There are few stories and loose ends out there that need some tying up. These don’t warrant dedicated posts; therefore, I’ll just provide some quick bullets.
Here we go:
- Talks between Hayato “Mach” Sakurai and the UFC fell apart, which was evident when the talented Japanese fighter signed on to fight under the Shoot Boxing banner on October 28. He was penciled in to fight Karo Parisyan at UFC 78 in November; however, Hector Lombard has now filled that spot because of the apparent inability to agree to contract terms with the UFC. It seemed like a done deal, especially after Sakurai appeared on camera at UFC 74: “Respect” in August.
- Dave Meltzer reported in the print edition of the Wrestling Observer newsletter that Houston Alexander could very well face Thiago Silva in his next light heavyweight bout. That match up is just a rumor at this point.
- Renato “Babalu” Sobral has already inked new a deal with StrikeForce. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu veteran was released from his UFC contract last month after his controversial submission win over David Heath at UFC 74: “Respect.”
- Despite reports that he was a UFC fighter, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza says that no terms have been reached. In fact, the uber-skilled grappler indicates that he was close to signing with the UFC sister organization, WEC, but nothing is official at this time.
- The rematch between Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans is still unofficial. This fight is expected to take place at UFC 78: “Validation” on November 17 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
If we missed anything feel free to share it in the comments section.
October 2nd, 2007
48 Comments »
Slightly disturbing that there is now word of the fight card for NJ.
I hope that rumor bout’ Houston not fighting a top10 fighter, and fighting Silva instead is bogus!
hey maybe insted of Thiago Silva, he could fight Wanderlei Silva??……..please let this just be a b/s rumor…
[quote post=”3483″]Slightly disturbing that there is now word of the fight card for NJ.[/quote]
very disturbing,
remember 3months ago there was 3 full cards offically announced, 3months prior to them airing.
And now there is a card less then a month away that only has 4 fights offically releasd. and the card in November empty with tickets on sale…whats going on??
Exactly. Its looking like this may be a very bad return to the Northeast. (yeah, the fights will be good)
But good luck selling out the arena (77 still has tix avail FYI) and good luck selling PPV for the NJ show…
Huston should NOT be fighting Thiago Silva … i wanna see huston rise fast because the guy is old.. let him have his chances now…Thiago Silva is slowing down his path to the title shot
[quote comment=”163637″] if we missed anything feel free to share it in the comments section.[/quote]
Mania:
is the Yushin Okami vs Jason MacDonald fight 100% official for next UFC???
cause they havn’t put it on the website yet.
Also, to add to that. Chris Lytle is moving to the WEC to basically own the welterweight division, and face Carlos Conduit.
Im sure the headline for UFC 78 will be big… first time back in the North Jersey/New York area… they gotta make an impact.
Not real excited to see Ortiz/Evans II - almost as excited to see this as Ortiz/Shamrock III - BRING BABALU BACK TO THE UFC!!!!!! He said he was sorry. Dang.
Thiago Silva is a very lame opponent for Houston Alexander. What is the UFC trying to do, have him lose to a relatively unknown opponent when he could be fighting against a Top 10 now. The UFC always takes a newly signed fighter with tons of potential, or a young star (not age wise, he’s like 36) that is on a tear and puts them against mid tier opponents and they usually end up losing before they can get ‘the big fight’. Classic example - Cro Cop.
[quote post=”3483″]Also, to add to that. Chris Lytle is moving to the WEC to basically own the welterweight division, and face Carlos Conduit[/quote]
Do you really think that he would own Carlos Condit? I don’t know about that one. Carlos is the real deal in my opinion. I would really like to see that fight.
Don’t sleep on Silva. He hasn’t been that impressive so far in the cage, but I’d put my money that this would be a breakout fight for him.
[quote comment=”163648″][quote comment=”163637″] if we missed anything feel free to share it in the comments section.[/quote]
Mania:
is the Yushin Okami vs Jason MacDonald fight 100% official for next UFC???
cause they havn’t put it on the website yet.[/quote]
It’s happening.
yeah im feeling a little bit nervous inside, wtf is happening with the UFC, they dont even have a full fight card for ufc77 which is 20 days away. they have never delayed this much.
[quote post=”3483″]Do you really think that he would own Carlos Condit? I don’t know about that one. Carlos is the real deal in my opinion. I would really like to see that fight. [/quote]
Carlos Condit wins in the first round any way he wants to.
the ufc has to stop being so tight with their money and pay top fighter like sakauri top money
if houston alexander fights thiago silva, he’s going to lose…silva is a bad dude…
All of these points and notes are very sadening. I dont know why people are upset about hearing Thiago Silva vs. Houston Alexander. This fight could be extremely interesting and extremely tough for one Houston Alexander.
I dont want to see a Tito/Rashad II match, so I dont care if that ever really happens.
