EliteXC trying to make Noons vs Diaz rematch for Oct.4 on CBS

There has been a lot of back and forth talk between EliteXC Lightweight Champion KJ Noons and Nick Diaz ever since their match back in November for the then vacant title. Noons has gained a huge amount of confidence since winning the gold and just recently succeeded in defending his championship by defeating another tough challenger in former UFC vet Yves Edwards back in June and as for Diaz he has reeled off three straight victories winning all of them by TKO.

ProElite officials are trying their hardest to put together this rematch between the two hated rivals, but VP Jared Shaw tells MMAWeekly.com that he hasn't been able to get in contact with Noons camp and management, but he did have this to say on the potential matchup, “Nick Diaz is the No. 1 contender. K.J. Noons should step up and be the champion that we think he is and take this fight. Nick Diaz will take this fight any place, anywhere,” Shaw told MMAWeekly.com. “(Noons’ management) won’t even return our calls. Shaw would however, say that Noons is his champion and that he supports him, “We believe in K.J. as our champion. For some reason (his camp) is not coming straight out and saying no, but they are making it very difficult to make it happen.

“His manager doesn’t want us talking to him directly. Who knows what K.J. even knows about the situation, but his management is holding us hostage.” EliteXC does not have enough time to, so they must find a way to get in touch with KJ's management and finally get this fight to happen. Shaw says they just need Noons and his camp to agree on the bout. Shaw would go on to comment, “Hopefully K.J. wants the fight and hopefully he will instruct his management to take the fight,” commented Shaw. “K.J. signed a contract. All we want is for him to honor that contract, fight on Oct. 4 on CBS, and prove that he’s the champion we think he is. Right now, he’s not representing us as the EliteXC champion.” Keep in touch as we bring you any new info on this story.

EliteXC looking to set up big show for November

With EliteXC to broadcast it's third installment of CBS "Saturday Night Fights" featuring Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano set to compete on the card ProElite Manager of fighter operations JD Penn (who is the brother of UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn) tells MMANews.com that EliteXC is planning on putting together a huge show on Showtime in the month of November.

No location or venue has been announced at this time, but fighters who could be appearing on the card are Lightweight Champion KJ Noons, Nick Diaz and Middleweight Champion Robbie Lawler. We will let you know when we get confirmation for the upcoming event.


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Kimbo's next opponent to be announced this week

No other fighter in history of Mixed Martial Arts has faced more scrutiny, criticism and popularity at once than Kimbo Slice. The EliteXC poster boy after only 3 fights has always been criticized for his lack of experience and being the main event attraction at the first Saturday Night Fights on CBS. The card was the first to air on national TV on a prime time network and hour, the IFL was first to air on the UPN/MY network but there is nothing major about either of those two companies. Now word is coming out that Slice's next opponent for the October EliteXC's third event on CBS will be announced this week. So far rumors have surfaced of Ken Shamrock, Don Frye and of course the man who called him out at the first CBS card Brett Rogers. The confirmation of EliteXC's announcement was by MMANews.com.

"MMANews.com had a chance to speak with a Representative earlier today from EliteXC and they informed us that the plan at this time is to announce Kimbo Slice's opponent for his October 4th main event bout on CBS either by the end of this week or early next week."

As we all know Slice has not faced the best of competition and fans have used to back claims of him being overhyped. A lot of ProElite's (EliteXC's parent company) is riding on this event being a hit in the ratings department. ProElite this weekend canceled two events from their promotions including a September 20 EliteXC card and a Cage Rage Contenders card as well. Many have speculated that this is a sign of the companies future being the same as the IFL's who recently folded and sold its remaining assets to Zuffa the UFC's parent company. No one knows for sure but EliteXC will need to show CBS that it can put fans to watch its card at home or risk a rocky future.

Tito Ortiz still a free agent

There were reports last week that former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz had openly stated that he signed a "ground breaking" contract with Affliction, but all that did not pan out for Ortiz. Now according to Dan Stupp of MMAJunkie.com says in his column for the Dayton Daily News that Ortiz is back out on the market and is in negotiations with other MMA organizations.

In the report it says that Ortiz is still in talks with Affliction, but is also talking with EliteXC, the upstart AFL and last but not least the UFC. The real question is if Tito Ortiz is really serious about fighting this year? A quote on the column was said by an unnamed fight company rep and he said, “I don’t know if we’re really negotiating, or simply helping Tito stroke his giant ego.”

