(Video courtesy YouTube/SenseiSPORTV)
Tito Ortiz recently appeared on Brazilian television show Sensei SPORTV and proclaimed himself the "Muhammad Ali of mixed martial arts." If by that he means he's past his prime and is suffering from the effects of too many shots to the head, then we agree wholeheartedly.
(Where's your stand-up now, playboy?)
According to Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira's boxing coach, Luis Carlos Dórea in an interview with TATAME today, his charge will likely be back in action in September against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
“It’s set that he’ll be back in September, and rumors point that his opponent might be Quinton Jackson. It’d be a great fight for Rogério, he’s a former UFC champion and a victory over him will move us pretty close to the title. The UFC only has top athletes and Quinton Jackson is really dangerous. It’d be a great fight, but the UFC didn’t confirmed anything yet”, Dórea said.
Follow suit, Maniacs. Who’s bringing home the beef?
For the first time in three years, Spike TV will air a live UFC weigh-in special with the broadcast of Friday's UFC 116 official fighter weigh-ins.
(Ricco Rodriguez: From flab to fab.)
Two months after his beatdown of Brett Rogers at Heavy Artillery, Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem will return to competition at DREAM.15 (July 10th, Saitama), where he'll take on former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez in a non-title bout. While that may sound like Alistair is getting back to his Japanese squash-match roots, keep in mind that Rodriguez is on a seven-fight win streak since last July (six of which came by stoppage), including victories over veterans Travis Fulton and Moise Rimbon. He also looks a lot better physically these days (see above), and competed in the 218-pound division at last year's ADCCs.
Can Rodriguez use Overeem as a springboard to a career rebirth? No, probably not — but he could impress a lot of people just by giving Overeem a tough fight and not spitting on anybody. In a related story, Ricco is no longer listed for that 7/18 Impact FC fight against Jeff Monson, which is unfortunate because you can bet that Paulo Filho and Ken Shamrock will be dropping out at the last minute...
The popular Florida-based Xtreme Fighting Championships - a fast-rising MMA promotion that averages approximately 10,000 fans for each of its fan friendly shows - returns to HDNet on July 9 for "XFC 11: The Next Generation."
I’m traveling today so not gonna be able to post for most of it. Typically when I take a day off crazy shit happens, so when it does you know who to blame.
A few updates on what's been going on in the MMA Twittersphere.
WHY DOESN'T RAMPAGE WANT TO FIGHT LYOTO MACHIDA?
"Cause my last fight was boring,and homeboy's Karate style is(no offence )REALY boring,I wanna give MY fans a great fight next" -Rampage Jackson
"[Rashad] was pulling my damn shorts,I tried my damnedest to ko him,sometime things don't work out,trying to get someone who will bang next... This sport is growing so fast,I'm scared it's gonna be like boxing,were people just wanna win on points,and nobody go 4it anymore" -Rampage Jackson
"yall need 2 shut the hell up about me ducking people! u r the type of fans i hate! u dont know what the hell u r talking about,he got no belt and is boring,my last fight was boring,so i want a exciting fight next 4 my fans,then Machida and i can fight,so shut the f*ck up!" -Rampage Jackson
SETH PETRUZELLI BACK IN THE UFC
"My blood is running hot, everything is a target. Eyes of red - the taste of death is on my lips again." -Josh Barnett
"R u a vampire?" -Seth Petruzelli, replying to Barnett... and yes, I think Josh sparkles when he's under direct sunlight.
"*WANTED* a little person for July 2nd in the las Vegas area. Pay is 1 ufc 116 ticket!" -Seth Petruzelli, is going to have little people on his weigh-in?
"If u want a good show u better watch live ufc weigh ins July 2nd 7pm eastern time on spike tv! the walk out=good, they weigh ins=great!" -Seth Petruzelli, Any guesses?
"Seth petruzelli rockin the pink glock @gunstore as well as a sig 220! Too bad his hairs not pink to match right now!" -Tracy Lee
THE HEROES OF UFC 116
"@SugaRashadEvans this is better" -Kurt Pellegrino
"great practice @grudesports with my training partners" -Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar better worry, cause Carwin is training with a Ninja Turtle.
THE NIGHT THE LAST EMPEROR TAPPED OUT
" : D " -Dana White, after Fedor lost.
"Congrats to Werdum for his amazing victory, he told the media he wants the belt so try to take it from me and fight me, rematch time!!!" -Alistair Overeem
"My #MMA mailbag is now on Yahoo! Sports http://yhoo.it/9aCBki" -Kevin Iole, called Fedor "Amateurish", and says he doesn't belong in the top 10 pfp.
"FOR THE RECORD: I have been reading reports that I have a broken eye socket, I did get xrays and I had nothing broken, but do have a pretty good black eye. I did get a few stitches too. Those are my only injuries from the fight... REGARDING THE REF of my fight. I thought she did a great job. I am glad she did not sto...p it earlier... I hope she is the ref for my next fight!" -Jan Finney
"LOL... I can not believe what they are writing... I have a black eye, couple stitches, and some bruises...I had worse injuries in fast pitch soft ball. They are making sound like I am in the ICU...I went to ER for xrays and it came back nothing broke. Its still funny how they call I tell them no bad injuries and they just write what they want...If you are not going to write what I tell you ...dont call and ask ???" -Jan Finney
"Just got the call ... I will be fighting in StrikeForce again very soon. Maybe a couple of months? Just like I like it no time to rest... just train!" -Jan Finney, hopefully, at her natural weightclass.
