» Fighter: Travis Lutter

“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.

Read More About Jason MacDonald Will Fight Travis Lutter at MFC 22, Not Marvin Eastman…

The Ultimate Fighter’s fourth season champion “Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5) will have his knee scoped 17 October.

“For the last couple of years I have had trouble with my right knee that has been steadily getting worse,” Lutter said.  “This has kept me from running etc., when I train for fights.”

Lutter has been criticized for his conditioning in the past.

Lutter hasn’t fought since getting TKO’d by Fighters.com’s second-ranked middleweight “Ace” Rich Franklin (24-3) in Montreal 19 April, subsequently getting axed by the UFC.

Lutter said, “I was hoping to fight before the end of the year but this will postpone my return to early 2009.”

Fighters.com’s top-ranked middleweight “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4) has sucked the air out of this division.

In April, second-ranked “Ace” Rick Franklin (23-3) finessed out of an armbar executed by TUF champ “Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5) to pick apart the Texan in two rounds, but Franklin has no where to go after two stoppages to Silva.

As mentioned in 3 May’s Bushido Sheet, Franklin was offered a main event versus tenth-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7) at UFC 85, but turned down the fight.

Franklin continues to consider interesting match-ups at 205-pounds.

Hendo’ dropped a rank in May after his 2006 UD over eighth-ranked “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) fell from his two-year record leaving “Hollywood” without a win at 185-pounds in two years.

His March stoppage to Silva leaves him with few good match-ups but for Franklin.  At this point, Hendo’ just needs a win in the Octagon.

The trail on the “Hitman” Misaki has gone cold since his March submission of Siyar Bahadurzada (13-2-1) at Sengoku.

Third-ranked “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0) is recovering from a substance abuse problem in Brazil.

He’s scheduled for a rematch with Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) to defend his WEC title, but don’t hold your breath for a Silva versus Filho title unification bout.

Filho and Silva are friends and refuse to fight each other; and, Filho plans to move to 205-pounds win, lose, or draw to Sonnen.

Fourth-ranked Yoshihiro Akiyama’s (10-1) run at the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix championship ended before it began when he re-injured a nasal bone fracture in training, causing him to withdraw.

Fifth-ranked “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4) remains the most likely candidate to take a swat at “Spider”, but no official word yet.

Sixth-ranked “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4) may be the face of the division when his EliteXC title defense versus “Hands of Stone” Scott Smith (13-4) is broadcast on national television across North America at the end of May.

Ninth-ranked “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-5) debuted before the Nipponese in May with a first-round TKO of Katsuyori Shibata (2-4), but the “W” does little to propel him forward in the division.

May Middleweight Rankings

1. “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4)

“Spider” fights like he’s hacked the matrix, making top-tier opponents look like they’re clumsily swatting at a web. In March he choked out former PRIDE champ Hendo’. His two-year record has both volume and quality with a “W” next to each challenger.

2. “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3)

Despite two stoppages to Silva, Franklin is still the best of the rest, even according to Silva himself. “Ace” finessed from a Travis Lutter armbar to pick the TUF champ apart in April and outwrestled notoriously powerful Okami for a decision last July.

3. “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0)

Filho’s perfect rap sheet lists solid foes, but only an ’06 KO of Misaki among top-tenners. Chael Sonnen gave him hell in a controversial stoppage, but Filho missed the March rematch. A strong comeback and top-ten challenge will solidify Filho’s ranking.

4. Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1)

The Zainichi judoka ran the K-1 gauntlet of weight-mismatched spectacles before bursting into 185-pound contention with a KO of Denis Kang. Akiyama drew Misaki on NYE, but the end was deemed illegal and the result a NC. He also needs a strong comeback.

5. “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4)

Okami has been most active among the top ten in the last two years and comes off a knockout of former UFC champ Evan Tanner.  His only UFC loss was to Franklin, but could’ve conceivably been a “W” had he went after “Ace” before the final two minutes.

6. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4)

“Ruthless” rides a four-fight “W” streak since being choked out by Miller in ’06, including a KO of Trigg and stoppages of solid fighters Murilo Rua and Joey Villasenor. Upcoming versus Scott Smith won’t prove much unless he loses.