So another question is where does Tito want to go and fight for? The AFL is looking to promote an event for pay per view and they have recently signed former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley along with highly regarded female fighter Tara LaRosa. They could make a strong bid for Tito's services. Than there is EliteXC, but that could prove to be highly unlikely with ProElite in some financial trouble. Affliction is still a possibility, but as much as they are already paying Fedor Emelianenko (an amount of about $1.6 Million) just how far would they go to pay Ortiz. And finally there is his original home in the UFC. Tito Ortiz and Dana White aren't exactly the best of friends, but White never really shut the door on him to come back and maybe, just maybe Tito could work things out with White or negotiate with Lorenzo Fertitta to possibly continue his fight career in the Octagon where he has already spent 11 years in. Stay tuned!



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UR Dirt E "Quick Fix"

UR Dirt E "Quick Fix" for August 17, 2008

- Tatame.com reports that the newly crowned EliteXC Heavyweight Champion Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva is back at the gym and is ready to compete and defend his title. Here is what the big man had to say, "I'm happy, but I'm back on training because I might come back in September to defend my belt. I passed a week with my family and it was great, but I'm back here (ATT) now". That sounds good that he could fight in September, but with the cancellation of EliteXC's show Sept.20 they have to find homes for the bouts they (ProElite) put together, so fans stay tuned.

- A report out of Tatame.com says that head trainer at American Top Team Andrei "Benkei" Santos has left the camp due to ideological disagreements with coach Ricardo Liborio and although fighters such as Antonio Silva, Thiago Alves and JZ Calvancante decided they will continue to train with Santos they are still committed to fight for ATT.

- With Affliction recently signing IFL lightweight prospect Chris Horodecki to a new three fight deal there has been a rumor going on according to MMATraining.com stating that Horodecki could be facing former UFC fighter Dan Lauzon (The younger brother of UFC lightweight Joe Lauzon) at Affliction: Day of Reckoning event in Las Vegas on October 11. We will keep you posted if there is any truth to the rumor.

Kimbo and LT Nike commercial

So I was searching around for new NEWS and I came across this
its a pretty confusing Nike commercial with Kimbo and LT. I dont
know what the actual point to the commercial is but its has Kimbo.

ProElite cancels second event in two days

As we reported yesterday EliteXC's September 20 event at "The Pit" in Albuquerque, New Mexico was canceled for unknown reasons. Only a day later Cage Rage Contenders has also been canceled by their parent company ProElite. ProElite also owns EliteXC, Cage Rage, Spirit MC, Icon Sport and Rumble on the Rock. Here is what was told to MMAWeekly,

"We cancelled the show in order to focus on the November contenders show, which will be the first time we have done a live contenders show in full direct to TV. It made no sense to spread ourselves thin on this occasion"

Hopefully ProElite is seeing the writing on the walls early and is avoiding going the way of the IFL, which closed its door of operations late last month. As we all know the company has operated in the red since its inception and has had numerous firings and resignations in the passed year or so. Let's hope they can get to any financial problems in advance.

UR Dirt-E "Quick Fix"

UR Dirt-E "Quick Fix" August 15

- The Fight Network is reporting that EliteXC's September 20 event in New Mexico that is supposed to feature Greg Jackson trained Joey Villasenor has been canceled. We will let you know when we get confirmation on this soon.

- A reminder for tonight EliteXC will show its ShoXC Challenger series tonight on Showtime check your listings for start times.

Exclusive interview with Cyrille "The Snake" Diabate

We were pumped this week when we got a text message asking us if we wanted to interview Cyrille "The Snake" Diabate (14-6). Many hardcore fans here and overseas know the very dangerous French Muay Thai striker from his days in Deep, Cage Rage, 2H2H and Pride. We got a chance to pick The Snake's mind about his thoughts on his fight tonight on Showtime with Jaime Fletcher (9-3), training with Team Quest and becoming an all around great mixed martial artist.

Your fighting Jaime Fletcher on ShoXC how do you feel you match up with him in this fight?

I have all the tools to beat him so I am pretty confident I will win this fight, and I will win this fight before the third round.

The fight is in California where Fletcher is the fan favorite how does it feel coming into a hostile environment?

I am used to it, I have traveled all over the world to fight always coming from the outside. It won't affect me much.

Are you still training with the Snake Team or Team Quest?

I'm still with the Snake Team, I was with Team Quest to help train with Dan Henderson for his fight against Anderson Silva. I am going to be going back and forth to train with him because it went well. I want to go back so I can personally improve on my wrestling, they are one of the best wrestling teams in the sport. I have one of my guys going down to train with Thierry Sokoudjou for his upcoming fight in the UFC.

