We usually leave the sorting of information and directing towards MMA content to great feeder sites like FightOpinion.com. Tonight though, there’s just to much great stuff out there to pass up. So for once, instead of me writing some opinion piece, you need to take the time to read and support some other great writers. The writers in this update I’ve been able to interact with via e-mail over the last two weeks and enjoy their energy and intelligence regarding MMA. Maybe more of a compliment, this is who I read most days. This is who I wanna hear from when it comes to the pulse of MMA news/journalism. Enjoy: Read the full story

Happy Halloween from MMA Opinion!

The International Fight League gets their big chance to shine on November 3rd. Not only are they holding their World Grand Prix Semi-Finals in Chicago, but they are also airing an hour worth of fights on live television on MyNetworkTV. In a world where Pride (when it was around) and the UFC rule the PPV game, the IFL needs this hour of live coverage to showcase it’s offering to the sport of MMA. Not only will these 60 minutes help the IFL, it will also help MMA as a whole.

A monopoly in the MMA world is only hurting the fans, the fighters, and the organizations. Without exposure to these other companies, MMA fans are limited to who they see and what they ultimately “know” about the sport based on a few UFC live shows, a reality show, and monthly PPV’s. We get lucky once in a while and other smaller organizations may give us a free streaming event on the web, but it’s not the same. At a time where MMA is finally gaining the exposure that it deserves from ESPN, Yahoo, CBS, and apparently even Time Magazine, these smaller and lesser known fight productions need to find ways to break into the mainstream, even if it’s only an hour at a time.

Will I be watching the IFL for that one hour on that Saturday night? You better believe I will be. I will most likely have a few things to share as well. You can watch the fights at 9PM EST on MyNetwork TV. Click here for a listing of MyNetworkTV channels in your area or click here to get tickets for only $12 to the event at the Sears Center in Chicago, Illinois. Either way, check it out.

I’ve been following this game from a wonderful vantage point for the last six years, and was “just a fan” for seven years before that. Never before have the folks at Zuffa opened up the books like they did yesterday. Thanks to a fax from Zuffa’s P.R. department, I’ve got a copy of the materials released to the media yesterday in my hot little hand, and let me tell you something:

There is no point to use words like “alleged” or “supposed” when discussing the hard facts in this situation. There is a reason that Zuffa released this information, and the reason is simple. Randy Couture is either a very confused man when it comes to his own finances, is playing the media as his agent has directed him to, or is just straight lying. Something tells me it just might be a combination of all three, but I have no idea what is going on as far as Randy’s thought process is concerned.

Read the full story

I thought for a year or two “Killin’ Me Softly” was a Lauren Hill/Fuggee’s song. Even after I was informed of Roberta Flack’s original, I still thought Hill’s “Killin’” was better. You gotta love remakes. Especially when your target audience doesn’t even know it’s a rehash.

Randy Couture as the beloved old champion; A great history with one company, dabbling with others but ultimately coming back. Still the most cheered, even in his twilight; Carrying the banner for the flawed empire that is his home. Announcing. Speaking engagements. Fighting. Interviews. All for UFC.

Dana White as the brash young executive. The man who won the power grab, said he could move a mountain, and came out and did it. Often the loud mouth, teetering on that border between brilliant forward thinking businessman and slave-driving, oppressive, self-indulgent, drunk with power, owner. The stakes, always so high, and hovering above the eyes of a new, young, hungry, and observant media. But now, the two men are at odds. The lovable old man has taken all he can take. Respect is brought up. The Businessman scoffs at him. Money becomes and what it’s symbolic and real value is becomes a central issue. The people passionately react. How can this happen? Who can fix this? “We need our hero!” the fans scream, but he’s gone, and the man in the suit makes it easy to blame him.

I like this story. The characters are great. The progression and drama are all there. It’s compelling. I liked it the first time I watched it too. When Randy Couture was played by Ric Flair. Read the full story

Is anyone else tired of these back and forth press conference games? I wonder when Randy Couture has scheduled his next conference to rebut all of the accusations and so-called “facts” that were presented during the UFC conference call today. Today’s conference call was a little bit different and for reasons I find somewhat humorous.

