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.
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.
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 more…
Sporting a mohawk, Brett Rogers shared his thoughts on the heavyweight division following EliteXC’s Saturday night event. If he had his druthers, Rogers would prefer to fight Kimbo Slice even before current EliteXC heavyweight champion Antonio Silva. Rumors have been circulating about Rogers being the next possible opponent for Slice on EliteXC’s October 4th nationally televised event. Rogers owns a professional record of 8-0 with three straight first-round victories coming in the EliteXC.
The EliteXC wasn’t pulling any punches when it handed out the medical suspensions following Saturday night’s bout. Here’s a look at the long list of fighters who will all have brief vacations form the EliteXC
Robbie Lawler (defeated Scott Smith) — Suspended for 60 days due to a scalp laceration. Scott Smith (defeated by Robbie Lawler) — Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days due to a TKO loss. Thomas Denny (defeated by Nick Diaz) — Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days due to a TKO loss. Marlon Mathias (defeated by David Douglas) — Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days due to a TKO loss. Shayna Baszler (defeated by Cristiane Cyborg) — Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days due to a TKO loss. Justin Eilers (defeated by Antonio Silva) — Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days due to a TKO loss. Travis Galbraith (defeated by Rafael Feijao) — Suspended for 180 days due to a possible broken rib. Minimum 45 day suspension with no contact for 30 days due to a TKO loss. Wilson Reis (defeated Brian Caraway) — Suspended for 60 days due to a scalp laceration. Mike Cook (defeated by Carl Seumanutafa) — Suspended for 60 days due to a right lateral knee injury. Minimum 45 day suspension with no contact for 30 days due to a TKO loss. Drew Montgomery (defeated Brandon Tarn) — Suspended 60 days due to a left eye laceration. Brandon Tarn (defeated by Drew Montgomery) — Suspended 60 days due to forehead laceration.
EliteXC has just announced the five fights that will be part of the main card during its next television event. Showtime will air its latest edition of the ShoXC Challenger Series on August 15th at 11pm EST. In the main event, Light heavyweight Cyrille “The Snake” Diabate will make his inaugural EliteXC appearance against Jaime Fletcher.
The women will mix it up again when Debi Purcell takes on Rosi Sexton. Purcell is another female fighter fans should keep an eye on. She could easily boost her status in the women’s division after victimizing Sexton.
A lingering wrist injury forced Hector Lombard to prolong his EliteXC debut as he was tentatively scheduled to step in the cage. Here are the five fights that are now official.
Cyrille Diabate vs. Jamie Fletcher
Jared Hamman vs. Po’ai Suganuma
Sammy Morgan vs. Fabricio Camoes
Debi Purcell vs. Rosi Sexton
Keith Berry vs. Reggie Orr
Hogan made quite a lucrative living as a wrestler. However, wrestlers are just as much actors as they are athletes, maybe even more so. That could be a perfect fit for Slice. He has a unique appearance which is often found in wrestlers. And without actually playing a character, Slice is in fact a character himself.
Slice seems as though he would be able to play the part of a wrestler, screaming into the microphone during pre and post fight interviews. As a wrestler, all that acting talent wouldn’t go to waste. So when Slice is finally reduced by a less than halfway decent mma opponent, he should consider stepping into the wrestling ring. Maybe then, he could act his way to a championship.
A WEC veteran has managed to find a new home in the EliteXC. John “The Natural” Alessio has just signed a three fight deal with the organization. Alessio last fought on June 20th for Banner Promotions “Night of Combat”. Prior to that, he had six straight WEC fights with a UFC bout against Thiago Alves taking place right before those half-dozen fights.
Of course, Alessio was on the losing end of his fight with Alves, yet he still brings a lot of experience EliteXC. In fact, Alessio dropped all three of his fights that took place in the UFC. However, he did manage to piece together a 5-2 record in the very formidable WEC. The 29 year-old Alessio holds a current professional record of 23-11.
Tito Ortiz was on hand to check out the EliteXC action Saturday night and was also a sponsor of Scott Smith. He went on to state he has no desire to head back to the UFC and even called Dana White a “dirtbag”. Ortiz also admitted that he is willing to compete again but this point, it looks like Affliction or the EliteXC could be the next home for Ortiz to fight. Check out what Tito had to say this past weekend.
October 4th is the next time EliteXC will put on another national television event. That means it will have plenty of time to figure out how to improve on the deplorable ratings it received this past Saturday night. The Kimbo Slice factor will help boost the ratings as people are still curious. However, the EliteXC may be better off finding a quality opponent this time around.
Some one with name recognition and credibility will either put Kimbo down once and for all or legitimize his claim in the mma world. Either way, viewers will tune in to watch Slice’s rise or subsequent fall.
EliteXC should also do everything in its power to promote a Gina Carano vs. Chrstianne Cyborg bout. The two women are at the top of the women’s circuit in EliteXC and figure to put on another riveting perfromance. The EliteXC would be wise to invest some time in marketing that fight.
Lastly, the Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons feud needs to be settled. They are two of the top fighters in the organization and each have a general dislike of one another. The bad blood should enhance some of the allure surrounding that fight as well.
Those three possibilities should be seriously considered if the EliteXC has any hopes of maintaining a network television spot. It’s time to pull out all the stops because a repeat of Saturday night’s ratings just won’t do. And with all the other mma organizations gaining steam, it’s time for the EliteXC to use every bit of power it has.
Here in the states, there seems to be some kind of mixed martial event available to watch every weekend from the comfort of your couch. Gone are the days of waiting for once-a-month events in which fighters do battle in the cage. EliteXC was just the latest mma organization to provide some action unto a nationwide audience. It may not rank among the most elite mixed martial arts organizations, but the ability to be able to rank these organizations shows that the mma movement is progressing.
The UFC still has a major foothold on most of the top fighters in the world. Therefore, it is and will likely remain the sport’s top organization. However, the fact that other fight leagues are beginning to push the UFC can only mean that the sports best will become even better. Currently, Affliction is attempting to offer some rather hefty payouts to lure some of the top fighters into its organization. But if Affliction can not develop more than a heavyweight division, it will probably fall along the wayside. However, Affliction has quickly carved out a niche of its own. Read more…
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.
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