Is there anything that you are training for in this fight in particular?

No I am still working on my weaknesses, my take down defense and grappling. I am always trying to put it all together.

You normally have fought in Japan and England what are the surprises and differences fighting here in the US for the first time?

I wasn't expecting the amount of press coverage it is getting now in the US. It has definitely come a long way in a couple of years its quite surprising to see how much attention you get when you are a MMA fighter here.

So is it actually surprising to see how much the press knows almost every detail about you?

Yeah, its quite amazing actually.

Is it the same in England and France walking around the streets do you get noticed by fans?

No, no, its really underground in France not really known about the UFC or Pride and stuff like that. So even when your a professional fighter in MMA all around the world, its not like you get calls from journalists.

You have not fought in over a year is there any particular reason why, did you need time off to heal or just take a break from the sport?

I needed better management, so the first step was to get a good manager. I think I have one of the best in Ken Pavia I signed with him last year and straight away he was giving me opportunity to come to the US. We took our time I had a injury, I broke my ankle. When I was preparing for my first fight in the US. After that I took some time to train with Team Quest headed back to France and I haven't stopped training since then.

Did the time off benefit you?

Yeah, definitely it gave me time to get my skill set and I am now looking forward to fighting to see what. To show people I have been working hard, who think I am just one dimensional and just a striker to expect more from me.

You have won 5 of your last 6 fights how far do you feel you are from fighting EliteXC's 205 pound fighters like Rafael Feijao?

Well it depends on what happens tomorrow if the ring rust has affected me and I don't think it has. I can be in there with the top 205er's in EliteXC so why not be in a title fight as soon as possible. So why not be in a title fight by the second fight. I have proved I can hang in there with the best fighters in the world, so why not have the title fight?

Any predictions for your fight?

I think I am going to win by Knockout fairly soon, maybe the first or second round.

Anything you would like to say to fans and supporters who have followed your career in England and Japan?

Thank you very much for all the support it means a lot being in France where the sport is not legal and underground. So we have not got a lot of support from other countries. Thank you very much for that.

You can watch Cyrille begin his road to a title shot with EliteXC tonight on Showtime's ShoXC Challenger Series, check your local listings for times. Thank you to Kenny, Cyrille and Sean for the interview we really appreciate it.

Cris "Cyborg" Santos set to face Yoko Takahashi at EliteXC event Sept.20

As reported late last week female MMA sensation Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (5-0) was set to take on Yoko Takahashi (13-9) at EliteXC's third event on CBS October 4, but with Gina Carano set to compete on the card already; ProElite officials decided to push the fight up to it's Showtime event at "The Pit" in New Mexico on September 20.

Takahashi's manager, Shu Hirata told Sherdog.com of the change. With Santos now on the card EliteXC management will have a second take to get an even better look at the brutal Brazilian striker and determine whether if she wins could she get a shot at Carano next. We will see how it goes down in the next couple of months. Other fighters set to compete on the card are Paul "Semtex" Daley taking on undefeated Lyman Good, Alberto Crane and New Mexico's own "Smoking" Joe Villasenor.

UR Dirt E "Quick Fix"

UR Dirt E "Quick Fix" for August 14, 2008

- According to MMAjunkie.com UFC lightweight fighter and MMA Live co - host Kenny Florian who was a guest on TAGG Radio told them that they were "very, very close" to finalizing a deal that would put the program on ESPN or ESPN2. But a spokesperson for ESPN tells MMAjunkie that although the show is a success it will remain a webcast.

- UFC newcomer Jason Brilz who is a native of Omaha, Nebraska will be competing at UFN 15 September 17 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium and could be fighting Brad Morris who was knocked out by UFC heavyweight and rising star Cain Velasquez back at UFC 83. Morris will now make the cut to light heavyweight. In a report from MMAjunkie.com the two fighters have agreed to the bout.

- Report out of Sherdog.com says that an arraignment that was scheduled for this Friday on former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has been postponed pending upon further investigation from his July 15 arrest in Costa Mesa, California. As we all know Rampage was arrested for a felony hit and run which led to a chase with authorities while driving in his monster pick- up truck causing pedestrians to run for cover. We will let you know when his arraignment gets rescheduled.

- EliteXC will have a championship bout on September 20 for the vacant Featherweight title and the matchup will be between undefeated Brazilian jiu - jitsu practitioner Wilson Reis taking on Bao Quach who is on a nine fight winning streak. According to Fiveouncesofpain.com they spoke with EliteXC officials and they said the fight would be finalized by week's end, but they have not made the official announcement yet. Meanwhile Reis has informed his NO GI jiu - jitsu class at BJJ United in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania that the fight was finalized earlier throughout the day.

