Gospel Radio

MMA Gospel welcomes TUF 9 alum Dean Amasinger and Andre Winner from Team UK. We will talk to them about how things have been since leaving the house and what is on the horizon for them. We will also discuss all the breaking mixed martial arts news for the week. [wpaudio url="http://www.fighters.com/MMAArchive/Episode.5.mp3" text="MMA Gospel Episode #5"] ...

"Hollywood" Dan Henderson (25-7) will get the next crack at UFC middleweight champion "Spyder" Anderson Silva (24-4) at 185-pounds, UFC President Dana White announced Friday afternoon. "Dan Henderson is definitely next in line to fight for Anderson Silva's title," said White. Silva has a 205-pound appointment with former UFC light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin (16-5) at UFC 101 in Philadelphia 8 August. White indicated the 185-pound title fighter versus Hendo' will take place "as soon as possible...depending on how banged up he gets." ...

Affliction refugees who've found sanctuary in the UFC now include former EliteXC welterweight title challenger "Semtex" Paul Daley (18-9-2), lightweight "The Upgrade" Dan Lauzon (12-2), lightweight "Tractor" Rafaello Oliveira (8-1), and "Machine" Mark Hominick (14-7), announced UFC President Dana White Friday afternoon. Englishman Daley lost a UD to "Goat" Nick Thompson (38-11-1) at MFC 20 in Edmonton last February and was scheduled to fight "Thoroughbred" Jay Hieron (14-4) at Affliction in Anaheim Saturday before the event's cancellation. Lauzon tapped Bobby Green (5-2) in a rear naked choke at Affliction in Anaheim last January and would've tangled with "Polish Hammer" Chris Horodecki (13-1) at Affliction Saturday. He begins a second stint in the Octagon after getting TKO'd by "King" Spencer Fisher (23-4) at UFC 64 in Las Vegas in 2006. ...

Former UFC middleweight champion "Ace" Rich Franklin (26-4) will roll out the crimson carpet welcoming former UFC light heavyweight champion "Phenom" Vitor Belfort (17-8) back into the Octagon at UFC 103 in Dallas 19 September, announced UFC President Dana White Friday afternoon. Belfort will replace "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (25-7) who defeated Franklin by split decision at UFC 93 in Dublin 17 January. White indicated fan disappointment with the Hendo' v Franklin rematch as cause for the switch. The fight will be contested at 205 pounds, neither Franklin nor Belfort's best weight. ...

The UFC and M-1 Global, promoter of Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1), have not canned negotiations to put Emelianenko in the Octagon versus UFC champ Brock Lesnar (4-1), M-1 Global announced in a statement Friday afternoon. "There have been recent reports stating that talk between M-1 Global and the UFC regarding Fedor fighting in the UFC have ended. Like some of the other reports that have surfaced, this is incorrect," claimed M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelchtein. Finkelchtein also denied reports in less reputable publications that Fighters.com that the UFC offered Emelianenko a six-fight, $30 million dollar deal. ...

Former UFC light heavyweight champion “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-6-1) hinted not so subtly about his return to the Octagon Thursday night. At least, that's what Fighters.com reads between these lines. You tell me: "A new beginning starts tomorrow. I have stood my ground as a fighter and business man. Now my fans will get to see the best of me. New back, new mind, and new motivation. Every fighter will thank me late," posted Ortiz on his MySpace blog. Coincidentally, UFC PR hottie Rachel Trontel sent Fighters.com this message Thursday afternoon: "This Friday, UFC President Dana White will break all the latest news and developments in UFC to the press." ...

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed Fighters.com's hypothesis that Affliction M-1 Global's Trilogy was Affliction's final event regardless of ninth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett's (20-5) positive test for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid, causing the cancellation of Trilogy.

Barnett denies using steroids.

In an interview published at MMA Weekly, Coker said, "That was already in the works. How they got out...[if] they became a sponsor for Strikeforce, [were] the conversations we were having. This was their last fight, so there would be no more fighters. The dialogue was that they were getting out of the business a month ago."
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"Endless Fighter" Mitsuhiro Ishida (19-4-1) will fill-in for Strikeforce lightweight champ "Punk" Josh Thomson (15-2-1) in San Jose 15 August, giving "El Niño" Gilbert Melendez (15-2) a crack at avenging a different loss than he had originally planned. Ishida took Gil' the distance for a UD at Yarennoka in Tokyo on New Year's Eve 2007.

