Friday, June 26 2:27 pm PT: Joe Warren has made quite a splash in the MMA world. With only two fights under his belt -- wins over highly regarded Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto and former WEC champ Chase Beebe -- the former world champion Greco-Roman wrestler has advanced to the semifinals of Dream’s featherweight grand prix.
And while MMA is his job at the moment, don’t think he has lost the desire to wear Olympic gold -- a dream that was dashed when he was suspended after testing positive for marijuana in 2007, forcing him out of the 2008 Beijing Games.
Friday, June 26 11:04 am PT: Is Ricardo Arona getting restless? FiveOuncesofPain.com reports that the former Pride blanket is set to make a return to fighting after a two-and-a-half year hiatus for Bitetti Combat IV in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. If you were unaware there was ever a Bitetti Combat I, II or III, that makes two of us.
And if you’re wondering why Arona would bother toiling in a show that’s unlikely to pay him what he grew accustomed to in Pride, the answer might be similar to why actors audition free of charge.
“For me, it’s a great opportunity to show that I’m back well, conditioned, as I always did great fights,” he told Tatame. “Be able to return and get my place of duty, which is among the best in the world, or in the UFC or fighting at the Dream, in Japan or the Affliction.”
Ah, the Affliction. Could be that Arona is having trouble finding suitors after a long layoff, or that no one is particularly interested in his brand of ground-‘n-yawn offense. Tough, talented guy, but not human fireworks. Arona’s opponent is TBD.
Friday, June 26 8:50 am PT: Fanhouse’s Michael David Smith seems to enjoy antagonizing athletes: Witness his contentious one-on-one with Ken Shamrock, admittedly not a difficult guy to agitate.
"It is nothing to do with my grappling skills," Aoki told Smith via an e-mail interpreter. “Anybody who has experience of grappling should know about this. This questions seems for non professional." (Broken English his.)
To Aoki’s likely disappointment, I prefer the uniformity of the Unified Rules, which make it impossible for athletes to taint victories (or losses) with allegations of apparel interference -- as well as avoid any unfortunate spin class ensembles.
Friday, June 26 3:00 am PT: Per Sherdog’s Loretta Hunt: Lightweight Roger Huerta is in the queue for Gray Maynard at UFC Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma on Sept. 16. Huerta has been largely out of the public eye since turning down a contract earlier this year in order to pursue an acting career.
UFC, naturally, finds itself in a spot: While they might enjoy sending Huerta out on a loss -- just in case his thespian aspirations somehow fail to take off and his services are courted in another promotion -- but they can’t risk a high-profile opponent losing to an exiting athlete. Maynard more or less fits the bill: tough, talented, but not a draw.
Too bad about those weight classes; otherwise they could feed Huerta to light heavyweight Rich Franklin, whose own contract is now up for renewal. Franklin told ESPN’s “MMA Live” he’s not thinking about a fight until a new deal is inked. Considering his value as an overseas draw in non-title bouts, it’s a safe bet he’ll remain with the company.
