Anything MMA, except thumb wrestling

[lovetoaster]

...and in other fight news Tim Sylvia and the UFC are parting ways.

It will be interesting to see who he ens up fighting next.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=5978&zoneid=2

Fudge. I thought this was going to happen, but I was hoping it would not.

[SkinsOrlando]

Sylvia is in a bad position because the HW division has picked up some players recently.

[Sebowski]

Sylvia is in a bad position because the HW division has picked up some players recently.

That's what I was thinking until I gave it a little more thought.

I am assuming Randy is never coming back

Nog is Champ

Who is the number one contender?

He has beat Hearing three times

Mir isn't back yet (if ever)

Kongo has been exposed

Arlovski is a FA

It looks like the winner of Werdum-Vera might get the next title shot. What happens after that? Gonzaga? I guess if he beats Mir or Hearing he could get another title shot, but I think Tim is a big loss for the UFC. Tim could have been a great "gate keeper" for the title and would deserve another crack at it with just one win.

The UFC needs Josh Barnett!!!!

[SkinsOrlando]

I think the biggest issue with Tim is he hasn't put on an "exciting" fight. I like watching Tim but he's not a draw anymore for them. I think White would rather have two guys who go out and pummel for a few minutes than another decision fight with Sylvia in the ring.

[Special K]

Thank GOD Tim's gone....although it was fun watching him get taken down by Couture. Seriously though, his fights sucked unless you feel like watching a dude jab for 5 rounds.

[lovetoaster]

Tim used to have some exciting fights, but they have been pretty slow for a while.

With him leaving, I am just concerned about the lack of true contenders for the belt as was referenced before.

I had high hopes for a lot of the ex-PRIDE HW's when they came to UFC, but that has not exactly panned out. Nog has obviously done well, but Cro Cop and Herring...not so much.

I like Herring and hopefully the win over Kongo will jump start him a little.

[lovetoaster]

The UFC needs Josh Barnett!!!!

In your opinion, do you think there is a chance that could happen anytime soon? I am skeptical.

[#98QBKiller]

In your opinion, do you think there is a chance that could happen anytime soon? I am skeptical.

I think that if DREAM attracts Fedor, then we will see guys like Tim Sylvia, Randy, Josh Barnett and maybe even Andre Arlovski head over that way, maybe not Randy since the cage is so important to his game, but I could see any of the others go to DREAM. They are run by the former owners of Pride and are trying to put together something similar this time around.

[Cooked Crack]

In your opinion, do you think there is a chance that could happen anytime soon? I am skeptical.

Barnett is all about Japan and I really don't think he likes the way UFC is run.

[lovetoaster]

Barnett is all about Japan and I really don't think he likes the way UFC is run.

That's what I think, but he has always not ruled out a return to UFC. It is a business and he understands that.

With that being said, I am intrigued to see what happens with Dream.

[Sebowski]

In your opinion, do you think there is a chance that could happen anytime soon? I am skeptical.

Unfortunately not :mad:

Barnett and Dana White do not get along. Barnett desrves a bigtime money and the UFC isn't willing to pay it.

Hopefully someone, whether it be Elite XC, Strike force, or DREAM will give those good heavyweight FAs a home soon so we can see them fight.

There is enough heavyweight talent outside the UFC to have a great GP. How good does a tournement featuring:

Barnett

Fedor

Arlovski

Tim Sylvia

Mark Hunt

Cro Cop

Ben Rothwell

Paul Buentello

Elite XC might even be willing to send over Ricco and Antonio Silva.

Just a pipe dream though.

[Sebowski]

Strikeforce card tomorrow night on Showtime

elevised Bouts:

-Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le

-Gilbert Melendez (#6 Lightweight in the World)* vs. Gabe Lemley

-Drew Fickett vs. Jae Suk Lim

-Mike Kyle vs. Wayne Cole

-Joey Villasenor vs. Ryan Jensen

Non-Televised Bouts:

-Luke Stewart vs. Tiki Ghosn

-Jesse Jones vs. Jesse Gillespie

-Darren Uyenoyama vs. Anthony Figueroa

The only fight worth talking about is Shamrock-Le. I am still deciding on who I am going to pick. I'm not even sure who I'll be rooting for right now. Probably Le. So as they say on PTI

Who ya got?