Not so surprised about Mach, I dunno if I want to see him in the UFC. After the lack lusting by some of the best stars Pride had to offer and I see Mach finding the same fate as the likes of Mirko, Shogun, Herring ect.
I am ready for some UFC 77.
[quote comment=”163714″][quote post=”3483″]Do you really think that he would own Carlos Condit? I don’t know about that one. Carlos is the real deal in my opinion. I would really like to see that fight. [/quote]
Carlos Condit wins in the first round any way he wants to.[/quote]
Lytle is a maniac… Golden Gloves boxer that has one of the craziest submission games out there. Guy just needs a stage where he fights someone other then the horse that is Matt Hughes.
[quote comment=”163675″]Not real excited to see Ortiz/Evans II - almost as excited to see this as Ortiz/Shamrock III - BRING BABALU BACK TO THE UFC!!!!!! He said he was sorry. Dang.[/quote]He signed a contract with Strikeforce… where he will own anyone they put against him, plus prolly making sick $$.
[quote comment=”163637″]Huston should NOT be fighting Thiago Silva … i wanna see huston rise fast because the guy is old.. let him have his chances now…Thiago Silva is slowing down his path to the title shot[/quote]
Hold up, Tiago Silva is no slouch! Personally I need to see how Houston deals with a ground Whizard like Silva, before I anoint him as the second comming of Rampage. Wanderlei vs HOuston would be entertaining, but what will tat prove? That Houston can Bang standing up, we already know that. A fight against Tiago could really show us how good of an mma fighter Houston really is… I dont think he can take a next step in the LHW title picture without seeing how he deals with a ground beast. Tiago is the perfect test, he is a tough dude, with a good record..
Wanderlei vs. Houston would prolly be more entertaining, but Houston vs. Tiago could really shed some light on how good of an mma fighter Houston really is. I dont need to see him go to the floor and start putting people in gogoblata’s or Twister’s, but I do wanna see how he his submission defense is, cxan he pass the guard, how his guard is…. There are so many questions that need to be answered about HOuston’s game before I throw him in the title picture.
Houston is a hell of a banger, but there is so much more to mma than that… We all saw how 1 trick ponies like Liddell, and cro cop are doing in todays well rounded UFC organizations.
I’m not saying Alexander is a bum on the ground, but who really knows? A fight against Tiago will shed some light onto how good of an MMA fighter HOuston really is!
I hope the Rashad vs Tito rematch doesn’t happen… does anyone care aout that fight? I know I dont.
I would like to see the UFC get a deal done with “Mach” Sakurai, unlike most of the Pride stars that have come over to the octagon for the 1st time and struggled, Mach Sakurai has fought in te UFC before, as a matter of fact he fought against one of the best fighters the UFC has to offer… Matt Hughes…
Some of you dont care if Sakurai signs or not, I hope he does sign… The UFC needs some top tier Japanese talent so that the UFC can be a Global organization, and so that we can find out who the best fighters in the world are. We arent gonna sign Akoi, Gomi, Ishida, Kawajiri, Sakuraba is prolly too old and been in too many wars…. “Mach” is prolly the best Japanese fighter that the UFC can sign… so I hope they can get a deal done.
I’m not happy to hear that the Jacre signing isn’t official yet and that he might sign with WEC.
What the hell is wrong with Zuffa? Its no secret that the UFC middleweight division is weak, the WEC already has Filho, and now Jacre might go there… I really do not see the reasoning behind these decisions.!
what happened to ortiz vs hendo in NJ?
[quote comment=”163775″]what happened to ortiz vs hendo in NJ?[/quote]
was just a rumor……
[quote comment=”163743″]if houston alexander fights thiago silva, he’s going to lose…silva is a bad dude…[/quote]
Alexander has beat two fighters that are in my opinion “Better” than silva. Hopefully for thiago’s sake this is just a rumor!
[quote post=”3483″]Do you really think that he would own Carlos Condit? I don’t know about that one. Carlos is the real deal in my opinion. I would really like to see that fight. [/quote]
[quote post=”3483″]Carlos Condit wins in the first round any way he wants to.[/quote]
PW, I’m right with you on that one. Condit has some serious aggression in the cage. He isn’t nicknamed ‘the natural born killer’ for nothing. Right now, Condit and Chase Beebe are my two favorite, young fighters in WEC
One thing i find disappointing is that the cards are not decided earlier, im from Scotland and would love to come over to Las Vegas or anywhere to see the ufc live, but that is increasingly hard when you cant even find out who is fighting. Come on Dana we need help here, get the cards sorted so we can all, including (Scottish) try and get to ufc events!!
