UFC FOR THE 19TH - AGAINST AFFLICTION

ROCK OUT AND GET PAID IN SWEEDEN!!!

A man in Sweden has a rare, but awesome disability: He’s addicted to ROCK!! Roger Tullgren, 42, had his need to rock out to hardcore heavy metal music classified as an addiction and a legitimate mental disorder. As such, he is entitled to benefits from the Swedish government. They are now helping him pay his bills and supplementing his income from his primary job as…(wait for it)…a dishwasher.

Rock on, man. I wonder if they would throw me some cash for my Kenny G.
obsession…

WHATS THE UFC AND DANA UP TO ?

June 10, 2008 - The UFC's planned a big announcement for this week that, according to president Dana White, will shock the industry. To further the point, White's rented out a location in New York to tell all his employees about said announcement, which could be a red herring, but likely is a true representation of the magnitude of this potential announcement, one that White's said is both "out of left field" and "will change the industry for the next five years".

Of course, there's been heaping amounts of speculation regarding what the announcement will be. We have a poll on the front page of IGN Sports with a mix of realistic suggestions and comical ones (unless you consider Chuck Liddell shaving his mohawk to be serious business), but it's worth seriously analyzing the possibilities and what they might be. We'll name the rumors and put odds on each actually being the big news.

Floyd Mayweather Signing With UFC: This rumor currently leads our poll, and it's easy to understand why. The former boxing champion already diversified his brand by signing with WWE for a match and appearing on "Dancing With The Stars", so he's comfortable going outside of boxing. Mayweather is famously all about the money, and the rumors have pegged him receiving a huge purse and potential stake in the company were he to join UFC. Furthermore, he recently retired in a sudden, unexpected fashion, only months before a huge money fight with Oscar de la Hoya.

It's that fact which makes us believe that Mayweather's not the story. Sure, UFC wouldn't have wanted him to fight de la Hoya if the possibility was that he'd lose, but Mayweather wasn't likely to give up a purse and pay-per-view bonus of $30+ million only to fight in a new sport. Furthermore, who would he fight in UFC that would make a big money fight? That's a topic for another article altogether, but Mayweather would likely have to bulk up to 155 to fight BJ Penn, and even that doesn't seem like a huge money fight. The possibility is there, but we're not biting on it being the announcement. (In addition, shortly after this article was posted, White said on CNBC that the announcement was not a deal with Mayweather.)Odds: 20:1




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UFC Linking Up With WWE: Arguably the most shocking of all the rumors would see WWE buying or establishing some sort of partnership with UFC, a move WWE could see as more enticing in lieu of actually competing against the company for pay-per-view dollars. It would seem impossible, though, that such a huge deal could come out of nowhere. (White also confirmed that this was not the announcement.) Odds: 200:1


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UFC Becoming Licensed In New York/Announcing Show in New York: In addition, it's not entirely clear whether UFC would be able to run a show at Madison Square Garden because of WWE's exclusive deal with the arena that keeps other wrestling companies out -- whether UFC would be subject to that is still up for debate and dependent upon the wording of the WWE's deal.

The UFC hired away influential Nevada State Athletic Commission head Marc Ratner to lobby for MMA (and with it, UFC) to be legalized in new states, and New York was likely the first commission that the UFC targeted. Running New York (specifically Madison Square Garden) gives the company a level of legitimacy and respect amongst "old media" that it craves. Considering that the announcement will be made in New York (granted, it's where the company is headquartered), the odds are that this is the favorite. Odds: 4:1



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A Change In Rounds: A smaller announcement that's been rumored is a move to five-round fights for regular fights and seven rounds for title fights. The argument against this is simple: Kalib Starnes. Odds: 175:1


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A New TV Show: Although the UFC already has The Ultimate Fighter and UFC Unleashed on Spike, there's always going to be speculation that UFC seeks a network deal to supplement that coverage. When you factor in the success of EliteXC's show on CBS, the situation is as ripe as it's ever been for UFC to get a huge television deal. That could be a major network station or a pay station like HBO -- either way, although Dana's denied that it's a network deal, we think he could be lying. Odds: 18:1


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The Signing of Fedor Emelianenko: There's been little talk regarding the signing of Fedor since he was released from his M-1 contract. He's currently contracted to fight Tim Sylvia at the debut Affliction show, but he's still a free agent and could theoretically sign with the company. We think that if that was going to happen, it'll happen after Fedor beats Sylvia, not before. Odds: 33:1

UFC 85 RESULTS

LONDON: Thiago "Pitbull" Alves stopped former welterweight champion Matt Hughes 62 seconds into the second round, stunning him with a flying knee and then finishing him with a right to the head for a TKO win at UFC 85 on Saturday.

