MMA News 6/7: UFC 131, Shane Carwin, 'Mayhem' Miller, Gina Carano and More
By on June 8, 2011
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Bleacher Report's MMA news recap for Tuesday, June 7:
Ed O'Neill talks about his first BJJ class at Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy.
Former WWE champion Batista opens MMA training facility.
Igor Pokrajac out of UFC 131.
Shane Carwin talks to Bleacher Report prior to UFC 131.
Mayhem Miller Promises to turn TUF on its head.
Gina Carano off June Strikeforce card.
UFC pay-per-views coming to X-Box.
UFC 131: Dana White video blog day one.
UFC 130: Frank Mir admits knee injury before Roy Nelson bout.
Shane Carwin Speaks to Bleacher Report Prior to UFC 131
Bleacher Report's Bryan Levick:
Some are calling this version of Carwin, Shane Carwin 2.0. This Carwin may be new and improved both physically and mentally due everything he has gone through since suffering his first loss to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 116 last July.
He underwent surgery to repair a neck injury which forced him to pull out of a bout with Roy Nelson at UFC 125. Now that he is healed physically it is time to see how he reacts after suffering his first career loss. It was an especially damaging loss considering how close Carwin came to finishing Lesnar off in the first round.
They say a fighter learns more from his losses than he does from his wins and if that philosophy rings true then we can expect an even more dangerous Carwin than we have seen in the past. A powerful puncher, an outstanding wrestler and one of the more intelligent fighters in the business, Carwin will give Junior Dos Santos all he can handle and may find himself opposite current UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez sometime this year.
I have had the opportunity to speak with Carwin on a few different occasions and he is a humble, down to earth gentleman who puts his family first. He still works a full time job as an engineer at a local water authority. Carwin takes great pride in the relationship he has with his fans whom call themselves the "Carwin Army"
Bleacher Report's Mike Hodges:
Although he earned a victory against Roy Nelson at UFC 130, Frank Mir didn't appear to be himself in that fight as he often looked fatigued more than usual.
According to ESPN.com, Mir's trainer, Jimmy Gifford revealed that he wasn't at 100 percent during that bout due to a nagging knee injury. Gifford explained that the injury prevented him from making his weight target of 252 lbs.
"The ligaments in his knee were damaged," Gifford said during the interview.
"Because of the knee issue, the weight didn't come off like we thought it would. He won't be that heavy for his next fight, I can promise you that."
The former UFC heavyweight champion has been recently experimenting with his weight over the past year. After walking into his bout with Brock Lesnar at 245 lbs at UFC 100, Mir realized how much more he would need to adapt in order to compete with the bigger heavyweights of the division. In his bout with Shane Carwin at UFC 112, Mir weighed in at 265 lbs.
Click below to read more:
UFC News: Frank Mir Says a Knee Injury Prevented Him from Making Proper Weight
UFC President Dana White: UFC 131 Day One Video Blog
Bleacher Report's Sean Smith:
Yesterday the UFC posted the first episode of UFC President Dana White's always-popular video blog for the events leading up to UFC 131 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The video blog began with White leaving from the E3 Conference, where he announced that future UFC pay-per-views would be available on Xbox Live.
The video also showed clips of White during UFC 130, which took place on May 28th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Finally, White asked for UFC 131 predictions from The Ultimate Fighter: Season 14 coaches Michael Bisping and Jason "Mayhem" Miller. Bisping reluctantly picked Junior Dos Santos to win, while Miller went with Shane Carwin.
Bleacher Report's Matt Juul:
MMAWeekly.com reports that the UFC's live events will soon be available for viewing through Microsoft's Xbox Live.
On Monday, UFC President Dana White announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) that the streaming of pay per view events is a part of a new deal that the organization has with Microsoft. White went on to say that events such as weigh-ins and interviews will also be made available through Xbox Live.
Specifics on the deal have yet to be announced, but it is expected that the proposed service will arrive on gamers' consoles sometime this fall.
White told fans, "As you know, we deliver the best fights in the world, and now Xbox will revolutionize live events on television. You’ll get all the best fights and compete against your friends, only on Xbox.”
News of the deal comes on the heels of the announcement of the new UFC Undisputed 3 game, which fans will be able to play on their Xbox 360s this coming January.
The new deal is also a part of the UFC's constant expansion into the electronic, social media realm. The UFC currently has 5.8 million combined fans on Facebook and Twitter and is poised to continue utilizing this technology going forward.
Gina Carano's Return to the Cage Will Have to Wait
Bleacher Report's Matt Juul:
Some unfortunate news came out of today's Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum media conference calls.
Following a medical examination, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced that female middleweight Gina Carano was not cleared by her doctor and will not be able to face Sarah D'Alelio on June 18th.
Coker read a statement prepared by Carano stating, "I'm certainly disappointed not to be fighting on June 18th. I'd like to thank Greg Jackson and Team Jackson for such an amazing camp. I hope this is only a brief setback."