[quote comment=”163766″][quote comment=”163637″]Huston should NOT be fighting Thiago Silva … i wanna see huston rise fast because the guy is old.. let him have his chances now…Thiago Silva is slowing down his path to the title shot[/quote]
Hold up, Tiago Silva is no slouch! Personally I need to see how Houston deals with a ground Whizard like Silva, before I anoint him as the second comming of Rampage. Wanderlei vs HOuston would be entertaining, but what will tat prove? That Houston can Bang standing up, we already know that. A fight against Tiago could really show us how good of an mma fighter Houston really is… I dont think he can take a next step in the LHW title picture without seeing how he deals with a ground beast. Tiago is the perfect test, he is a tough dude, with a good record..
Wanderlei vs. Houston would prolly be more entertaining, but Houston vs. Tiago could really shed some light on how good of an mma fighter Houston really is. I dont need to see him go to the floor and start putting people in gogoblata’s or Twister’s, but I do wanna see how he his submission defense is, cxan he pass the guard, how his guard is…. There are so many questions that need to be answered about HOuston’s game before I throw him in the title picture.
Houston is a hell of a banger, but there is so much more to mma than that… We all saw how 1 trick ponies like Liddell, and cro cop are doing in todays well rounded UFC organizations.
I’m not saying Alexander is a bum on the ground, but who really knows? A fight against Tiago will shed some light onto how good of an MMA fighter HOuston really is![/quote]
I’m not disagreeing with what you said, I agree, but It doesn’t look like Houston will go to the ground if he keeps KO’ing guys left and right!
[quote comment=”163759″][quote comment=”163675″]Not real excited to see Ortiz/Evans II - almost as excited to see this as Ortiz/Shamrock III - BRING BABALU BACK TO THE UFC!!!!!! He said he was sorry. Dang.[/quote]He signed a contract with Strikeforce… where he will own anyone they put against him, plus prolly making sick $$.[/quote]
Bablu is getting an immediate SF title shot against the legendary TUF 1 alumnus and Chris Leben antagonizer Bobby Southworth.
[quote comment=”163795″][quote post=”3483″]Do you really think that he would own Carlos Condit? I don’t know about that one. Carlos is the real deal in my opinion. I would really like to see that fight. [/quote]
[quote post=”3483″]Carlos Condit wins in the first round any way he wants to.[/quote]
PW, I’m right with you on that one. Condit has some serious aggression in the cage. He isn’t nicknamed ‘the natural born killer’ for nothing. Right now, Condit and Chase Beebe are my two favorite, young fighters in WEC[/quote]
I thought Beebe was in trouble in his last title fight, especially when Yahya got a hold of his leg. He toughed it out, and after that Yahya was just trying to survive to the end of the fight.
I think a lot of fans are put off by the fact that the UFC has a ton of talent that are just begging to get in the octagon and they are being held back. Fighters are being held back for profit’s sake, setting up the end of year big show in Dec, Sherk’s appeal, TUF season, etc. There should be no reason that UFC 77 and 78 is not packed with great cards yet. Think about it, Arlovski can be fighting, GSP, Marquadt, Wanderlei, I can go on and on.
http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=EventDetail.FightCard&eid=871
ufc fight card for 77 finaly updated.
[quote comment=”163884″]http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=EventDetail.FightCard&eid=871
ufc fight card for 77 finaly updated.[/quote]
They can’t be serious about Okami vs Mcdonald may not be broadcast. Thats the 3rd best fight. Don’t really care about Bonnar vs Schafer
what’s up with AA………..
[quote post=”3483″]what’s up with AA……….. [/quote]
He’s currently more concerned with finding out who’s brother slept with his brother’s wife’s sister’s mother in law from the same trailor park, than he is with fighting.
[quote comment=”163766″][quote comment=”163637″]Huston should NOT be fighting Thiago Silva … i wanna see huston rise fast because the guy is old.. let him have his chances now…Thiago Silva is slowing down his path to the title shot[/quote]
Hold up, Tiago Silva is no slouch! Personally I need to see how Houston deals with a ground Whizard like Silva, before I anoint him as the second comming of Rampage. Wanderlei vs HOuston would be entertaining, but what will tat prove? That Houston can Bang standing up, we already know that. A fight against Tiago could really show us how good of an mma fighter Houston really is… I dont think he can take a next step in the LHW title picture without seeing how he deals with a ground beast. Tiago is the perfect test, he is a tough dude, with a good record..
Wanderlei vs. Houston would prolly be more entertaining, but Houston vs. Tiago could really shed some light on how good of an mma fighter Houston really is. I dont need to see him go to the floor and start putting people in gogoblata’s or Twister’s, but I do wanna see how he his submission defense is, cxan he pass the guard, how his guard is…. There are so many questions that need to be answered about HOuston’s game before I throw him in the title picture.
Houston is a hell of a banger, but there is so much more to mma than that… We all saw how 1 trick ponies like Liddell, and cro cop are doing in todays well rounded UFC organizations.
