Tag: UFC (Page 8 of 17)

In a potential positive for MMA, Ebersol steps down at NBC

May 19, 2011 / Drew Ellis

In some news that is not MMA-related but could have an impact on the sport, NBC’s Dick Ebersol stepped down as head of NBC Sports on Thursday.

According to the Associated Press, Ebersol was in a contract dispute with his new bosses at Comcast.

In a report from back in 2009, MMAFighting.com’s Mike Chiappetta talked about Ebersol’s lack of interest in pursuing MMA for NBC.

Ebersol, who has run NBC’s sports division since 1989, has at least historically not been a fan of mixed martial arts.
I worked at NBC Sports from 2006 to early 2009. During that time, there were at least a handful of sports executives that had interest in exploring the idea of putting MMA on the air. Ebersol, however, was not one of them. Eventually, however, Strikeforce inked a deal to broadcast MMA on late-night Saturdays, but the deal was brokered through the NBC Entertainment division, not NBC Sports.
Shortly afterward, I asked a high-ranking NBC Sports executive why the deal was approached in that regard. He explained that it was Ebersol’s preference not to broadcast MMA under the NBC Sports banner. Though not explicitly stated, the inference was that he considered the sport too low-brow for NBC Sports standards. It was hardly surprising; most of NBC Sports’ offerings veer to the traditional and genteel side, such as golf, tennis, Notre Dame football and the Olympics.

Now, with MMA having evolved into a major player in the sports scene and NBC working toward making Versus more of an NBC Sports channel, this could open the door for one of the major networks to strike a deal with the UFC or Zuffa.

While it has yet to be seen if the new head of NBC Sports will be on the MMA bandwagon, one would think NBC will be looking to secure something big in the future due to its lack of having any association with the NBA, MLB, or NASCAR.

News, UFC

Dick Ebersol NBC NBC Sports UFC

Sonnen’s suspension upheld

May 19, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The road to getting back inside the octagon just got a whole lot tougher for Chael Sonnen.

On Wednesday, the California State Athletic Commission voted 4-1 to uphold an indefinite suspension against Sonnen that will keep him from returning to competition for the foreseeable future. Josh Gross of ESPN.com has all the details.

The suspension, issued April 19, came after the commission’s legal counsel felt Sonnen may have perjured himself during testimony at an appeal hearing in December related to his ban for elevated levels of testosterone following a UFC middleweight championship fight against Anderson Silva on Aug. 7. The commission also addressed whether Sonnen’s guilty plea in January — to money-laundering charges related to his real-estate business for which he was sentenced to 24 months probation, a $10,000 fine, and loss of his real-estate license — brought “discredit” to the state as a licensee.
The indefinite suspension runs through June 29, when Sonnen’s license in California expires. Sonnen will be placed on the MMA registry used by regulators to monitor medical and administrative suspensions. He is free to apply for licenses in other jurisdictions, but California requested that other commissions contact it in the event that Sonnen requests a license.

The trial has the attention of most everyone in MMA as Sonnen was still coming off his near win over Anderson Silva last summer, as he won four-straight rounds against the champion before being submitted late in the fifth round.

Fighters, News, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC

Anderson Silva Chael Sonnen Michael Bisping UFC

Penn challenges Shields, Shields accepts

May 17, 2011 / Drew Ellis

See what fun can come through Twitter?

On Monday night B.J. Penn released the following statement on his Twitter account:

@jakeshieldsajj I would never challenge one of Cesar Gracie’s guys, but you’ve been calling me out for years.Let’s do it! I’ll contact Dana

This was a challenge to Jake Shields, who is coming off a decision loss to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 129.

Shields was quick to answer with this:

@bjpenndotcom even better, let’s make it the first 5 round non-title fight

B.J. then had his last reply:

@jakeshieldsajj If that makes you feel more confident….. sure.

This fight would be good for both men as Penn needs a marquee fight to get back into the hunt in the welterweight division and Shields needs to get a big-time win in the octagon after two shaky performances in the UFC.