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Jake Shields to face John Alessio at EliteXC event on Sept.20 (UPDATE)

Update - As reported earlier EliteXC Welterweight Champion Jake Shields had confirmed that he would be fighting John Alessio Sept.20, but since then he has told MMAWeekly.com that the offer to fight Alessio is there, but the deal is not done. Shields in fact has been offered to fight an opponent that is a top contender, but he can't name at 185lbs. in another organization and he is waiting for EliteXC approval. This is what Shields said on the matter,“Right now I have a really good offer on the table to fight a top 185-pounder,” Shields stated. “I’m just waiting, hoping Elite (XC) will give me that opportunity to go out there and represent Elite and test myself." We will keep you posted on this developing situation.

Top ten welterweight Jake Shields fresh off his victory at EliteXC: Unfinished Business against Nick "The Goat" Thompson became the newly crowned Welterweight Champion for organization. In an interview with Nokaut.com Shields confirms that his first title defense will be against former UFC and WEC veteran John Alessio who just recently signed a three fight deal with EliteXC a few weeks back. Shields had this to say about the upcoming title defense against Alessio:

"I'm excited to be back at it. I trained all year without getting to fight until July, so I'm ready," Shields said, "I think John will be a good fight, he has good all-around skills and he always brings it. I'm sure he'll be ready."
EliteXC's next big event takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico at "The Pit" the campus arena for the University of New Mexico September 20. Other fighters set to appear are Dave "Pee Wee" Herman, Paul "Semtex" Daley and New Mexico's hometown favorite Joey Villasenor.

Source - Nokaut.com


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MMA Live to be broadcasted on ESPN

MMA Live is a well put together show that is currently on ESPN.com every Thursday evening at 6pm nationally. The webcast is doing so well that the network is in talks to air the show on the famed sports channel.

UFC lightweight contender and MMA Live co - host Kenny Florian was a guest Monday night on TAGG Radio which is a partner of MMAjunkie.com and they asked him about the possibility of the show being aired on network TV and here is what he had to say, "I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but soon," Florian said. "The next couple of months, we're hoping to get [MMA Live] on ESPN or ESPN 2, and the sponsors are getting on board as we speak, so we should have a deal very, very soon. We're all very pumped."

I for one hope this show goes on the air nationwide on ESPN. Not only would it be a great move, but it would help keep the sport of mixed martial arts in the mainstream. MMA Live is also co - hosted by Jon Anik and MMA/Boxing analyst Franklin McNeil.

Source - MMAjunkie.com and TAGG Radio

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Paul Daley to fight Sept.20 for EliteXC with possible title shot on the line

Top British welterweight fighter Paul Daley who is fresh off a knock out victory over Bojan Kosednar at a recent Cage Warriors event will now be fighting back in the U.S.at an EliteXC card on September 20. Daley had this to say in an interview with MMAweekly.com:

"I will be fighting Sept.20 in New Mexico, most likely against an undefeated ex - IFL fighter who cannot be named yet," said Daley. "I'm really looking forward to it."

Daley was very appreciative of what ProElite has done for him despite fighting for a promotion with no ties to the organization. "ProElite have been awesome considering, and I went against their wishes in fighting for Cage Warriors in the U.K., but I was going through a bad time and it made sense to have the comeback in the U.K." Not too long ago Daley was considering retirement from the sport, but now he is upbeat and refocused on gaining a world championship in the U.S.

"I beat this guy (on Sept.20), I will no doubt be fighting for the EliteXC title next!" Should Daley indeed win this upcoming bout in September he could be a threat to newly crowned Welterweight Champion Jake Shields. We will keep you posted on who Daley will be fighting in the month of September.

Source - MMAweekly.com

Wilson Reis vs Bao Quach in the works for EliteXC Featherweight title

Undefeated fighter Wilson Reis and top contender Bao Quach will be fighting for the vacant EliteXC Featherweight Championship at some point in the near future. In a interview with Tatame Reis says,

"EliteXC put me to fight for the belt against Bao Quach, from California. I'm very happy. I have three victories at Elite and now have a chance to fight for the belt, and now I'm training to win this".

EliteXC officials have not confirmed where the possible bout between the two would be taking place at, but there will be about 4 events taking place in the next few months, so we will keep you posted when the fight and venue is all set.