I’m not saying Alexander is a bum on the ground, but who really knows? A fight against Tiago will shed some light onto how good of an MMA fighter HOuston really is![/quote]
I agree with what you said, except about “1 trick ponies” like Liddell and Cro Crop. Guys can be so dominant at something that it overcompensates for what they lack in other areas. Randy had trouble exploiting his one-sidedness, as did Jeremy Horn, Babalu, and Jeff Monson. Common sense tells you that these guys should have been able to get him on the ground and exploit his lack of ground game. They couldn’t. Chuck’s skills are in decline and neither Rampage nor Jardine tried to exploit Chuck’s one sidedness either. They both stood with him. I’d much rather, as a fighter, be elite at something than be average at everything.
I don’t really care if Houston Alexander can pass guard or defend submissions. He knocks guys out–quick. As long as he can stuff take downs and explode out of submissions, he can be extremely successful. Rampage holds the title. How well rounded is he?
For starters, Rampage is more well rounded than Houston, Cro Cop, and Liddell, all of which you just mentioned.
Why do we need to see up this guys shorts in the pictur for this blog
[quote post=”3483″]if houston alexander fights thiago silva, he’s going to lose…silva is a bad dude… [/quote]
too many new-ish brazilians named silva, thiags, thealis, etc. I’m having a hard time keeping track of these guys
I was just looking at the UFC 77 fight card over at ufc.com and they have Matt Grice’s record at 9-0. HOWEVER, at the first PPV in England he got choked out by Terry Etim. He has a loss on his record, I wonder if it was a typo, or if Etim failed the post fight steroid test, lol. He may have failed the bulimia test, but not the steroid test!
Glad to see Babalu found a new organization.
[quote comment=”163884″]http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=EventDetail.FightCard&eid=871
ufc fight card for 77 finaly updated.[/quote]
I just saw the updated fight card and … Cinci, I almost feel as bad for you as I feel for myself being on the East Coast and close to NJ. Okami/McDonald possibility not being shown? Fighter named “Ravishing Red”? George Gurgel? Goodnight.
[quote comment=”163949″][quote comment=”163884″]http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=EventDetail.FightCard&eid=871
ufc fight card for 77 finaly updated.[/quote]
I just saw the updated fight card and … Cinci, I almost feel as bad for you as I feel for myself being on the East Coast and close to NJ. Okami/McDonald possibility not being shown? Fighter named “Ravishing Red”? George Gurgel? Goodnight.[/quote]
Ever seen a JORGE Gurgel fight? Jorge resides in Cincinnati and is very active within the community. His training camp is in Cincinnati, and he is a fan favorite as well as Rich Franklin. Jorge Gurgel is one exciting fighter to watch who always goes out and bangs and he has phenominal BJJ.
Don’t bag on Jorge, who is one of the most underrated lightweights in the UFC.
Ravishing Red, is once again an another phenominal BJJ fighter. Do I think he will beat Stephan Bonnar? No. But he does have a great shot if he gets him down to the floor. Watch Bisping/Schafer at UFC 66. Schafer was winning the fight untill he let Bisping back up. Schafer is no joke what-so-ever.
I am going to the Cincinnati card and I am extremely pumped because this does provide some intriguing match-ups that will show styles make fights. I am excited, but I guess I should be since I bought my tickets.
=p
You people need to show some respect to Thiago Silva. Houston has had two fights in the UFC, neither against top 5 fighters. Jardine was not considered at the top of the heap then and maybe not now. Sakara was never a top fighter no way, no how. Silva v Alexander is a good match up style wise and i would love to see it.
Newark needs to be downgraded to a UFN with Edgar-Fisher headlining. That is the best match on the card, and a great one.
Huge Babalu fan!! Does strikeforce webcast their fights or do PPV or what? Need to know how to see him fight. I hope after his 3 fight deal that the dust will have settled and the UFC WILL BRING BACK BABALU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I want to see Silva/ErvinII I think Ervin could beat him, Alexander vs Sliva i dont know, i would really like to see A fight get passed the first round with Alexander, we would be able to tell a lot about him, im definitely not 100% impressed with Alexander, but we really havent got to see who he is.
[quote comment=”164107″]Huge Babalu fan!! Does strikeforce webcast their fights or do PPV or what? Need to know how to see him fight. I hope after his 3 fight deal that the dust will have settled and the UFC WILL BRING BACK BABALU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/quote]
Babalu already called out Kevin Ranldleman, i would love to see that fight.
I think they already fought once and Randleman one by decision. Should be a great fight I just need to find out how to see them.
I would love to see Houston and Wandy, that would be an awesome match. Both can hit hard, both have excellent knees and both like to be aggressive and keep coming forward. That would be a stand up war. It definately has the makings of a classic match. It’s not likely to happen any time soon though, pity.