[StillUnknown]

Strikeforce card tomorrow night on Showtime

elevised Bouts:

-Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le

-Gilbert Melendez (#6 Lightweight in the World)* vs. Gabe Lemley

-Drew Fickett vs. Jae Suk Lim

-Mike Kyle vs. Wayne Cole

-Joey Villasenor vs. Ryan Jensen

Non-Televised Bouts:

-Luke Stewart vs. Tiki Ghosn

-Jesse Jones vs. Jesse Gillespie

-Darren Uyenoyama vs. Anthony Figueroa

The only fight worth talking about is Shamrock-Le. I am still deciding on who I am going to pick. I'm not even sure who I'll be rooting for right now. Probably Le. So as they say on PTI

Who ya got?

Gilbert Melendez is always good for an exciting fight, even against inferior competition, his will be a good fight to watch.

as for Shamrock/Le, i'm rooting for Le, but i think Frank gets the fight to ground and submits Le.

[lovetoaster]

Speaking of Strikeforce...

Obviously it is late-late night, but I am usually up that late on weekends and will probably check it out. It is not huge exposure, but any exposure is good exposure. it will get their foot in the door.

I wonder how this affects their relationship with Showtime, seeing as how they are affiliated with CBS.

NBC TO PREMIERE STRIKEFORCE SERIES APRIL 12

March 28, 2008

Michael Afromowitz (muaythaimes@aol.com)

In a monumental step for the fastest growing sport around the globe, world championship promotion, Strikeforce, has partnered with NBC to deliver the first-ever weekly mixed martial arts cage fight program on one of the four major national television networks in The United States.

The series, spanning 52 weeks, will air every Saturday from 2-2:30 am ET, beginning on April 12th. Each show will run 30 minutes and will be comprised of fighter profiles as well as Strikeforce mixed martial arts fights and highlights.

The announcement was made by Jerry Petry, Executive Vice President, NBC Universal Television.

http://www.strikeforceusa.net/news.asp?ID=77

[BigMike619]

Did anyone see Bob Sapp on Pros vs Joes last night?

He was pretty tuff but he got to just tee off on the Joe's and he still wasnt able to knock any of them down with one punch. They said he was 375 pounds.

[SkinsOrlando]

Bob Sapp could've been a monster if he ever trained instead of just bull rushing and swinging wildly.

[BigMike619]

Bob Sapp could've been a monster if he ever trained instead of just bull rushing and swinging wildly.

Yeah I was shocked at how the Joe's were absorbing the punishment. It took him a minute to knock one of the guys down. Thats with him just having free punches basically.

He could have done so much more and now he is going to be confined to stuff like that...

[Chachie]

The only fight worth talking about is Shamrock-Le. I am still deciding on who I am going to pick. I'm not even sure who I'll be rooting for right now. Probably Le. So as they say on PTI

Who ya got?

As usual, the entire planet will be rooting against Shamrock the a-hole.

As usual, he'll find a way to win.

[#98QBKiller]

Tim Sylvia's offically gone from the UFC. One of these promotions has a hell of on opportunity to try and land him, Fedor and Randy and make their HW division the best. Don't forget Josh Barnett is still out there too.

Could it be DREAM? EliteXC?

Sylvia Departs UFC, Wants Fedor

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=12047

[3/29/2008] For the first time in three years, former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia (Pictures) will compete outside the Octagon.

The 6-foot-8 mixed martial artist announced his departure Friday evening during an appearance on HDNet's "Inside MMA."

"I've pretty much come to a crossroads in my career," Sylvia said. "And there's a lot of big things happening in the MMA world, and especially outside of the UFC."

As Sylvia, 32, spoke of the move -- which came with the UFC's blessing despite one bout remaining on a contract that was set to expire in July -- the No. 4 ranked heavyweight according to Sherdog.com was announced as officially joining Adrenaline MMA, a newly-branded promotion headed by his manager, Monte Cox.

"Adrenaline is a new promotion, but it allows fighters to fight for other organizations -- that's huge," Sylvia said. "I've got three to four years left and want to fight as much as possible, so this is the perfect choice for me at this time."

On Monday, Cox told Sherdog.com that his new organization, which replaces M-1 Global, would debut June 14 in Chicago, Ill. Cox will act as President and CEO. Bob Clark (COO) and Brian Patton (VP) follow Cox from the defunct M-1 Global, which failed to promote an event during its five months in operation.

