The future of MMA-is it child abuse or great parenting? They say parents often reproduce themselves, or even live vicariously through their children, and the video below may be a great example of either, depending on your view. So what do you think? At what age should kids be allowed into MMA like the big boys? How is it any different than young kids playing football or baseball. There have been many tragedies where young athletes become injured or even killed in sport due to contact at a young age. Why should MMA be any different? Just have them put the pads on and go at it just like little league or pee wee football. Right? Leave your comments…

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The rumblings of the UFC counter programming Strikeforce got much stronger today when it was reported that Chuck Liddell would be facing former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin at UFC Fight Night on April 17 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Liddell was originally reported to be facing Tito Ortiz at UFC 115 but according to Fighters Only, Ortiz is dealing with something that may significantly impact his future as a fighter and it’s not an injury.

Update: 2:38 PM: Sherdog.com and MMAJunkie.com are now reporting that the bout between Liddell and Franklin will now take place at UFC 115 in June, not the rumored show for April 17 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Update: 8:00 PM: UFC president Dana White has now posted a response on his Twitter saying, “Not true! We are doing Couture vs. Franklin, not Chuck.” Stay tuned for more.

Continue reading ‘Updated: Liddell-Franklin Likely for June, White Issues Response’

Post from MMA on Tap

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So Rampage’s reason is that he wasn’t a doctor and would talk to his fighter in the locker room. Rashad Evans brought up the point to him that he should have supported Wes and that it was disrespectful. I agree. Any coach, trainer, or corner guy should go in to assist, help, or check on their fighter after being choked out like that. Again, what were the other team Jackson coaches thinking???

I think Rashad is able to say things that almost set Rampage off–at least that’s what Rampage says, and I believe him. But Rashad, at least at the beginning of their conversation, was trying to be helpful and give Rampage advice. Again, the conversation turned ugly. It ended with Rampage walking away and Rashad continuing to run his mouth. I don’t recall exactly what Rashad says but it wasn’t nice. Actually, when I heard it at the time, I was surprised because I do at least remember it being very disrespectful.

Looking back on the show, and also at Rashad’s last fight, perhaps he should have done a little bit less mouth running and a bit more stand-up training. Just a thought…..

Maybe his boy Damico still would have got caught in the anaconda–but what was Rampage thinking?

I’m one of Rampage’s biggest fan but I can’t support him on showing up late to help his guy get ready to fight. To add insult to injury, Rampage doesn’t even go into the cage to talk to Damico after the loss. Rashad has to come over and console Damico as Rampage sat stunned outside the cage.

Rampage, wait until after the fight to make the cheeseburger run. And what the heck were his assistants thinking??? That’s just not smart, so yah, I guess they deserved to lose that fight. C’mon Rampage…

“That’s dumb. [People who criticized me leaving the cage] are idiots. Why? Nobody cares. I mean, I don’t think the losers were going to speak that night anyway, you know. Just get on with the next fight already. This guy actually asked me a good question the other day, and this is a real story and I really like it: first off, he was very confrontational; I didn’t like him much to begin with, and he goes, ‘Hey, man, I have to know,’ because it’s his business to know, ‘why did you run out of the cage that night after the Silva fight?’ And I said, ‘Look, man, I haven’t told anybody, let’s keep this on the down low, but the truth is your mom was waiting for me in the back to suck my d***, and you know how good of a b*** j** your mom gives, so I didn’t want to be late for that sh**.’ And that’s pretty much the answer I give. I like that answer, so I’ll give that answer to everyone.”

– Forrest Griffin gives MMA Fanhouse his usual shtick in regards to answering for his mad dash to the locker room following his knockout loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 101. The former light heavyweight champ — who also bolted from the cage after getting clowned by Keith Jardine at UFC 66 — doesn’t feel obligated to stay for the official announcement when he gets creamed. But does skipping town early disrespect his opponent — and the fans? Opinions please.

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“I like Vitor (Belfort). He’s a good guy and he’s been around for a long time, but I just don’t understand why he gets to jump to the front of the line, especially when I beat him. I think it’s something that might have slipped their minds, that [it] happened. I’m not exactly sure. You’ll have to ask them on that, but to me, that’s what it seemed like. I feel like I have stepped up for them a number of times and have done things for them. I never turned Marquardt down. I basically made a statement saying that Marquardt and Anderson Silva are my next two fights regardless and I’ve got to beat them both to either become or stay the champ. I’m O.K. with fighting (Marquardt); we just have to come up with a deal. Basically anywhere’s a possibility, but I’d like to make things work with the UFC. I don’t know what they’re thinking. They haven’t gotten back to me at all since I flew out last week. I’m not trying to pin them over a barrel or anything. I feel like I was just undervalued before, especially toward the end of my contract.”

– Former number one middleweight contender, Dan Henderson, tells Sherdog.com that he hopes to re-sign a new contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) soon and rematch reigning division champion, Anderson Silva. Company president Dana White indicated that “Hollywood’s” sensational knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100 was enough to earn him another crack at “The Spider;” however, the Brazilian’s manager, Ed Soares, made the case that Henderson should take on Nate Marquardt first to determine a clear-cut contender. That idea didn’t sit too well with Henderson, who now gets pushed aside in favor of Vitor Belfort — who lost to Hendo at PRIDE 32 back in October 2006. Does he need to beat Marquardt to face the winner of Silva vs. Belfort? Or did “Dangerous” Dan already do enough to be next in line? Opinions please.