UR Dirt -E Quick Fix for August 8, 2008

- According to various sources a final match has been added to WVR: Sengoku 4 as Kazuo Takahashi will be facing Valentijn Overeem. Now for the Sengoku 5 card it will feature a Middleweight tournament featuring former Pride fighters Kazuhiro Nakamura and Evangelista Cyborg Santos and Strikeforce Middleweight tournament winner Jorge Santiago. It will be the opening round of the tournament.

- According to MMAweekly.com James "Colosuss" Thompson will be appearing at Cage Rage 28 and will be facing Piotr Kiusmerz on September 20.

- Today is pretty slow as you can see we might start making stuff to entertain ourselves.

Cris Cyborg Santos to face Yoko Takahashi at EliteXC on CBS Oct.4

Cris Cyborg Santos is the newest female superstar in MMA who was very impressive defeating Shayna Baszler in her first fight for EliteXC which was also nationally televised on CBS.

Now it appears that she will make another appearance on CBS "Saturday Night Fights" for EliteXC, but it won't be against Gina Carano like the fans would've hoped for. Instead Cris Cyborg will be facing Japanese fighter Yoko Takahashi a veteran out of the G -Shooto and DEEP organizations. Cyborg's trainer Rafael Cordeiro talked about the fight in an interview with Tatame.com saying that Cyborg accepted and will be on the next EliteXC on CBS event in October.

This would than add another good female bout with Gina Carano also competing on the upcoming televised bout and I'm pretty sure both of these fighters will put up great performances.

Source -Tatame, Bloody Elbow.com

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URDirt-E Quick Fix for August 6 2008

URDirt-E Quick Fix for August 6 2008.

-Several sources are claiming that former IFL lightweight Chris Horodecki has signed with Affliction.

-Affliction officially announced fights for their October card. Roy Nelson will face off against Paul Buentello and Matt Lindland vs Vitor Belfort is also official as well.

- Contrary to earlier premature reports Tito Ortiz has not signed with Affliction yet. Both sides are still in negotiations as of now.

- EliteXC officially announced its September 20 event at "The Pit" in Aberqerque New Mexico.

Joey Villasenor, Dave "Pee Wee" Herman and Paul "Semtex" Daley are all rumored to be on the

card. Rumors of a Villasenor vs Ninja Rua rematch seem unlikely as of this point.

- 5 oz. of Pain is reporting that Jay Hieron is now officially a free agent and out of his deal with the IFL, but has been contacted by Affliction about competing on their card in October.

Joey Villasenor to appear at EliteXC event Sept. 20

EliteXC Middleweight contender Joey Villasenor has won 3 fights in a row and 4 out of his last 5 since being around with the organization from the beginning in 2007 with his only loss coming to Murilo "Ninja" Rua in a Middleweight title fight for the then vacant EliteXC championship in June of last year. Now it appears that Villasenor will be competing at the upcoming event on September 20th.

Villasenor said he will be fighting on that date and says that it could be in front of his home town audience in Albuquerque, New Mexico. No opponent for Villasenor has been announced yet, but he says they have been throwing names at him with the likes of Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, but the organization could go in the direction of putting Villasenor in a possible rematch with Murilo "Ninja" Rua. Villasenor had this to say on the matter,

Quote from MMAJunkie.com

"They keep on bringing up Ninja's name," He also added, "They're bringing up other names, but Ninja is the one that is sticking out right now."
A fourth straight win for Villasenor could lead him straight to a Middleweight title fight with Champion Robbie Lawler who have also crossed paths back in October of 2006 at Pride 32: The Real Deal when Lawler landed a flying knee to Villasenor thus; ending the fight in only 22 seconds of the very first round.
"He caught me with his first right, he dazed me, and the rest is history. Ever since that night I think about it and him all the time. I'm really motivated to win my next bout, and I would really like the opportunity to compete against him again."

Villasenor said on his match with Lawler. We will keep you posted and bring you the news when an opponent has been named for Villasenor.

Gina Carano vs Kelly Kobald - Gavin likely to happen at EliteXC event October 4 on CBS

As we all know the next EliteXC event on CBS will be on October 4th and ProElite officials have said that Gina Carano (6-0) will compete at this event.

Today sources are saying that Kelly Kobald - Gavin (16-2) (I guess she got married) could be her scheduled opponent not Cristiane Cyborg Santos as first expected.There has been no word yet if this fight may have implications on a possible womans division title fight as well. We will keep you up to date on this story as always. We previously reported this when Sherdog said the had conformation now other sites are reporting it as well so it seems more likely it will happen. Also for those of you who think she is ducking Cristiane Cyborg Santos, this was rumored before Cyborg beat Baszler.
God I wanna hit that ass.

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