A matchup with Penn and Shields would feature arguably the two best jiu-jitsu fighters in all of MMA and certainly in the 170-pound category.

Now, just because these two agree to fight on Twitter doesn’t mean the UFC will make it happen, but this is a fight they will have to strongly consider.

Fighters, News, UFC

B.J. Penn Jake Shields UFC

Edgar’s back injury a lingering problem

May 16, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Frankie Edgar has a back injury that hasn’t been going away for some time and apparently won’t be going away any time soon.

Edgar spoke to MMAFighting.com’s Mike Chiappetta and talked about the back issue that forced him to withdraw from his UFC Lightweight Championship defense against Gray Maynard at UFC 130.

Earlier Monday, (Edgar) had an epidural injection to address the pain. It will take up to four days to determine whether it worked. According to Edgar, the ultimate solution is something more invasive, but his doctors are trying to stem the pain and delay what might be inevitable.
“I think eventually I’m going to need surgery,” said Edgar, who also suffered a rib injury in training. “Hopefully these shots will slow down the process and give me a couple more years without having to do the surgery.”
The shots may prove an effective temporary solution, but if they don’t work, he could have another round of shots that will go directly into his nerves.
Edgar said his back issues go back to his past, and that he had surgery 11 years ago. Since then, he occasionally suffered small flare-ups that would knock him out of the gym for a day or two, but about 3-4 weeks ago, he was hit with another flare-up that he quickly realized was far more severe.

Back injuries aren’t something to mess around with and if Edgar has to take shots regularly, the problem is probably more severe than he would like to really admit.

I understand Edgar’s desire to fight through the injury, as he is a champion for the biggest organization and probably trying to build a future for his family, but one wrong move in training or in the octagon could end his career forever.

Hopefully Edgar can heal up soon, but if he needs to take a lengthy amount of time off to have surgery that could improve his quality of life, I hope he does it.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Frankie Edgar Gray Maynard UFC UFC 130

Lesnar pulls out of UFC 131 due to diverticulitis

May 12, 2011 / Drew Ellis

It’s been a bad week for the UFC.

After already having its UFC 130 main event cancelled, the company announced today that Brock Lesnar is pulling out of his UFC 131 main event fight with Junior dos Santos due to a second bout of diverticulitis, the same illness that shelved the former champion a few years ago.

MMAFighting.com’s Michael David Smith had all the info.

In a blockbuster announcement Thursday afternoon, UFC President Dana White revealed that Brock Lesnar is once again suffering from diverticulitis and will not be able to fight at UFC 131. Instead, the main event on that fight card will be Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin.
“I want to thank the UFC, I want to thank Mr. White and I want to apologize to Junior dos Santos and Spike TV,” Lesnar said. “This is an unfortunate situation for me. I dodged a bullet about two years ago with diverticulitis, at that time not knowing what the problem was. … Diverticulitis is something that never goes away. It’s something I’ve dealt with since the first occurrence and I’ve been battling it.”
Lesnar said that he has been feeling sick for three months and has been on antibiotics, and that “It didn’t allow me to train to my full capabilities. I was forced to make a decision to go back to the doctor this week.” Lesnar said he spent 14 hours talking to doctors at the Mayo Clinic this week, and although he insisted that the illness won’t end his career and that he won’t retire from MMA, he said there’s simply no way he can fight as scheduled in June.

The loss of Lesnar will really hurt the PPV draw of UFC 131, as Lesnar’s last two fights brought in over 1 million buys for the company.

While the fight between dos Santos and Carwin is very intriguing, Lesnar is one of the UFC’s biggest stars. More importantly, it appears that this diverticulitis could be a problem all of Lesnar’s life and jeopardize his MMA career.

Well, these types of things like to happen in three’s, so if UFC 132 main eventers Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz are smart, they will start wrapping themselves in bubble wrap now.

Events, Fighters, News, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC

Brock Lesnar Dana White Junior Dos Santos Shane Carwin UFC UFC 131