Fedor wont be fighting on this first event, but I bet he would be fighting for their next gig. Keep sucking the life out of Fedor by trying to build yet another organization here in the states on his still unknown back.

Josh Barnett Fails Another Drug Test

Josh Burnout

So news broke this morning about Josh Barnett failing another drug test and he has been removed from his fight with Fedor. If this wasn’t his second time failing a drug test, I would probably listen to whatever excuse he made and take a serious look at it and given him a fair chance. But it’s not. What the fuck is this guy thinking? I’m sure that even though this fight doesn’t have the mainstream attention it deserved, it was still the most important fight of his career to date. How could it not be? He was going to be fighting the #1 ranked HW in the world, Fedor Emelianenko. The very guy that Josh and every other heavyweight hope to fight one day.

The fallout from this will be significant in a couple of ways. One of the bigger things to come out of this will be the damage it does to the Affliction organization as a fight promoter. I’m willing to bet that this just hammered the last nail in that coffin. Reminds me of Seth Petruzelli’s single handed KO of EXC. That organization built itself around Kimbo. They put all their eggs in one basket, much like Affliction has done with Fedor. Now their main event with Fedor, the one they put all their marketing behind, has been trashed.  More like, shit on.  And can you imagine if the last minute replacement KO’s Fedor like Seth did to Kimbo?  Holy shit.  Affliction was already on life support and even Tom Atencio himself said this event was going to determine their future, that he would know more after the show. Well he doesn’t have to wait that long now, it’s just been played out for him. This is a major blow.

Another story that will evolve from this, and obviously much more important, is what this says about out-of-competition drug testing and the fighters themselves that are getting busted. The testing works. Every fighter out there will be paying attention to this. Fighters can prepare themselves for pre and post fight testing the day of the event, but it’s much more difficult to prepare for a pop-in by a state official, ready to test a couple of weeks out.  Using steroids is just weak anyways and says a lot about a person.  And why did Josh do this, again? Does he suffer from the same insecurity that Tim Sylvia does and want to improve his physical appearance, trying to get that “look” the mainstream public expects to see when they think of a fighter? Or does he lack the confidence he needs to be in the ring with a fighter like Fedor? Which is it? Either way, it speaks volumes.

So who will replace Josh now?  Tito?  Nope. Brett Rogers or Fabricio Werdum?  Nope. Vitor Belfort?  Personally, I hope they pick Vitor.  I like that matchup. I actually like that better than having Josh Barnett fight.  I mentioned before how I was probably one of the very few that really didn’t care to see Fedor and Josh throwdown.  I was still going to watch but I just wasn’t into it as much as everyone else seemed to be.  I have never been a big fan of Josh.  I don’t dislike the guy at all, but I don’t really follow him either.  But give me Fedor and Vitor?  Hell yeah.  I know I have bitched about fighters picking a weight class and sticking to it, but this is one of those special, last minute replacement situations and in an emergency like this, I think thats a fine fight.  But again, I’m on my own here as the poll on Sherdogs front page shows that 75% of almost 30,000 votes say that Vitor is not a suitable opponent.  Oh well.

Kimbo Slice Interview Part 2

Thoughts on Recent News and Events

Those of you that follow me here know how I like to just ramble off a few thoughts, in no particular order. Just type as I go type of thing here. So after last night’s Dream event in Japan (damn you Brighthouse, damn you to hell), and some recent news, I have to rant.

1.) Having my HDNet taken away by Brighthouse Networks has really pissed me off.  It was the only reason I got the HD package to begin with.  In all fairness, I have decided to give them until September to rectify this.  If they can’t come to terms with HDNet, I’m taking my account of more than 15 years to satellite.  Over the years, I have spent THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of dollars on PPV fights, internet, and now even my phone with Time Warner/Brighthouse.  My cable bill each month is mind boggling.  Boxing, K-1, UFC, and every other fight there is, I buy it.  I have all the movie channels, everything they offer.  But I never complained about my bill because they provided what I wanted.  Now I feel as if their is someone else out there that can do a better job for the money I offer to pay.  It appears I can get HDNet and more than I was before.  Such as actually getting UFC PPV’s in HD and all together more HD channels, and the NFL network.  I hate to say it, but this may just be goodbye, Brighthouse.  It’s been a good relationship but we’re growing apart.  You’re going to lose a good customer here.