Alves, a 24-year-old Brazilian who used to earn money as a ballroom dance partner for older women, improved his record to 21-4. Hughes, 34, a fighting farmer from Hillsboro, Ill., who has lost three of his last four mixed martial arts fights, fell to 43-7.

"Please give me a title shot," Alves urged UFC president Dana White after the fight.

In the co-main event at the Millennium Dome, England's Michael "The Count" Bisping stopped middleweight Canadian Jason "Dooms" Day by TKO at 3:42 of the first round.

Day (17-6) never got going, was taken down twice and paid the price the second time with Bisping (17-1) firing punches until the referee stepped in.

In a preliminary fight, Martin (The Hitman) Kampmann stopped veteran Jorge (El Conquistador) Rivera with an early guillotine choke hold to celebrate his return to action from knee surgery.

The Danish middleweight, who is now based out of Las Vegas, took Rivera down early and worked him from above. The guillotine hold forced Rivera (15-7) to surrender at 2:44 of the first round. Kampmann (13-1) had endured two knee operations since his last fight at UFC 68 in March 2007.

The card was plagued with problems from the start. The main event was originally to have featured former light-heavyweight champion Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell against Mauricio (Shogun) Rua, but the Brazilian was shelved because of knee surgery. Rashad Evans was brought in as a replacement, but then Liddell tore a hamstring.

Evans was eventually pitted against James (The Sandman) Irvin, but Irvin broke a foot. In all, eight fighters fell off the card, including Chris (The Crippler) Leben, whose preparation was disrupted by jail time arising from a parole violation.

TONIGHT IN THE QUAD CITIES AT THE FAIRGROUNDS

Gates open at 5 pm , fights start at 6 pm , yours truely will be announcing this show.

THIS IS GONNA HURT, TITO'S NEW BOOK AND NEW PAIN IN THE ASS.

The long arm of Zuffa law apparently extends to estranged former champions who write books and wear their belts on the covers.

Tito Ortiz — who just satisfied the final fight on his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) — has been served with a cease and desist because his recently released autobiography, “This is Gonna Hurt,” violates the intellectual property rights of the mixed martial arts promotion, according to MMAPayout.com.

“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” according to the report, needed to get the stamp of approval from the UFC to sport the belt on the cover of the book. And he apparently did not get the green light or overlooked the clause in his contract.

Regardless, the move is just the latest salvo in an ongoing feud between the fighter an organization. Ortiz and UFC President Dana White have an epic, long-running distaste for one another.

This is certainly not going to help the situation.

Ortiz will soon be a free agent and has expressed his intentions of seeking greener pastures (literally) with an organization that can promote him properly, as well as be respectful and professional.

Even if he does it appears that Ortiz can’t break free from the UFC’s Kung Fu grip … for now.

He defeated Wanderlei Silva via unanimous decision to earn the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 25: “Ultimate Japan 3″ back in 2000. Ortiz defended the 205-pound belt five times during a three-year span until he lost it to Randy Couture via unanimous decision at UFC 44: “Undisputed” in 2003.

DONALD TRUMP JOINS WITH AFFLICTION!!

It looks like Mark Cuban won't be the only loquacious billionaire to throw his hat into the MMA ring. Affliction issued a press release yesterday to drum up interest in a press conference that they will hold at noon on Thursday. Interest should be sufficiently drummed up when you catch that the presser will be held at Trump Tower and by this quote from Donald Trump, via MMAFrenzy.

"I am particularly excited to partner with Affliction and become a major player in promotion of MMA; the youngest and fastest growing sport to emerge in the last century."
No specific information is given about what The Donald's involvement might be with the promotion or the July 19th event. It does give Affliction a major publicity shot in the arm to go along with the highly anticipated Tim Sylvia-Fedor Emelianenko main event. If he's truly thowing his hat in the ring it will have a huge impact on the sport.

One thought is that it may impact Tito Ortiz's future in the sport. He's a free agent and is friendly with Trump after appearing on The Celebrtity Apprentice. If Trump is looking to invest in MMA, he'd probably want someone he knows as part of the effort and Ortiz would bring Affliction mainstream star power.

One thing is for sure. If Trump is making a serious play into the world of mixed martial arts, his feud with Cuban will continue and a feud with Dana White will surely erupt down the line.

BY THE WAY KIMBO WON AND SO DID URIAH