Xtreme Couture welterweight "Thoroughbred" Jay Hieron (14-4) has signed with San Jose-based MMA promoter Strikeforce following the disintegration of Affliction and will fight Nick Diaz (20-8) for the promotion's first welterweight title, according to multiple sources.

Former IFL titlist Hieron knocked out recent DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix finalist Jason High (6-1) in 1:04 at Affliction in Anaheim last January. He was scheduled to fight former EliteXC title challenger "Semtex" Paul Daley (18-9-2) at Affliction in Anaheim 1 August.

Diaz tapped former EliteXC middleweight title challenger "Hands of Steel" Scott Smith (15-7) in a rear naked choke at Strikeforce in St. Louis last June. He was originally scheduled to rematch "Diesel" Joe Riggs (30-11) for the Strikeforce title until Riggs pulled out with an injury.

According to Fighters.com's source inside M-1 Global, the UFC and M-1 Global "did not agree at all yesterday" when the competing international MMA promotions met about bringing Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) into the Octagon to fight UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (4-1).

In a statement released Sunday, M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein challenged, "This is the moment of truth that the UFC has talked about. Fedor and I are here in the States. If they want to come out and fly here, we are ready to conduct negotiations. Of course it still doesn’t imply we are ready to accept any conditions they’ll throw at us. We want to talk to the UFC about having Fedor compete against some of their fighters, but only within the framework of co-promotional efforts with M-1 Global."

It's the co-promotion between the UFC and M-1 Global that has been a sticking point between the two promotions. The same arrangement caused tension between Affliction and M-1 Global representatives.
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Bantamweight John Hosman (15-4-1) will replace Kenji Osawa (16-7-2) versus Brasilian Rani Yahya (13-3) at WEC 42 in Las Vegas 9 August. Hosman has kicked around small Midwestern promotions since 2005, fighting often in the XFO and Extreme Challenge, and will be debuting in the WEC. He tapped Billy Jochum (7-2) in an armbar at Fight Club one in Chicago last Saturday. Yahya tapped Edward Wineland (13-6-1) in a rear naked choke at WEC 40 in Chicago last April. He's 3-1 in the WEC. Osawa suffered a foot injury training to fight Yahya causing him to pull out of the fight. ...

On Tuesday afternoon's UFC 101 media conference call, UFC lightweight champion "Prodigy" B.J. Penn (13-5-1) took a backhanded pot-shot at challenger "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (11-3): "I'm focused on fighting a Kenny Florian in his second - and probably last - title fight."

Penn also made a good point! Thirty-three year old Florian challenged previous titlist "Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (33-4-1) at UFC 64 in 2006, lasting all five grueling rounds, but dropping a unanimous decision.

In his defense, Florian offered, "I wasn't training like a professional athlete." Florian hasn't lost since, winning six consecutive, five by stoppage, but none against first-tier competition like Sherk or Penn. "One of the most important things is to be honest with yourself and say, "Look at all these mistakes I made,'" Florian added.
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Strikeforce light heavyweight champion "Babalu" Renato Sobral (31-8) and "Dreamcatcher" Gegard Mousasi (21-2-1) will tangle at Strikeforce in San Jose 15 August after originally being scheduled for Affliction M-1 Global’s scrapped Trilogy card in Anaheim 1 August. With the switch, "Babalu" will defend his Strikeforce gold from DREAM's middleweight champion, now fighting at 205 pounds. Mousasi dutifully remarked, "I am very happy that Strikeforce has resurrected this fight and that I will have the opportunity to become Strikeforce world champion. Strikeforce is one of the world’s top promotions and I am proud to be a part of their roster of world-class fighters." ...

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (12-4) and Frenchman Cheick Kongo (14-5-1) will fight at UFC 107 in Memphis 12 December, a source close to Kongo confirmed to Fighters.com Thursday evening. The UFC has not confirmed the matchup. Mir took a beating from UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (4-1) at UFC 100 in Las Vegas 11 July, but had been on a three-fight win streak that included a tapout of Lesnar. ...

Reverend Turk and The Real Drew Hall will be interviewing undefeated and fast rising Aaron "A Train" Simpson as well as TUF Alum and UFC vet Matt Brown. Join us as we discuss Aaron's upcoming fight and hear what is next for Matt Brown. We will also discuss the Josh Barnett disaster and break down the fight card [wpaudio url="http://www.fighters.com/MMAArchive/Episode.4.mp3" text="MMA Gospel Episode #4"] ...

"Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-12) will fight "Serial Killer" Travis Lutter (9-5) at MFC 22 Payoff in Edmonton 2 October, not “Beastman” Marvin Eastman (16-9-1) who claimed Thursday he would fight MacDonald.

Maximum Fighting Championship CEO Mark Pavelich, who wouldn't confirm the Eastman v MacDonald fight Thursday, did confirm the Lutter v MacDonald fight Saturday.

Lutter hasn't fought since getting TKO'd by "Ace" Rich Franklin (26-4) at UFC 83 in Montréal in April 2008 and subsequently getting axed by the UFC. He underwent knee surgery on his right knee in October 2008.

Zuffa, LLC, owner of the UFC and WEC, and Affliction officially announced their collaboration Friday night in the wake of the cancellation of Affliction's third MMA event, Trilogy, after ninth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) tested positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid, and was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission to fight Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1).

UFC President Dana White stated, "We are excited about the return of Affliction to the UFC and look forward to seeing our fighters once again walk into the Octagon wearing the Affliction brands. Affliction is an innovator of mixing fashion with this sport and we are looking forward to working together to promote the sport."

Eric Foss, co-founder of Affliction, added, "Our brand is synonymous with the 'Live Fast' approach to life and UFC is the perfect venue for us to market our brand. We have come to an agreement with the UFC which we feel will be the best for the sport and will help the UFC continue delivering the highest caliber of fights."
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Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy scheduled for 1 August in Anaheim has been cancelled. "Finding an opponent for [Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1)] in such a short period of time was a huge endeavor and I’m thrilled at the amount of fighters willing to take on this challenge,” said Tom Atencio, vice president of Affliction Entertainment. "But in the end, we just didn’t have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards." Emelianenko was left without an opponent after ninth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) tested positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid, and was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission to fight. ...

M-1 Global officially announced Thursday an already rumored, but little anticipated matchup between "King Mo" Muhammed Lawal (3-0) and forty-three year old former UFC champion "Predator" Don Frye (20-7-1) at Breakthrough in Los Angeles 28 August.

Also announced was a middleweight matchup between "Goat" Nick Thompson (38-11-1) and Frenchman "Psycho" Karl Amoussou (11-1-1).

Ostentatious former NCAA wrestling champion "King Mo" won a unanimous decision over Pancrase veteran Ryo Kawamura (9-3-2) at Sengoku Seventh Battle in Tokyo last March. He'll fight for the first time in his home nation at Breakthrough.
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Two-time UFC veteran "Hater Hurter" Johnny Rees (10-2) and JG Academy's Chris Wells (5-4), a BJJ brown belt under Jorge Gurgel (13-5), headline MMA Big Show Unstoppable in Belterra, south of Cincinnati, Saturday 25 August. The welterweights will compete for a shot at the Big Show title on a card that features champion "Relentless" Roger Bowling (4-0) returning from a hand injury to fight Devon Plaisance (2-3). Reese was undefeated until entering the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 14 in Las Vegas in July 2008, when he was tapped in a triangle choke by Nate Loughran (8-1). "Hollywood" Steve Bruno (10-5) tapped him in a rear naked choke at Fight For The Troops in Fayetteville, North Carolina in December 2008. ...

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (4-1) told Jim Rome Thursday on Rome's radio show that he thinks it's ironic that Fighters.com's ninth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) tested positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid, and was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission to fight Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) at Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August. "I've always been the one people point their finger at...since I was a sophomore in high school," Lesnar explained. He went on to criticize Barnett for "sticking [his] neck out" by using steroids. Barnett denies he uses steroids. When asked if he would accept a fight versus Emelianenko, Lesnar indicated he would like several more fights before that challenge, but if the fight were offered immediately, "Absolutely!" ...

Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko's (29-1) manager Vadim Finkelchtein told a press conference in Moscow Thursday, "Fedor isn’t seeking an easy fight. If logistics weren’t an issue, we’d like to see Fedor fight against Brett Rogers. Fans want it [and] so do we." Emelianenko will headline Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August, but is left without an opponent after ninth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission after testing positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid. Manager of fifth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (8-0), Mike Reilly, responded to Emelianenko's challenge, "It is an honor to be called out by the big dog." ...

Fighters.com's ninth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) denied using performance-enhancing substances in a MySpace blog post Thursday morning. "What I can say is that when applying for my license, the CSAC asked for me to submit a urine sample for testing prior to granting my license as they do with everyone, I believe" Barnett explained. "It was not a random test. I had no reason to believe there would be any issues and went in to submit my sample at the earliest possible opportunity on June 25th. I never once thought there would be a problem." Barnett was denied a California State Athletic Commission license to fight Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) at Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August. ...