2.) Dream 10.  Since I had my HDNet taken away, I had to watch it online.  I had to watch Melvin Manhoef on the ground, again looking like a fish out of water, online in a tiny little window.  He looked like a minow flipping and flopping around on my screen.  I kept waiting for someone to throw water on him.  Seriously, does this guy train anything other than striking?  Damn man, you just know when Melvin goes to the ground, the fight is going to be over in seconds.  You also know he didn’t win.  But hey, it was a good job by Paulo Filho to withstand the storm Melvin was bringing, because he was getting tagged and yet managed to hang in there long enough to do what he needed to get the victory.  Overall it was an entertaining fight.

3.) Shinya Aoki is pretty damn good, but I’m not sold on him beating BJ Penn.  I think Penn is still the best in the division.  Let’s see how Aoki looks this time around when he rematches Joachim Hansen… and BJ Penn fighting Kenny Florian will be settled.

4.) The UFC has apparently decided to give us Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin 2.  I’m not into this at all.  What weight class will this be?  See, all this weight class jumping is screwing shit up.  I would rather watch Henderson fight just about anybody in the MW division right now.  I would also rather watch Franklin fight just about anybody else in the LHW division.  This fight is just weak.  I’ll still be watching it, but damn man.

5.) On the same card as Henderson/Franklin 2, we get a stellar fight with Mirko “Crocop” Filipovic fighting the Werdum killer, Junior Dos Santos.  I’m really excited for this fight.  I picked Junior to beat Werdum by KO, but this fight is going to be a little more difficult to pick.  Let me think about it a bit and I will post my picks later when we’re getting closer to this fight.

6.) Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal is fighting Don Frye?  Oh shit.  This is a silly fight.  When I first read about it, I thought it was another wacky match up by one of the Japanese organizations, but I was way off.  It’s M-1 (aka Fedor’s Management) and the show is happening in Los Angeles.  WTF?  Being Fedor’s management, it doesn’t surprise me a bit.  And as pointless as this fight is, I’m still sort of interested, but in the “watching a car wreck” kind of way.  Seems like a risky fight for a rising fighter like King Mo, no?  I don’t think he will lose, but with a guy so new fighting a guy so experienced, we all know what can happen here.  See Brock/Mir 1.

7.) Speaking of Fedor, lately it seems as if people have been talking more about him possibly fighting in the UFC (again) than they have his actual upcoming fight with Josh Barnett.  I hope their PPV numbers don’t mirror the recent lack of hype this next event.  I’m willing to bet that the few casual fans that have actually heard of Fedor and heard about what a bad ass he is don’t even know he’s fighting soon.  It’s a shame too.  I would like to see Affliction stick around, but at the same time, I want to see Fedor in the UFC too.  Is that wrong?

8.) Tito Ortiz is apparently getting ready to start dry humping Dana White’s last nerve again.  They have supposedly made up.  Whatever.  I don’t believe that silly shit and don’t care.  I just want to see Tito fight already.  He’s a great fighter and knows how to sell a fight.  There are some interesting fights for him in the UFC.  And with both him and Brock fighting for the same organization… that is BIG MONEY.  It would be a smart move by the UFC, financially anyways.

And that’s about all my tiny brain can handle right now.  I work all day for a living, my head hurts and I’m ready for sleep.

Urijah Faber’s Awesome Fight in Bali

The first two minutes are a few normal boring questions, but then the Sherdog interviewer digs in for the real story about how Urijah Faber threw down with a bunch of mafioso nightclub bouncers in Bali. For those of you that haven’t heard this, sit down and enjoy. It’s like a Jackie Chan movie coming to life. The end quote is the absolute best…

“Don’t f*ck with the Balinese people and it takes more than twelve Balinese with weapons to kill The California Kid“.

