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UFC news from yahoo
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Topic Started: May 23 2006, 02:21 AM (113 Views)
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MaxPower
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May 23 2006, 02:21 AM
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Follower of Branigann's Law
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(CP) - The Ultimate Fighting Championship has approached sanctioning bodies in Quebec and Alberta about staging its mixed martial arts cards in Canada, UFC officials said Monday.
"Montreal and Edmonton are very, very excited about having a show up there," UFC vice-president Marc Ratner said in a conference call.
Ratner said the UFC had been looking for dates in both cities, but had been frustrated because of arena conflicts with hockey games.
"We're working on that as we speak," he added.
"We will come to Canada soon," added UFC president Dana White.
Ratner is a former executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission who recently joined the UFC to help increase the number of states that sanction the sport.
Quebec and Alberta have both hosted mixed martial arts cards by smaller organizations: TKO in Quebec and King of the Cage in Alberta.
Ratner said he also plays to talk to Ontario about holding a card.
"I'd love to go to Toronto," said White. "When we finally do make the move up to Canada, I'd probably hit all the major cities."
The UFC has worked hard to shed the bloody outlaw image generated from its early days, when it had no rules and no judges. Now in states like Nevada and California, it has rules and is sanctioned by the same commissions that regulate boxing with the same drug and medical tests.
A natural debut bout for Canada would be the planned welterweight title battle between American champion Matt Hughes and Montreal's Georges St. Pierre.
"That's what we would love to do," White said.
The Hughes-St-.Pierre matchup has been announced for later this year, but there is no site yet.
In the U.S., the UFC is targeting Illinois and New York as states it wants to add to its network.
The mixed martial arts organization has already spread to California. UFC 59: Reality Check, in Anaheim in April, marked UFC's debut in California and UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie is set for Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
That fight pits Hughes against UFC legend Royce Gracie.
In other news from White:
-The UFC president confirmed that UFC 61 will held in Last Vegas on July 8. Dubbed Bitter Rivals, the co-main events will be heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia taking on Andrei Arlovski for the third time and Ultimate Fighter 3 coaches Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz.
-Light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell, back from a toe injury, will meet Brazil's Renato (Babalu) Sobrel on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay. Liddell knocked out Sobrel with a kick to the head in UFC 40: Vendetta in November 2002. "Obviously Babalu deserves this shot. He's been winning consistently. We'll see what happens with Ken and Tito. ... Everyone would love to see Tito and Chuck fight again."
-Former champion Randy Couture, who retired at 42 after being knocked out by Liddell at UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3 in February, is thinking about a comeback.
-The UFC plans to hold a card in England in March and plans to open an office there this fall, with plans to stage fights elsewhere in Europe.
-The UFC plans Ultimate Fighter reality TV spinoff shows in the United Kingdom and Mexico for next year with others hoped for South Africa and elsewhere. There will not be a Canadian spinoff show for the time being, since Canadian fighters will continue to be part of the U.S. version.
-St. Pierre is serving as one of the "advisers" on The Ultimate Fighter Season 4, which started filming Saturday in Las Vegas. The fourth season, called The Comeback, will air on Spike TV in August with former elite UFC fighters returning to the Octagon. The winners of the welterweight and middleweight classes will collect $100,000 US and get a shot at the title.
-Tickets for UFC 60 in Los Angeles have not gone as fast as UFC 59 in Anaheim. White said the event's timing - the Memorial Day holiday weekend - and the size of the venue are factors, adding it probably would have made more sense given the date to hold it in Vegas. "It's going well for us. It's not as big as we thought it was going to be, but we're not disappointed with ticket sales at all."
-Gracie's fight in the UFC is a one-off. "I'll be pretty screwed" (if he wins), says White.
-Middleweight champion Rich Franklin, who needed hand surgery after battering Montreal's David (the Crow) Loiseau into submission in UFC 58, is expected back in action in October. "His hand is healing great. He's going to start punching again in the next few weeks." Opponents under consideration include the winner of the Anderson Silva-Chris Leben fight and the Ultimate Fighter Season 4 winner.
-The UFC president said it would be "a sin" if Liddell never fought Wanderlei Silva, a Brazilian fighter known as The Axe Murderer who is a champion on the rival Pride circuit in Japan. "But the sad, sad part of it is, it probably won't happen. But I've never been opposed to it. I've tried to get out there and make it happen."
-White said an incident in which a fighter on Season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter received a letter was an aberration. Fighters on the show are supposed to have no communication with the outside world. But light-heavyweight Noah Inhofer left the show in episode six after receiving an envelope at the training centre that accused him of cheating on his girlfriend. White said the show provided family and friends with an telephone number and address in case of emergency. Someone used that and the information got to the fighter. "It was the first time it had ever happened," said White, denying the incident was contrived. "What should have happened is the letter should have been screened.
-The UFC would like to see all U.S. states sanction mixed martial arts using a unified set of rules, even if the UFC has no plans of holding cards there. White cited fighter safety as the major reason for the push.
-The UFC is looking at having some of its fighters visit U.S. troops in Iraq and possibly stage a pay-per-view show at an army base in the U.S.
That Liddel V Silva fight would be awesome.
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Caber McJock
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May 23 2006, 04:53 PM
Post #2
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I agree
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Liddell vs. Bablu should be good. It will also be fun watching Tito vs. Shamrock for the hype alone.
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MaxPower
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May 23 2006, 06:00 PM
Post #3
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Follower of Branigann's Law
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It'll be Ortiz winning again because by fight night shamrock will be to pissed off to see straight.
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TAT 70
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May 23 2006, 06:54 PM
Post #4
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i`ll try the vaseline in the sock tonight
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All old ground. Liddel v Wanderlei would be kick arse. Rich Franklin is the buisness
;)
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spacemountain2000
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May 23 2006, 07:05 PM
Post #5
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Now you're boring us
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Are any of the Gracies still doing UFC?
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Brad Prov
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May 24 2006, 01:52 AM
Post #6
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Well Oiled Unit
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Royce is making his UFC return this weekend against Matt Hughes.
After the Tito/Forrest fight, Tito said he was hurt and was backing out. The replacement fight was to have Ken Vs. Forrest, which they actually announced as a done deal....now Tito is better I guess. THAT would be a heart Vs. heart all-out metacarpel shuffel.... IMHO more exiting than tito/ken.
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Caber McJock
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May 24 2006, 05:31 PM
Post #7
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I agree
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I like Forrest, he's tough. I thought he could have been given the decision vs Tito.
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