Hell yes. What a fight that will be.
Also, Vitor 'Shaolin' Riberio signed with Strikeforce this week.
On Sunday UFC welterweight contender Mike Swick (14-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) took to Twitter and announced neither Matt Hughes nor Georges St. Pierre would likely be his next opponent.
That's because he'll next fight Dan Hardy (22-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC) to determine the next opponent for current 170-pound champion Georges St. Pierre.
That's the word from Mike Chiappetta of AOL FanHouse, who confirmed the plans with UFC president Dana White via text message.
White: Kimbo Guaranteed Octagon Fight After “TUF 10″ - 5thRound.com – UFC 104 Play-by-Play Results, MMA News, Fight Rumors
We all know how sensitive the UFC can get when it comes to prematurely leaking “The Ultimate Fighter” info. However, this time it’s Dana White that revealed the answer to this season’s biggest question.
“Are you going to see Kimbo Slice fight again in the UFC,” White rhetorically asked the Los Angeles Times. “Yes!”
White created quite the ruckus a few months back when it was announced that he would allow the street fighting legend into his Octagon. White had been highly critical of the slugger, even stating that he was one of the worst things that could happen to the sport of mixed martial arts.
“He can be on The Ultimate Fighter. What’s he done other than get 10 million hits on YouTube? What’s he done to deserve to be in the UFC?” White said this past November regarding Kimbo. “He won’t win The Ultimate Fighter. The offer’s out there if he wants to take it, but he won’t win it.”
The offer wasn’t on the table long as Kimbo quickly jumped at the opportunity to enter the heavyweight tournament. Not only because it was an opportunity of a lifetime, but it really was Kimbo’s only legit option.
“DW can say whatever the [expletive] he wants, but as far as I’m concerned with all the [expletive] that he was saying, the greatest revenge to my knowledge is success,” Kimbo said in response to his current boss’ disses.
Because of the star power that Kimbo possesses, many believed that he didn’t necessarily have to win the competition to earn himself a UFC contract. All he needed to do was become a fan favorite by showing the viewers his work ethic, charisma and positive attitude.
Although we have only seen a couple of shows, there have been no complaints regarding the YouTube legend, outside of him soaking up information too quickly.
“We’ve been very impressed with Kimbo’s performance,” UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta said of their latest project.
If you were thinking that the UFC brass was interested in keeping Kimbo around simply for the ratings factor, think again as White made it perfectly clear that he isn’t about to start letting people into his organization that can’t compete on the highest level.
“The ratings do not influence our decision,” White noted. “The guy can either fight or not.”
Don’t forget to follow 5thRound.com on Twitter at twitter.com/5thRound
Strikeforce and Showtime seem to have locked up another fighter who can put a thorn in Dana White's side. Gegard Mousasi and Fedor Emelianenko may be the only guys in the top 12 pound-for-pound fighters in the world that the sport's biggest promotion doesn't have its mitts on. Strikeforce really has a gem in the versatile Mousasi, who at 24 looks like he could be a force at both middleweight and light heavyweight. One problem for Strikeforce, it sounds like Mousasi only has one goal and that's to eventually leave the promotion:
"I know that the best fighters in my weight fight in the UFC, but I’m still young and very happy with Strikeforce as a company," wrote on his blog. "I’ve signed a contract with them and I will fight the fights they give me."Mousasi joked that first he has to get the job done in Strikeforce:
"There are so many things possible in a short time, maybe I lose two times and the UFC doesn’t want me at all. That’s why I focus on one fight at a time."Mousasi says his goal isn't to build his name on CBS or help Strikeforce, it's to challenge for the 185 and 205 titles with UFC:
"My goal in the future is of course to become UFC champion but I’m not in a rush. I’m happy with Strikeforce now and that’s the most important things. I’m now champion and want to defend with honor and dignity."That's where the inherent problem lies for Strikeforce when it comes to Mousasi. The rumored opponents for Mousasi Nov. 7 on CBS include UFC/Zuffa castoffs Mike Whitehead and Paulo Filho along with veteran Kevin Randleman. Outside of Filho, the other two are not viewed as top 20 at light heavyweight. A Filho fight would at least provide a good story line since Mousasi called him a "little donkey" who is on steroids last month. Can Strikeforce risk having Filho go insane again in the cage on its first card on network television? So we're probably faced with Whitehead, who is likely walking around right now at 250-plus pounds.
Brock Lesnar was a big hit this weekend at the Mr. Olympia Expo in Las Vegas. That's in spite of the fact that many fans say they hate him, and that he embarrassed the sport with his postfight antics at UFC 100. Lesnar told the Las Vegas Sun that it was standing room only in Sin City at his autograph booth. A pleasant Lesnar then turned his attention to his next opponent, Shane Carwin:
"He’s a tough guy. He’s undefeated, but some of the guys he’s beaten aren’t worthy of having on your record,” said Lesnar. "He hasn’t fought anybody. He’s fought (Gabriel) Gonzaga, so I really think he’s 1-0."Lesnar, the 2000 NCAA Division I heavyweight wrestling champ, is a massive 6-foot-4, 280 pounds. Carwin is a huge dude at 6-2, 262 and also has an NCAA wrestling title to his credit. Hold on says Lesnar:
"He’s a tough guy and a wrestler. But he’s a Division II national champion — enough said."That's a nice little comeback towards Carwin, who has been calling Lesnar classless since the brouhaha at UFC 100. Carwin goes for Lesnar's UFC heavyweight title at Nov. 21 at UFC 106 in Las Vegas.
UFC middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama, who earned a split decision over Alan Belcher in July in his UFC debut, will begin training with Shawn Tompkins and Xtreme Couture beginning in October, according to Sherdog.com:
Tompkins said the Japanese-Korean middleweight is expected to stay the entire month with the team and will focus on “refining his striking” with the coach and Vitor Belfort, who is slated to face UFC 185-pound champion Anderson Silva in January.
“He is a great person and fighter and has a very slick aggressive style,” said Tompkins. “I would like to help him with his defense.”
Tompkins told Sherdog that he did not know who or when Akiyama would be fighting next, but Bloody Elbow’s Luke Thomas tweeted on Monday that Akiyama could fight Wanderlei Silva at UFC 108 on January 2 in Las Vegas.
Rap star DMX will step into the ring against musician Eric Martinez this December, on the under card of the Tank Abbott/ Butterbean fight.
Thunder Promotions has announced that DMX will square off against Martinez on December 12 at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Alabama.
Martinez is the CEO of Power Moves Entertainment, a record label, management firm, and event promotion company based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
According to Martinez? bio, he is an official member of DMX?s management team and will wrestle the rapper during the event, which is dubbed ?Alabama Pride.?
Alabama Pride kicks takes place December 12 at 8:00 PM in Birmingham, Alabama.
I saw that last night.
X GON GIVE IT TO YA!
Looking forward to TUF tonight!!!
Spike did a good job of keeping my ready, they ran fights all day today.
TRUNK HIT HARD LIKE KIMBO SLICE!!
I'm torn; I like Kimbo, people give him such a bad rap.
I love Roy too, he gives all us fat people around the world hope that we can be big and fat and still be professional athletes.
I say KIMBO by TKO!
Its 'how a nigga eat' !
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks