Brian Stann vs. Steve Cantwell WEC 35

Micah Miller vs. Josh Grispi WEC 35

Brock Larson vs. Carlo Prater WEC 35

Jamie Varner vs. Marcus Hicks WEC 35

Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page WEC 35

Affliction may be facing an uphill battle leading towards its next event. Following its debut card, which the organization has deemed a financial success, Affliction may experience a few bumps in the road while putting together a follow-up extravaganza. First, the prize pupil of Affliction, Fedor Emelianenko, received a medical suspension that could last as long as six months.

It is hard to believe Fedor could sustain any type of injury during the brief amount of time he was in the ring against Tim Sylvia. Reports have indicated that Fedor’s suspension is due to a recurring hand injury. Did he really hit Sylvia that hard?

Despite what reports are leaked, it’s a pretty safe bet that Fedor will be cleared to fight before the October 11th event. It’s hard to imagine Affliction not being able to get around this minor pothole. That being said, Sylvia’s status for October 11th also remains in question. But does anyone really care? Read the rest of this entry »

If you had to pick a fighter of the month for July, who would be your choice? Forrest Griffin shocked the world when he dismantled Quinton Jackson in arguably the best division in the sport of mixed martial arts. Fedor Emelianenko also came out and proved his dominance in the heavyweight division at Affliction’s debut event. Anderson Silva might even deserve a mention after bumping up a weight class and brutalizing James Irvin.

A panel of experts over at 411mania.com seem to feel that Griffin is the consensus choice as fighter of the month. Griffin’s win shook the mma world and quickly reconfigured the top of the light heavyweight division.

Some other fighters who enjoyed an excellent July were Andrei Arlovksi, Jake Shields and Joachim Hansen. Arlovski’s win over Ben Rothwell has set him up for a shot at Fedor while Shields continued to establish his place among the welterweight elite. Hansen seized hold of the DREAM lightweight championship by avenging a previous loss to Shinya Aoki.

While quite a few fighters enjoyed a stellar July, it’s still hard to deny Griffin as being the fighter of the month.

This Saturday night, Phil “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni will fight yet again as part of ICON’s Saturday night event in Honolulu, Hawaii. His opponent this weekend will be Ron Verdadero. Who, you might ask? Well, Verdado is a lesser known fighter with a less than impressive record. This following clip familiarizes you with Verdadero who’s next claim to fame could very well being Baroni’s next victim.

It didn’t take long for Jesse Taylor’s UFC career to spiral downward into nothingness. Following the juvenile antics that got him booted off The Ultimate Fighter 7, he came up short in a disappointing loss to CB Dollaway at UFC Fight Night 14. Then, he issued some negative comments on the whole Quinton Jackson situation. Now, the UFC has finally had enough.

It has been reported that Taylor has been released by the UFC. What was once a promising career has now turned in to a search for new employment. Sure, Taylor will probably be able to pick up some fights in lesser known organizations. However, those fights will not take place on the grand stage on which the UFC presents its exhibitions.

Nevertheless, Taylor has no one to blame but himself. A prime opportunity was placed before him and he did everything in his power to mess that up. And now, it may be too late for him to attempt to clean up that mess. It looks as though the last second has ticked off Taylor’s fifteen minutes of fame in the UFC.

EliteXC released the fighter payouts that stemmed from Saturday night’s Unfinished Business. Apparently, a fighter who wasn’t even on the main fight card made almost as much as the total payout to all eight fighters on the main card. Here’s a look at those payouts along with some thoughts on how that money was spent.

Robbie Lawler: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
Not too shabby for about eight minutes of work
Scott Smith: $14,000
Even though he was an underdog, he should have made more as part of the main event

Nick Diaz: $60,000 (no win bonus)
Giving his home town a treat was bonus enough for Diaz
Thomas Denny: $8,500
At least he can afford to buy a lot more hair dye

Jake Shields: $45,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
The best fighter on the card should have seen some more coin
Nick Thompson: $25,000
Too much moolah for the lame performance he put on Read the rest of this entry »