In addition to Sylvia (24-4), Adrenaline MMA announced it secured the services of former International Fight League star Ben Rothwell (Pictures), currently ranked No. 10 at heavyweight by Sherdog.com.

"I'm ready to see how I fare against the best heavyweights in the world," said the 26-year-old Wisconsinite, whom like Sylvia is managed by Cox.

Sylvia and Rothwell (29-5), teammates at Miletich Fighting Systems in Bettendorf, Iowa, signed multi-fight contracts with Adrenaline MMA.

"Japan's starting to get some big shows going again, and Affliction show is going to be happening," Sylvia said on HDNet. "So I'm looking to fight in all of them. Be real active, fight five or six times a year. And there's a guy out there named Fedor [Emelianenko], who I'd like to fight. And I think the only way that's going to happen is by me leaving the UFC."

Sylvia racked up a 9-4 record during his tenure with the UFC, which began in 2002 when he battered Wesley Correira (Pictures). In just his second bout in the Octagon, Sylvia stunned Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) at UFC 41 to capture the organization's heavyweight crown.

Following his first defense of the belt, a knockout over Gan McGee (Pictures), Sylvia tested positive for anabolic steroids. In his return to competition following a suspension and fine, not only did the "Maine-iac" fail to recapture the belt he was forced to vacate, Frank Mir (Pictures) snapped Sylvia's right arm below the elbow.

Having worked his way back into the title picture, Sylvia took control of the belt for a second time with a first-round knockout of Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) in April 2006. He gave up the title 10 months later when Randy Couture (Pictures) scored a dominant five-round decision.

In what would be his last UFC bout before moving to Adrenaline MMA, Sylvia fell short in a battle for the interim UFC heavyweight title against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures).

______________________________________________________

Also who do you guys have between Cung Le and and Frank Shamrock? Should be a good match, people are picking Shamrock, but I like to go with the strikers, I'll take Cung Le.

___________________________________

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Wow...Didn't see that coming. Sylvia has been the centerpiece of the UFC HW division for the entire Dana White era. Will be weird with him not there, and more disturbingly, the UFC is not landing AND not keeping its heavyweights. What the hell is up with that?

And another thing, everybody comes down on Dana White, but I never hear anything about the Fertitta brothers. Don't they hold more power than Dana? Why don't they get in the middle of crap like this and do something about it? Dana is just the face of the power, but he doesn't have the most money in his pockets. He's like the little guy that would talk **** for the bullies in school. He might be an annoying little ass, but it's the big bullies that have the final say. In this case, the Fertittas are the big bad bullies, but everyone complains about the little ass (Dana White).

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

BTW, I've got Shamrock in tonight's event. Shammy's my boy, always impresses me with his ground game. He has a marble hard jaw, Cung has to touch that button to knock him out. I love Shamrocks unshakable confidence. Call it overconfidence, but I love the way it makes him fight.

I like Cung Le, although, he's a cheater. Always throwing salt in the eyes.

[#98QBKiller]

I like Cung Le, although, he's a cheater. Always throwing salt in the eyes.

:laugh: Cung Le wishes he were that stacked

[Sebowski]

http://mmajunkie.com/news/4031/tim-sylvia-and-ben-rothwell-sign-with-adrenaline-mma.mma

Syvlia and Ben Rothwell sign with a new promotion. What was left of M-1.

They are non-exclusive deals so they can fight anywhere.

[Sebowski]

And another thing, everybody comes down on Dana White, but I never hear anything about the Fertitta brothers. Don't they hold more power than Dana? Why don't they get in the middle of crap like this and do something about it? Dana is just the face of the power, but he doesn't have the most money in his pockets. He's like the little guy that would talk **** for the bullies in school. He might be an annoying little ass, but it's the big bullies that have the final say. In this case, the Fertittas are the big bad bullies, but everyone complains about the little ass (Dana White).

Dana White is like their GM. Sure they have ultimate control, but they give Dana White all the decision making power as far as talent goes. Much like most football teams with GMs.

I assume this because it isn't just critics and fans that talk about White like he is in control. The fighters do it. Fedor and Randy talk about Dana. They don;t mention the Frettitas, so I don;t think they are involved in that aspect.

[herrmag]

Didn't somebody want to sig bet me on the Shamrock/Cung Le fight? I forgot who it was....PB? Sebowski? I chose Frank. Whomever it was, speak up now or forever hold your peace!