Kimbo Slice Interview Part 1

Georges St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva is Stupid

GSP fighting Anderson Silva does not interest me at all.  I feel as if I may be one of the very few who think this is a dumb idea.  At least the UFC and GSP himself don’t seem too eager to do this, so I’m in good company.  I want to see him break Hughes record and defend the belt for a while.  And really, the guys fighting at 170, working their way up for a title shot, deserve the chance to dethrone the champ.  If Anderson was to beat him (which is likely to be the outcome), that would just make his next possible loss at 170 seem less golden.  I think it takes away from that victory.  The fighter at 170 who beat him just lost a little bit of thunder from that win.

But people really want to see Georges move up and fight Anderson.  The UFC is good at giving the fans what they ask for, but I hope they stick to their guns for a while here and not let this fight happen.  Maybe after GSP makes a few more title defense and has truly cleaned out the divison, then maybe I will be interested.  But not now, that shit just annoys me.

Gina Carano and… Who?

WTF? That’s just wrong.

UPDATE:  It appears they fixed it…

Randy Couture and Dan Henderson Bar Fight

So I was/am working on a post about old pics and articles from the limited MMA media we had years ago on the net and I stumbled across something I forgot all about. I first heard about this years ago when on MMA Weekly Radio with Ryan Bennett and Frank Trigg (when they hosted it, it was hands down the best MMA Radio show ever).  A lot of fans may know about this one already, but there are sure to be some new fans who will enjoy it…

In 1995, Randy and Henderson cleaned house on five bouncers in Buckhead (ATL)–it was a brutal bloodbath and took about 90 seconds, max. I was with them, and believe me when I tell you it was total carnage. It started when Randy pushed Dan into a car–just horseplay–outside a bar, and the doormen started talking ****. One of them grabbed a baseball bat and was acting like he was going to swing. So, Randy and Dan squared up.

After a few moments of banter–Hendo told the dude he was going to shove the bat up his ass–Randy suddenly lunged at the dude with the bat, who immediately tucked tail and retreated into the bar with Randy on his heels. Henderson and I remained outside and Dan literally mowed through two of the four remaining bouncers–a fourth friend and I pitched on the last two. One of the guys Dan lit up tried to run away, and Dan would let him go for a few steps, and then beat him down. This lasted for about a block–I know, because I had to track him down so we could elude the police, and was literally a trail of blood on the street. Then, when I went to get Randy out of the bar, I saw that he had destroyed the place by repeatedly picking the bouncer up and tossing him into tables and across the bar.

Dan had just picked up some chick 20 minutes earlier, and she was just horrified, but ended up running from the police with us. We tossed her over chain link fences and brick walls, and by the time we got to our car, her dress was in tatters and she was just livid. Keep in mind, this was two years before either guy fought in MMA. I should also point out that I’ve known Dan for nearly 20 years and Randy almost 15, and it’s the only time I’ve ever seen either guy in a street fight. The dude with the bat just set them off.

Best part is, Randy was interviewing to be the head coach for the U.S. Greco team, and he was out to dinner with the executives the following night. In the middle of dinner, a cop shows up at his table with the manager, and they say that Randy has to leave. When the USA Wrestling attorney asks why, they said that it was because Randy and some buddies had destroyed the place the night before and assaulted their security staff. Turns out it was the same place! Luckily, they just booted Randy and no charges were filed. 100% true.

Aaron Crecy
Clinch Gear

This was originally posted by Aaron Crecy in one of the Sherdog forums a few years back.  I tried to find the audio of the same story told by Dan when he talked about it on MMA Weekly Radio, but no luck.  Another quick little piece of history, Aaron Crecy also used to write for Full Contact Fighter back in the day.

I’m just tired of reading about the Brock/Henderson/UFC 100 shit and I bet many of you are too.  I hope this helps, because I don’t know how much more I can stand reading before I go all Brock on some unlucky fool with a horseshoe stuck up his ass.