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Props: Inside The Ultimate Fighter

Quoteworthy:

“I fought Roy with caution. I did go for the kill one time, but I knew to be careful because Roy will bait you, that’s how good he is. He can look rocked, but the minute you go in for the kill, shwoop! You know what I’m sayin? He’s a smart fighter. When I felt like I rocked him I went in for the kill and that’s when I made my mistake. That’s when I realized, ah, this motherfucker was slick. But in the midst of the fight I had to figure that out. By the second round he figured out how to get in, how to play possum and get me down to the ground. That weight was hard to move. The crucifix is not my favorite position. I been in that position with James Thompson and was stuck. Roy had me also in that same position. That’s a position I would really like to know how to get out of. I know some shit on the ground. It’s not like I get down there and I don’t know nothing. I have some skills. I’ll beat Roy next time around. You’re only gonna beat me once. If I fight anybody and they beat me that one time, that’s it. You gave me your best. You didn’t beat me at my best. Now I know how you’re comin’. You ain’t beatin’ me twice. Damn right I’d rematch Roy.”

On the heels of his Episode 3 elimination from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 10, special attraction Kimbo Slice reflects on the mistakes he made in his losing effort against Roy Nelson and how a second encounter would yield very different results. Can Slice, who was dropped by trainer Bas Rutten for regressing to his old habits, ever become more than a hard-hitting brawler with a puncher’s chance? With a new home at American Top Team and a rumored fight at the TUF 10 Finale this December, we may get our answer soon enough.

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Props: NWI.com

Quoteworthy:

“If we had a time capsule, everyone knows that first fight [against Frank Mir], I won. Even if I hadn’t stomped him I would’ve pounded him straight through the cage. When I dropped him on his head, he was unconscious. End result, he was laying unconscious and I had my hands raised. Second fight, I’ve said it so many times I believe it myself, I won. Everyone can see Big John made the wrong call. Sure I got rocked. But when I hit the ground, I was pulling guard, John stopped it too early, and it cost him his job…. I definitely want one more fight with Frank before I’m done. In the UFC, in the Spearmint Rhino, wherever it’s going to have to happen, I want a third fight. I want to believe that there isn’t a single night he goes to bed that he doesn’t think about fighting me to redeem his honor. But he’s probably mentally blocked me out of his head so he can live day to day. That’s just my thoughts, though.”

Where do we begin. Octagon veteran and current contestant on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10, Wes Sims, talks about wanting a third and final fight against former interim heavyweight champion, Frank Mir, sometime in the future. Sims bragged (incorrectly) on the first episode of the show that he defeated Mir twice. The reality is he lost both matches via disqualification (kicking a downed opponent) and technical knockout (he argues premature stoppage). Regardless, Sims has convinced himself otherwise. And now that he’s back in the spotlight wants another crack at the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist to demonstrate that he does indeed have his number — even if it means getting in a barroom brawl at his old high-end strip club haunt, Spearmint Rhino, where Mir served as a bouncer. That’s perhaps the only chance he might get … at least in the near term. Mir is currently booked to take on Cheick Kongo at UFC 107 on Dec. 12. Meanwhile, Sims still has to prove he belongs back in the UFC with a solid run through the 16-man tournament-style show, which culminates with one final match at TUF 10 Finale on Dec. 5. Will it ever happen? Perhaps more important, do you want to see it happen? The pre-fight promos and smack talk alone could be epic.

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Props: USA Today

Quoteworthy:

“I could have stayed in mount and finished him there with elbows and punches, but my game plan was to get to the crucifix, and once I got to the crucifix, finish the fight there. First round was 44 punches to the face, and then (referee) Herb Dean doesn’t know how to ref, but we’ve seen that before. And then the next round was 22 punches. You could even see me yelling at Herb Dean, ‘Come on, ref.’ But the thing is, there’s a lot of people; there’s a lot of money. Kimbo’s the only one that I know that had an entourage there; he actually had his family there, his management, while the rest of us kind of had to suffer. The UFC made, we’ll say, different concessions for Kimbo. I think he had a media room. Kimbo’s definitely, I guess we’ll say, special. I don’t see the specialness fighting-wise, but more for TV-wise. He puts butts in the seats. So I think it was more that Herb Dean was afraid to lose his job, because there’s a lot of people with a lot of money that can have a lot of influence with his career.”

The Ultimate Fighter 10 contestant Roy Nelson sounds off on the first round of his fight against special attraction Kimbo Slice during episode three of the Spike TV reality show. “Big Country” had the former YouTube brawler trapped in a crucifix and while the damage inflicted was comparable to that of a pillow fight, Slice was still unable to defend himself, intelligently or otherwise. Was referee Herb Dean letting the fight continue out of fear of losing his job? Or is Nelson just sour over his marshmallow fists? Sound off, Maniacs.

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