"boo hoo, you are really taking the loss hard! Even setting him up with easy fights doesn't work anymore. its over move on, I did." -Dana White, wasting his time replying to a random twitter trolls after Fedor lost.
NATE MARQUARDT AND THE RING GIRLS
"This is wha happens when you slide across the cage" -Nate Marquardt
"Striking a pose.listening 2 a dope mix n dancing.playing lady gaga poker face! I luv my jacket.had it since I was 15" -Arianny Celeste
" Random bathroom pic...sorry I had to been working to much. And I'm ready for bed..after my last shot..GN! Xo" -Arianny Celeste
"My hooter girl waitress and I!:) here with Dale 'Apollo' Cook and Bryan O'Rourke from National Lampoon!" -Chandella Powell
"wishing everyone a beautiful night :) I hope tomorrow brings nothing but smiles" -Rachelle Leah
"Grateful 4 the incredible people in my life. Going 2 thank the greater one 4 blessing me with such love. Today was beautiful. I hope u all had a blessed day. x" -Rachelle Leah, and the picture on the bottom is her new twitter userpic.
"I drove back from San Jose and Strikeforce all day sunday and headed straight over to Mike Whitehead’s bday bbq.. I managed to get a short nap in before heading to XS for their sunday night pool party where you wear swimsuits and actually get in the pool! It’s my fave party of the week! My bboy friends were there gettin their groove on so great pics and fun times ensued.." -Tracy Lee
DEAR DANA WHITE, #BringLoganBack THANKS
"Happy Hump Day from @LoStanton" -MMA Mixer
"Red light love" -Logan Stanton
"Dilemma: I want Yogurtland, but I'm too lazy to move" -Logan Stanton
note - not a tweet, but her new twitter profile pic:
"Getting my hair done... Should I go light brown, red, black?? ;)" -Natasha Wicks, sure, bring her back too. They're certainly more interesting than the current duo.
"It puts the Aloe on its sunburnt skin!" -Natasha Wicks
"Makin teriyaki burgers!! ;) mmmmm" -Natasha Wicks
Also, If you have a twitter account, don't forget to follow:
The Official BloodyElbow Twitter Account, Luke Thomas, Kid Nate, Brent Brookhouse, Mike Fagan, Chris Nelson, Leland Roling, Richard Wade, some guy named Anton Tabuena, and Jonathan Snowden.
Props: KeithJardine.net
Quoteworthy:
"Last week I was let go by the UFC. I was sad to get the news but it was expected. I've always been proud to be a UFC fighter and they have been real good to me. I can't help but to feel a bit like I'm losing a family. As for now, I'm more motivated than ever. I'm going to take a vacation for a week then get back to work. Already, there are a lot of offers for fights coming I'm. Some are exciting. Starting over doesn't sound so bad to me. Although my career is at a crossroads my story is only half written. I have a lot of fight left in me and I continue to improve with every fight. Anyway, I'm best when the chips are stacked against me and I will make it to the top. Thanks to all of my fans."
Keith Jardine reacts to his UFC release following a loss to Matt Hamill at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 11 Finale back on June 19. The "Hammer" loss was the fourth straight for "The Dean of Mean," who is 2-6 over the span of three years. While he's never been accused of being a boring fighter, he was never able to capitalize on his momentum following big wins over Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell. Can the "Mean 1" rise from the ashes in a smaller promotion? Or will he find similar results outside of the UFC? And does anyone think he's a lock for Strikeforce?
(Props: UFC.com/JamesToney)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club...
- Was Fedor Another Victim of EA's Cover Curse? (MiddleEasy)
- Shane Carwin: 'One of Us Will Need Help Leaving the Octagon' at UFC 116 (MMA Fighting)
- Spike To Telecast Weigh-Ins For UFC 116 Lesnar-Carwin (Watch Kalib Run)
- George Sotiropoulos Will Fight Anyone (Heavy.com/MMA)
- Three Strikes and You’re Out: How Groin Shots Are Changing the Outcome of Fights (Five Ounces of Pain)
- Photo Gallery: M-1/Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum (FightMagazine)
- Fedor Emelianenko's Career in 69 Seconds (MMA Scraps)
Also in action will be fellow light heavyweights Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira tonight (June 30) at 9 p.m. ET on Spike TV.
"I don’t want to disrespect George Sotiropulous, who I think is a great person," said Pellegrino. "I want him to have the best fight on his hands, so that if he wins, he can say I beat the best Kurt Pellegrino in the world. And if I defeat him, I want the same thing… And I’m not looking forward to wrestling you; I already know I’m better. I just want to punch you and I want you to punch me too, and I want you to prove me wrong and that you can run a clinic on me."
"I’m not afraid of rubber guard, I’m not afraid to get punched in the face, I don’t care how this fight ends as long as me and you have a complete and utter battle. And don’t worry about arm submissions or leg locks; I will not tap, therefore I can still go after you, break it. If you get my throat, don’t worry about me tapping; just don’t tap to me either – go to sleep.
"Let’s show them how real black belts do it. Because I’m a real black belt and I don’t tap anymore. I want the same respect. Go to sleep. Fabricio Camoes ruined my fight because he tapped. Don’t tap, I won’t tap to you either, and let’s give everybody what they want. I am charged up and ready to get into a fist fight July 3rd."
-- Kurt Pellegrino (16-4) +155 vs. George Sotiropoulos (12-2) -195, full interview at ufc.com.