It seemed that Dana White had some backup during this press conference and it’s easy to understand why. With more people from the UFC organizations saying the same things - “Randy was paid”, “Randy is paid enough”, and “Randy was paid a lot of money”, listeners were expected to believe everything that was said. Not so fast! Although I have said in the past that I think many big name fighters are paid fairly, the organization was still up to their old games of dodging questions regarding financials of the other fighters. When White was asked why some UFC fighters make a lot less money, he went on to reference the PGA. Yes, he mentioned golf! You can’t liken MMA to golf, Dana! Even the boxing vs. MMA guys know this.

Read the full story

The Strikeforce MMA tournament will be occurring on November 16th, 2007 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California at 7:30PM PST.

Fighters Include:
Cung Le
Paul Buentello
Luke Stewart
Joe Riggs
and more!

EliteXC will be at the American Bank Center in Corpus Cristi, Texas on Saturday, November 10th at 7PM EST.

King of the Cage will be live on Wednesday, November 21st at 8PM.

King of the Cage will be at the Rockford Metrocentre in Rockford, Illinois on Saturday, November 17th at 8PM.

Part of this event will be shown live on Saturday, November 3rd at 9PM EST on MyNetwork TV.

UFC Press Conference

Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, and UFC CFO John Mulkey

Report by Brandt D. and Johnny P. of MMAOpinion.com

JOHN MULKEY (UFC Chief Financial Officer)
He gives a statement on Couture’s earnings from UFC this year. Here’s the breakdown:

UFC 68:
250k fight and 250k fight bonus
$900k based on 500k+ buys

UFC 74:
250k purse
485k buys
787k extra based on ppv buys
1.072M total

Regarding Couture’s claims of not being paid all the money from UFC 68, Mulkey claims Couture was paid 5 separate checks, and all but 17k has been cashed.

The term off the books was used a lot by Couture, Mulkey says that the money is taxable.

Dana White Statement
Dana said Couture wanted 500k signing bonus
White says Couture called him. Couture wanted back in w/ a signing bonus of half a million dollars. He explains the UFC’s concerns. They decided to give him 250 K up front, and 250 K after as his signing bonus, NOT the fight bonus.

Dana claims Couture was 436 K off on after-fight bonus. His tone showed frustration, though e was trying to be as factual and non-slanderous as possibly. I’d say he was looking to come across as sympathetic.

He explains how they cut fight bonuses after w/o having to do so contractually. Says nothing is “off the books”. Was upset over Randy calling the UFC a monopoly.

Read the full story

Uh oh. It looks like a “celebrity” was caught doing something bad again. Normally when I hear of celebrities crashing their cars, fighting in clubs, or just being stupid, I shrug and chalk it up as another case of someone with too much money and not enough brains. This time the “celebrity” in question is Ultimate Fighter 4 Welterweight Din Thomas.

Thomas was caught holding “illegal fights” at his Port St. Lucie, Florida training facility. While the media is desperately looking for more attempts to liken MMA to dogfighting these days, a spectator has a comment to share with us on TCpalm.com:

I was there that night and there were 2 guys from orlando american top team franchise to compete against the port saint lucie franchise and all the fights were basically exhibitons to get guys used to being in front of crowds and there was a referee watching closely.the police did show up during the second match but they didn’t shut it down and they spoke with Din and let the matches continue.My 16 year old son has just begun training at Mr.Thomas’school and Mr.Thomas has been professional and excellent as a jiu-jitsu instructor and if this was so illegal how come the cops let it continue?? There was no gambling on these exhibition fights either.I’m sure this is another example of going after a guy for no good reason and I SUPPORT DIN THOMAS 100%.

So let’s see here. We have one side telling us that a well known fighter was running “illegal cage fighting matches” in an attempt to make us vision unwilling men being thrown into a cage to fight for their lives. The other side, a spectator at the event, is telling us that there were only training “exhibition matches” to help prepare the fighters for real professional fights.

Either way, Thomas is facing felony charges and the media is going to run for miles with this story.