Not much is known yet as to what caused Carano not to be cleared by her physicians.
Coker said that he talked to Carano and her representatives but does not have any further information as to what the reasons are for having to drop the fight.
Replacing the bout on the Showtime card will be a lightweight match between KJ Noons and Jorge Masvidal. This fight was originally on the preliminary card set to air on HDNet.
Click below to read the entire article:
Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum: Gina Carano Not Cleared by Doctors, Off Card
TUF Season 14: Jason 'Mayhem' Miller Talks About his Plans for his Stint as Coach
Bleacher Report's Matt Juul:
Jason "Mayhem" Miller, one of MMA's most recognizable and polarizing stars, looks to bring his own brand of comedy and fighting experience to the Ultimate Fighter reality show.
Dropping his bout with Aaron Simpson to coach the show's 14th season opposite Michael Bisbing, Miller tells UFC.com that "it's about time" he was made a coach.
A veteran of reality television and the cage, Miller states in the video profile that, "If there are two things I'm good at, it's beating up people and saying moderately funny things on cable television."
The video showcases Miller's coaching ability, with him instructing fellow UFC fighters Mark Muñoz and Krzysztof Sosynski as well as Olympic Judo gold medalist turned MMA fighter Satoshi Ishii.
Miller uncharacteristically gets a bit serious in the video saying people discount him due to his nonchalant attitude but that he's dedicated his life to MMA and hopes "to help some artists improve their art" as coach on the show.
"Every practice is going to be focused on getting the guys better," Miller states. "I really care, you know? I give a chicken salad about these guys I really do," he goes on, recalling the "chicken s***" remarks made by Brock Lesnar during his stint as coach.
Miller ends the video by promising to turn the show "on its head."
The 14th season will feature bantamweight and featherweight fighters with the finale, featuring the coaches bout between Miller and Bisbing, scheduled for December 3.
Click below to see the video:
The Ultimate Fighter 14: Jason 'Mayhem' Miller Promises To Turn TUF on Its Head
UFC 131: The Injuries Keep Racking up for the UFC
Bleacher Report's Dale De Souza:
We are officially less than four days away from UFC 131 in Vancouver, and yet even the heavily stacked card is not immune to losing a potentially monumental clash either it seems.
While the details are unknown, MMA Weekly reports that a UFC 131 preliminary bout in the light heavyweight division will be put on hold, as Igor Pokrajac has been forced to withdraw from his bout against Krzysztof Soszynski.
Again, the details are unknown, although possible visa issues are rumored to be the most likely candidate for a form of logic behind the scratching of Pokrajac from the fight.
In any event, in for Pokrajac is the returning Mike Massenzio, who has posted up an April win over Nate Kittredge prior to his return to the Octagon, where he went 1-2-0 as a middleweight.
Massenzio has returned with hopes of creating a successful stint at light heavyweight, but to do so, he'll have to take on the unenviable task of taking on The Ultimate Fighter 8 veteran on roughly four days notice.
Click below to read the entire article:
Igor Pokrajac Out, Mike Massenzio in Against Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 131
With his hopes of joining Strikeforce apparently dashed, former WWE champion Batista has moved on to other endeavors, specifically opening a mixed martial arts training facility in Tampa, Florida.
According to TMZ.com, Batista has teamed up with Cesar Gracie to open Gracie Fighter Jiu Jitsu. As of now, it appears that the gym is not open to the general public, however that is expected to change next week.
In the past it had been rumored that Batista was in negotiations to join Strikeforce. At this time it seems as if those talks have ceased.
In April, Batista spoke to TMZ about the status of his talks with Strikeforce. Batista responded to the question about where things stood by moving his hand across his throat, he then said, “We were (negotiating), but UFC bought 'em out and never said anything to me about it. I'm disappointed.”
Batista was then asked when talks broke down, he seemingly contradicts his UFC finger pointing saying, “Like a week before,” before adding, “Well, it didn’t break down until they sold out, I just had no idea, nobody ever said anything to me, Scott Coker never said anything to me, we had a deal on the table and we were just trying to fix a few things and the next thing I know, they got bought out.”
For now, it appears that Batista has moved on from his hopes of launching an MMA career at the age of 42.
Ed O'Neill: The Actor Talks About how his 16-year Odyssey Toward his BJJ Black Belt Began
Ed O'Neill recently addressed a class at the Gracie Academy recalling his first interaction with Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and how he became enamored with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 17 years ago.
The story is very funny, especially when he recounts how Rorian Gracie asked O'Neill if he thought he could hold him down for a mere three seconds. O'Neill was confident that he could keep Gracie down for such a short time, considering he outweighed him by a fairly significant amount. O'Neill failed in his attempt to keep Gracie on his back.
O'Neill then tells the class that he immediately made up his mind to learn BJJ, signing up for classes the next week.
O'Neill eventually earned his black belt after 16 years of training, joking "16 years, this must come naturally to me."
Click below to see the video:
Ed O'Neill Talks About His First Class at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy: Video
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