Tuesday, September 1 3:00 pm PT: In signing a bill that sanctions and regulates mixed martial arts, Maine Governor John Baldacci made his state the 40th to welcome the sport into their jurisdiction. (Dear New York: you still stink. Sincerely, the fans.)
"We're very excited to bring an event here, hopefully in 2010," sponsor Rep. Matthew Petersen said. "The documented impact of their events: 60 percent of those dollars that are spent at an event come from out of state. So we're excited to follow in our great tourist history here in Maine, and tradition, and bring them in."
The Bangor Daily News invited readers to comment on the law: they were not asked to submit to an IQ test before registering. “What's next -- invite Michael Vick to Maine to open a dog-fighting pit?” wrote one respondent. “This is brutal and bloody, like boxing, and has no place in ‘sport’ -- please no television coverage!! Might as well build a new coliseum and start throwing people to the lions again ... what a dumb step backwards!”
My favorite: "’Ultimate fighting’ is the cultural equivalent of public abortion -- it is the abortion of our Judeo-Christian founding principals [sic]. These people are disgusting, and their intellectual equivalent of erectile dysfunction should suffice to remove them from from [sic] the rolls of enfranchised citizens. I say this as a 10th and 12th generation WASP gun-owner, landowner and hunter, as well as a one-time brown belt in Karate. There is nothing of the spirit of Bushido in ultimate fighting. The people who watch it are lower than human -- they are swine.”
Tuesday, September 1 12:37 pm PT: Michael David Smith of Fanhouse was first to recognize the volatile skin art of Finnish fighter Toni Valtonen, uncovered during an HDNet broadcast on Friday: Voltonen, who has a 19-9 record, competed with dressing tape over his “White Pride” and swastika tattoos that eventually worked their way off.
"I had a crazy and rebellious youth, I made some faults in my past and I am not proud of these marks,” Voltonen said in a statement. “I regret that I ever had these tattoos made. Nowadays I am a dedicated family man and professional athlete, and I am not involved in any politics whatsoever." Clearly not -- what could possibly give us that idea?
Voltonen joins a list of athletes in the sport who have appeared sporting highly dubious markings. While I’m all for free speech -- and continue a dogged campaign for my employers to let me utilize “motherf--ker” in an industry where it’s almost a daily necessity -- a certain level of tact should be maintained. I couldn’t get a job as a bank teller or pizza delivery man with “White Pride” on my forehead: why should Voltonen get work in a shirtless job? Have your beliefs, but enjoy the consequences.
Tuesday, September 1 12:00 pm PT: Courtesy Cagewriter: Yahoo’s Kevin Iole appeared on ESPN 1100 over the weekend and had some incendiary remarks to offer on the training habits of Chris Leben, who dropped a fight to Jake Rosholt in Portland, Ore.
"A prominent fighter came over to me tonight and told me he'd made a bet on Rosholt,” Iole said. “I was a little surprised by that. He said he knew that Leben hadn't trained at all."
(The “at all” part might be a bit exaggerated: Leben lives in Hawaii now, and you can’t go three blocks there without getting into some kind of fight. That counts as sparring.)
Cagewriter also pointed out that the betting line on Leben-Rosholt shifted significantly leading up to the fight, leading to speculation that Leben’s camp was known not to be suited for the dangers an NCAA-accredited wrestler could bring.
Tuesday, September 1 9:20 am PT: Former International Fight League featherweight champion Wagnney Fabiano will toe the line against unbeaten newcomer Erik Koch at WEC 43 “Cerrone vs. Henderson” on Oct. 10 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
WEC officials on Monday announced the complete card, which features four world-ranked fighters, including Fabiano.
Widely regarded as one of the top three featherweights in the sport, Fabiano has won eight consecutive fights dating back to a controversial 2006 loss to Jeff Curran
Tuesday, September 1 1:34 am PT: It turns out Reed Harris was a little too optimistic.
Harris, general manager for the WEC, confidently predicted last week that renegotiations between broadcast partner Versus and its carrier DirecTV would be resolved before a midnight deadline on Sept. 1. (I have to admit, I didn’t think much if it either –- you hear about these things getting worked out all the time.)
However, midnight came and passed, and Versus –- which has aired 15 WEC events since June 2007 –- went black.
And DirecTV was kind enough to leave a cheery note behind in its place.
Tuesday, September 1 12:25 am PT: According to Fighter’s Only, Wanderlei Silva and Anderson Silva -- former teammates at Chute Boxe who got under each other’s skin in the past several months -- have made peace over dinner.
The Silvas were brought together by Rafael Alejarra, Silva’s conditioning coach, who petitioned both men to resolve their issues. It was successful. (We know this already, because if it weren’t, YouTube footage of the two in a Thai plumb and a mess of airborne breadsticks would have already made its way online.)
Whether this means Anderson has gained another friend to avoid fighting (see: Lyoto Machida, Paulo Filho, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira) is undecided; Silva himself will be out of action for awhile after having facial surgery. It’s a long way from being an issue.
Tuesday, September 1 12:00 am PT: Former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez forced Justin Howard to submit to first-round strikes at King of Kombat 7 “Judgment Day” on Saturday at the Austin Music Hall in Austin, Texas.
Rodriguez has won eight of his past 10 fights, including two straight. The 32-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling world champion landed a knee to Howard’s head and followed up with punches that sent his foe crashing to the canvas. The submission came soon after. Rodriguez has now delivered 22 of his 37 career wins by submission.
Meanwhile, Strikeforce veteran Nick Gonzalez defeated Dustin Neace by first-round technical knockout to capture the KOK featherweight championship. After struggling to his stool at the end of the opening period, Neace was deemed unfit to continue by the referee. The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for Gonzalez.