The fight, not the media circus.

I remember a few years ago, the notion of a Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko fight was simply scoffed at by most of the hard core fans. Back in 2003 the perception was that Randy had dropped to light heavyweight and had done so to escape the problems he’d experienced in the heavyweight division. Even though he was beating the likes of Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort at the time, there wasn’t any point in talking about Randy and Fedor. It seemed like a waste of time. Not many would’ve picked Randy back then.

Read the full story

Let’s talk about the woman that every female fighter wants to beat these days; Gina “Conviction” Carano. This young lady has become the next big thing in women’s MMA as of late and it’s easy to see why. Racking up an impressive Muay Thai fighting record of 12-1-1, the Las Vegas native is a good thing for the future of female MMA fighting for a couple reasons. With notable wins over Rosie Sexton, Julie Kedzie, and most recently, her first submission victory over Tonya Evinger, Carano is maintaining her status as the person to beat. Formidable in both a ring and a cage, this 25 year old is nothing to scoff at and her 5-0 record proves it. There’s also a reason why she is put in front of the cameras outside of fighting - her face is also good for business.

Read the full story

I received an email from Future MMA Stars yesterday and wanted to share it/get the word out about their cause:

‘Tap or Snap 29′ will honor Trevor Carron and Nikko Landeros

I had no idea who Trevor or Nikko are, but I kept reading.

Nov. 3, 2007 at Douglas County Event Center

Shameless promotion of smaller organization. Nothing wrong so far.

UFC Champions show the soft side of the toughest sport in the world.

“I didn’t realize that ground and pound, high kicks, and spinning backfists could show a soft side” says the mass media. Or better yet: “Those crazy guys killing each other in human cockfights don’t have any morals!” That’s better.

Colorado Springs, Colorado - October 26, 2007 — The Douglas County Event Center ill be host to some of the toughest men in the world who also have the softest earts, on Saturday November 3, 2007.

During “Tap or Snap” mixed martial arts event, Matt Serra, the current UFC Welterweight Champion, will be presenting Trevor Carron and Nikko Landeros gifts hat were sent by the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion, Randy Couture.

Ok, I still have no idea who Trevor and Nikko are or what happened to them, but I see the name Matt Serra and from what I have seen, Serra seems like a cool dude who would do something nice. Also, the name Randy Couture sticks out. Another seemingly good dude as well.

Read the full story

A few days ago I wrote an article where I presented an adjustment to the 10- point Must System I called “Flex scoring”. I applied to the two fights that went to decision on UFC 77 card last Saturday, and printed my results. I also asked readers and MMA media members to write in with their own thoughts about changing scoring at the state athletic level and what they thought about present scoring ( I sent out a lot of personalized e-mails, I’m not that popular yet!).

I felt a follow up with some results, feedback, and thoughts was in order. The first thing that’s glaringly obvious, though unfortunately not surprising, is that for every million that like to bitch and complain loudly, there’s barely one that will take the initiative to act. I got one e-mail from a reader, along with a few comments via blog feedback or on message boards. Most of my responses were at least somewhat solicited from media members, which I’m grateful for. Even with the low turn out the results were encouraging to me. I never felt that my system was fool proof or the definitive answer, or really that I was the only person in the world to think of trying it. But it was a jumping off point, and from here we can continue the discussion with some findings. Read the full story

We expected to hear a lot of answers today. An announced press conference for Couture had the MMA world on bated breath. Then, UFC President Dana White announced his own conference and we were sure a tongue lashing of Randy would ensue. Instead, Dana showcased Brock Lesnar, a new TV deal with Spike, and also the Chuck Liddell versus Wanderlei Silva fight. Randy, at his conference, said in more detail what he said two weeks ago: he wants Fedor and if he can’t have him, it isn’t worth staying with the UFC. A lot of people are disappointed that they didn’t get direct answers on the abrupt departure of the UFC’s Crown Jewel. Dana seemed irritated at someone, and it didn’t seem like Randy. But should we care that we didn’t get answers? My answer is no. We should all move on. There are more things to worry about in MMA today. Read the full story