"Athlete" Jason MacDonald (19-12) and "Beastman" Marvin Eastman (16-9-1) will rematch at MFC 22 Payoff in Edmonton 2 October, according to a post Eastman published on MySpace Thursday morning.

Maximum Fighting Championship CEO Mark Pavelich replied to Fighters.com's request for confirmation, "This is not confirmed." However, MacDonald mentioned in a 4 July blog post at Sportsnet Ontario that Pavelich had offered the fight to both fighters, but Eastman had declined to drop from 205 pounds to 185 pounds to fight MacDonald at middleweight.

"[Eastman] apparently said he can’t come down to that weight any more," MacDonald wrote. "But he fought Denis Kang at 185 two fights ago, so I don’t know that I believe that.
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Affliction Vice-President Tom Atencio said, "I'm not worried about [Fighters.com's ninth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett's (20-5) positive test for a performance-enhancing substance]," Wednesday afternoon on a brief media conference call.

Barnett tested positive Tuesday and was subsequently denied a California State Athletic Commision license to fight Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) at Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August.

Atencio stated Barnett was awaiting the results of a second sample taken with the first, but that Atencio was moving forward to find a replacement opponent for Emelianenko.
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Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) could possibly fight "Snowman" Jeff Monson (27-8) instead of ninth-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) at Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August.

"We are working on it now," a source inside "The Snowman's" camp told Fighters.com Wednesday afternoon. Monson is excited about the possibility, Fighters.com's source said.

Barnett has been denied a license to fight by the California State Athletic Commission after testing positive for "performance-enhancing substance," according to Affliction Veep Tom Atencio in Sports Illustrated Wednesday morning.

The Ultimate Fighter 8 contestant "Polish Experiment" Krzysztof Soszynski (19-8-1) will replace light heavyweight "Hammer" Matt Hamill (6-2) versus "The Truth" Brandon Vera (10-3) at UFC 102 in Portland 29 August. Hamill tore his meniscus training for the fight and will rehab for three to four weeks, according Hamill's trainer Duff Holmes at MMA Junkie. Soszynski knocked out Andre Gusmao (5-2) at UFC 98 in Las Vegas 23 May making him 3-0 in the Octagan since coming up short during his stint on TUF. Former heavyweight contender Vera is 2-1 since dropping to 205 pounds. He TKO'd Michael Patt (12-4) in the second round at UFC 96 in Columbus 7 March. ...

Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (27-10) has re-injured his hand and will not defend his title from “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1) in San Jose 15 August. "A replacement bout for the scratched heavyweight fight will be announced soon," said Strikeforce's Mike Afromowitz. Fighters.com's fifth-ranked heavyweight “Grim” Brett Rogers (8-0) won't be that replacement according Rogers's manager at Team Bison, Mike Reilly. ...

Former WEC middleweight champion "Ely" Paulo Filho (16-1) tapped "Marvelous" Melvin Manhoef (22-6-1) in an armbar at 2:36 of round one and lightweight "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (18-4) won a unanimous decision over "Shaolin" vitor Ribeiro (20-2) at DREAM.10 in Saitama, north of Tokyo, Monday.

Lithuanian "Whitemare" Marius Zaromskis (12-2) upset "Mach" Hayato Sakurai (32-9-3) and Jason High (7-2) both with fight-ending head kicks to win the Welterweight Grand Prix.

Returning to Japan after an odd stint in the WEC and returning to MMA after nine months off, Filho was rusty and lucky to exploit the chink that has resulted in three of Manhoef's six losses: the armbar.
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Always enterprising, UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck (12-4) will open his own branch of American Kickboxing Academy in Fresno 1 August, 140 miles from the main branch in San Jose at which Strikefore lightweight champion "Punk" Josh Thomson (15-2-1), 170-pounders Kos', "Quick" Mike Swick (14-2), and former UFC title challenger Jon Fitch (19-3), and heavyweights Cain Velasquez (6-0), "Hungarian Nightmare" Christian Wellisch (8-5), and "Headhunter" Paul Buentello (27-9) train. MMA legend and former UFC light heavyweight champion eighth-ranked “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) will be on hand to celebrate the grand opening of Koscheck's AKA. "AKA isn't just for fighters anymore," said Koscheck. "No matter how young or old, you can experience what it's like to train in the most exciting sport in the world." ...