Wednesday, July 1 2:41 pm PT: UFC 100 is approaching, and Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir are headlining. The two heavyweight champions -- one holding an interim title and the other punctuating a “direct” lineage that long ago went crooked as a question mark (which is which, Lesnar or Mir, interim or direct, soon won’t matter anymore, thankfully) -- had a conference call chat Wednesday and said the following:
Wednesday, July 1 2:09 pm PT: A shelf full of alcohol, a surplus of testosterone and a giant cage: what could go wrong? Bartlett, Ill., bar owner Murray Friedman wants to find out: He’s petitioned city officials for permission to hold MMA fights in his Bannerman’s Sports Grill beginning in August. According to the Daily Herald, Friedman got the idea when his outfit regularly filled up for UFC cards. (He also claims Clay Guida is a regular patron.)
Surprisingly, Bartlett Mayor Michael Kelly approves. He thinks the attraction could result in some spillover to neighboring stores, helping boost the area’s sagging economy. But local promoter Jeff Abin cautions that staging a “25-foot cage into a bar which is maybe 30-feet wide” could be a little problematic.
Providing the state commission is involved, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, though the idea that patrons could be fueled up with both booze and adrenaline -- then stuffed into close quarters -- does not strike as one of society’s more brilliant ideas.
For a sport that’s hosted semi-shoot dwarf fighting, egregious mismatches and Jose Canseco -- the Japanese gift that keeps on giving -- this shouldn’t be too shocking. But, as Fanhouse’s Mike Chiappetta points out, it is a bush-league approach in a state that may still be making up its mind about hosting sanctioned assault.
Possible antidote: the UFC, which will host a show in Philadelphia on Aug. 8 and presumably leave a better impression among locals and lawmakers. Pennsylvania has recently joined Indiana as one of 39 states now sanctioning MMA. If shows like “Cops vs. Cons” were part of proposed schedules before bills were passed, it’s possible that number would be substantially lower.
Wednesday, July 1 12:26 pm PT: Per the Vancouver Sun, veteran MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy is in Canada this week to offer a three-day certification course for ring officials.
While Alberta may need its share of competent referees, the states aren’t exactly in fighting shape, either: The intermediary of Saturday’s Pedro Rizzo/Gilbert Yvel bout dimly watched Yvel crack a sleeping Rizzo flush in the face multiple times before stepping in. I consider this sport’s safety record to be beyond reproach -- nothing more than superficial gore -- but that’s assuming attendants are doing their job. When they’re not, it’s an entirely new level of risk.
Wednesday, July 1 10:52 am PT: Come August, Deep will put two titles on the line, and welcome a former champion home.
The Japanese promotion announced Tuesday that its Aug. 23 "43 Impact" card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo will feature featherweight champion Dokonjonosuke Mishima defending his title against Dream veteran Takafumi Otsuka and Masakazu Imanari putting his 137-pound crown on the line against Tomohiko Hori
Wednesday, July 1 8:57 am PT: Shooto 154-pound world champion Takashi Nakakura said that he would return his title if he lost to Takanori Gomi on May 10. Now, Nakakura may not have a choice in the matter.
Nakakura, the ninth 154-pound world champion of professional Shooto, underwent surgery on June 25 to repair a detached retina in his left eye, stemming from his second-round knockout loss to the man who once held his title, Gomi, at pro Shooto's 20th anniversary card. The 32-year-old Osakan was not initially diagnosed with a detached retina when he was medically checked following the Gomi bout.
Wednesday, July 1 8:50 am PT: Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, the SUV-sized heavyweight who once held the EliteXC heavyweight title, could return to action on a September Sengoku event, per MMAJunkie. The bout could precipitate a return to the states sometime later in the year.
Silva’s last fight on U.S. soil was in July 2008; he was suspended for a positive performance substance test and was handed a suspension by the California Commission -- a result Silva and his representation have adamantly denied.
Wednesday, July 1 12:00 am PT: When it was announced that Georges St. Pierre had signed an endorsement deal with Gatorade Canada in March, observers pegged it as a major step forward in MMA’s “mainstream” market acceptance. As with Caol Uno and his Nike sponsorship in Japan, though, it still didn’t feel all that tangible to North American fans. (Let’s face it: We’re an insulated, self-involved culture. If it’s not happening here, it’s not happening.)
But if you’re willing to crack open the new issue of Rolling Stone -- and can suffer the indignity of buying a magazine with a Jonas brothers cover -- you might be pleased to see a two-page spread for Gatorade’s “G” campaign featuring St. Pierre decked out in green trunks
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