Muscle Shark Revenge?

Sean Sherk returns at UFC 90 looking for revenge.  He will start his quest for revenge against Tyson Griffin.   Tyson Griffin is making a name for himself in the LW division.  So how do you choose between two great wrestlers and two tanks of gas that never seem to hit E?  Well, by their stand up of course.  Sherk displayed his recently against BJ and we know how that ended.  While Tyson Griffin displayed his against Marcus Aurelio at UFC 86 and was never near the edge of defeat.

This will be either a new start for Sherk to acclaim his former glory, or it will be the start of his downfall.  For Tyson Griffin this could be his shot for stardom at the 155 lb. division.

For an article on this match up that’s actually worth reading, check out MMAWeekly.com

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6822&zoneid=13

Cung Le in the UFC?

It could happen, it may happen.  Cung Le, former San Shou star turned MMA fighter, is in talks with Dana White and the UFC.  Cung Le recently defeated Frank Shamrock on March 29, 2008, in a highly anticipated fight co-promoted by Strikeforce and EliteXC at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. Le won via TKO when Frank Shamrocks’ right arm was broken after a series of kicks (ulna broken), making him Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.

Cung Le states they are currently in talks with Dana about a 3 fight deal with the UFC.

For the entire video http://www.matratz.com/2008/08/04/cung-le-interview/

What’s in Randy Couture’s Future?

Read an interesting article yesterday about Randy’s future and what’s coming up for him.  Apparently his plate is full for the next few weeks.  He’s got a book that was just released and he’s doing a book tour, a movie debut, and a slate of film projects into next year.   So what about his fighting career?  Does he still have one or is he opting out for his full life schedule?

In the article it also states that Randy is getting tired of talking about himself all day.  Which I find somewhat disheartening considering I am going to Cicinati on Tuesday for his book signing.  Heck, if that’s the truth though I may invite him to dinner and tell him I will talk about myself and he can just listen.

““If (the UFC) finds a way to sign Fedor (Emelianenko) and make that happen, then that’s where we’ll fight,” Couture said. “I don’t care where it’s at, just as long as it happens.”

Couture has gotten used to waiting for what he wants. He’s got a lot to entertain – or exhaust – him in the next few years of his life. His fighting future will be determined by the arbitration’s findings, which could take months, if not years, to resolve. Until then, he will stay in limbo.

“It’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of when,” he said.”

Read the full article here:  http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6814&zoneid=13

Emelianenko Medically Suspended

A bad hit for Affliction.  Apparently Fedor has been medically suspended by the California State Athletic Commission.  Fedor Emelianenko is suspended 180 days with no contact for 180 days due to a right-hand injury (can be cleared early by an orthopedic doctor).   How is this going to to affect the Andrei Arlovski vs. Fedor fight?  Will it be postponed?

http://mmajunkie.com/news/4936/emelianenko-and-sylvia-among-lengthy-affliction-banned-medical-suspensions.mma

If Fedor doesn’t fight in October look for him to return on New Year’s Eve to fight in Japan.  He has made it a tradition to fight on that date for his Japanese Fans.

Less Than Half of Tickets sold for EliteXC: Unfinished Business

Found an article that was posted yesterday on MMAJunkie.com that talked about the ticket sales for EliteXC’s recent event.  The article states that less than half of the tickets were sold and they gave 2,000+ away and still had around that number in unused seats.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/4934/less-than-33-percent-of-elitexc-unfinished-business-tickets-sold.mma

Ever wonder why it’s so dark at EliteXC events?  Now you know.  Their next event is October 4th, will it be the last for Prime Time MMA?

Update on SpikeTV’s and UFC’s Counter Programming

Well, I headed on over to MMARated.com this morning to do my usual routine when I found a pretty good article about SpikeTV’s counter programming against CBS.

The article goes on to discuss that “Overall, “UFC 84: Penn vs. Sherk” drew higher ratings than Pro EliteXC in Men 18-49 (1.5 to 1.3) and Men 18-34 (1.5 and 1.0).” Which means that Spike kept their same fans while CBS was able to appeal to a more diverse group of fans.

The replay of UFC 84 was 3 hrs. long while the EliteXC event was only 2 hrs., which leads one to think that in the extra hour UFC 84 had it could have possibly pulled ahead in the numbers.

Quite a conundrum here.  Does this mean SpikeTV jumped their guns a little bit?  Maybe, but seeing as CBS’s second run was down over 40% total something had to cause the plummet of numbers.

Check the entire article at MMARated.com

UFC 84 Replay Trumps Elite XC Second Prime Time Run

Sheesh, long title. Everyone knew that the UFC knows how to put pressure on their competition, but this weekend they did it well. Anyways UFC’s counter programming, UFC 84 replay, on Saturday trumped Elite XC’s second prime time run by 27 percent for young males. And with Elite XC’s numbers down by 43% you have to be some of that was due to the UFC.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/4927/replay-of-ufc-84-tops-saturday-night-fights-in-ratings-battle-for-young-males.mma

Could the UFC possibly finish off CBS’s new investment? Look what happened to Pride for your answer.

James Irvin Tests Positive

“Following the loss to Silva, Irvin submitted to a urinalysis, and the urinalysis reflected the presence of Methadone and Oxymorphone. Out of the 11 fighters that were tested Irvin was the only one positive for a banned substance.

Oxymorphone is a pain reliever prescribed to alleviate moderate to severe pain. Methadone is most commonly prescribed to recovering heroin addicts or for the management of chronic pain.”

Well, I hope you were in serious pain to jeopardize your MMA Career.

About Tito’s Talk

I should have posted this when I talked about Tito’s recent interview with MMARated, but I forgot.  Tito first off because you could not hit Machida does not mean he was running away most of the time; I think it has more to do with Machida know how to avoid strikes than anything.  Secondly, of course it is an MMA match and that stands for Mixed Martial Arts and so Machida mixed his martial arts into an elusive style.

MMARated Help Wanted

I tend to use MMARated as one of my main sources of blogging material.  So when I saw they were looking for help, what did I do?  Well, I didn’t apply if that’s what you are thinking, have you seen my blog?  Obviously you have if you are reading this.  But back to the subject, MMARated needs you!  That’s right you!  They are looking for someone that can basically:

1. Spell their name, correctly

And that’s it.  You will have to submit two writing samples for them, and yes it is a paid position.

http://www.mmarated.com/articles/article/news/20080729/mmarated_com_is_looking_to_hire_you_-15590.html