7. “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6)

With all Trigg does, you may have missed his comeback at middleweight the last two years, starting with a TKO of Miller and a UD over Misaki. Lawler iced him at Icon, but he’s returned with a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees. He’s my division wildcard to watch.

8. “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2)

Misaki has made successful hits on Denis Kang and Hendo’, but also dropped decisions to Trigg and Hendo’ and a stoppage to Filho. Regardless, he’s won and lost among the division’s best, and may have added a “W” versus Akiyama if PRIDE rules ruled K-1.

9. “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-5)

Always entertaining “Mayhem” has thrown in a stoppage over Lawler and a stoppage by Trigg into a mixed bag of competition the last two years.

10. “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7)

“Hollywood” served Silva his first losing round in two years, but couldn’t follow-up in round two.  Yo-yoing between weight classes has resulted in a mixed record for the last PRIDE champion in two weight classes.  If he wants 185, he’ll have to commit.

He who wishes to fight must first count the cost.  The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. – Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Remember the World Fighting Alliance?  Perhaps not since only a generously estimated 300,000 watched their last event, King of the Streets, on 22 July, 2006.

After an aggressive free agent signing campaign that netted the WFA Fighters.com’s first-ranked light heavyweight “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-6), third-ranked light heavyweight “The Dragon” Lyoto Machida (12-0), eighth-ranked heavyweight “Texas Crazy Horse” Heath Herring (28-13), tenth-ranked welterweight “Mayhem” Jason Miller (20-5), former WEC Lightweight Champion “Razor” Rob McCullough (15-4), WEC Featherweight Champion “California Kid” Urijah Faber (20-1), and veterans “The Law” Matt Lindland (20-5), “El Guapo” Bas Rutten (28-4-1), and “The Beastman” Marvin Eastman (15-7-1), the Las Vegas-based promotion folded and eventually sold-out to cross town competitor the UFC.

Marquee names and great fighters don’t equal guaranteed market share.  The 2006 WFA final hurrah sold just 2,300 tickets and an estimated 50,000 PPV buys.

Marquee names and great fighters do cost a lot of green.

You don’t have to be an MBA to realize high costs and low sales don’t add up.

Hold that thought for a moment.  Switch gears.

A lot of MMA fans are confused since the UFC started cutting weight from their fighter roster.

Perhaps it started when heavyweight “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2) was granted release from his contract in February.  In March, third-ranked heavyweight “Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia was also granted release.

Many of the UFC’s unranked, but popular fighters have been released in the last month, perhaps perfectly symbolized by the widely reported release of heavyweight prospect “Irish” Jake O’Brien (10-1).  Yesterday, “The Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5) announced he had been released too, to the dismay of many fans.

OK, now hold both thoughts.  Let’s review a few facts.

Fact: Second-ranked heavyweight “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-8) is paid $250,000 per win in base salary by the UFC.  Couture thinks he’s so underpaid that he’s refused to continue fighting for that salary.

Fact: M-1 Global formed to promote fights for fifth-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (27-1), but never produced an event due to Emelianenko’s prohibitive purse rendering any event immediately in the red, according to Adrenaline MMA CEO Monte Cox.

Fact: EliteXC offered Emelianenko $400,000 per win, which he turned down in favor of an undisclosed deal with Affliction.  (Emelianenko requested $2 million per fight according to ProElite Live Events President Gary Shaw.)

According to two of the most popular MMA promotions, somewhere between $250,000 and $400,000 is the market price for a top heavyweight.

But, the MMA market is more competitive than it ever has been and promotions are bidding up fighter purses.

Emelianenko eventually signed with Affliction for an undisclosed amount before Affliction has staged a single event.  Assume Emelianenko was offered more than $400,000 per win, beating EliteXC’s offer.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Emelianenko’s presence on a fight card guarantees he’ll make back the purse he’ll be paid.  Remember the WFA?

Promotions are in a rush to buy market share.  They have deep pockets and see MMA as a good investment.

Companies can buy market share, but they’ll pay a premium.  They’ll overpay for fighters who can’t deliver their salary in PPV buys.

UFC President Dana White knows the market is more competitive and saturated than ever before and competing promotions are willing to overpay for any fighter they can slap on a poster labeled “former UFC”.

The UFC can either try to outspend the competition buying-up and holding on to fighters; or, flood the market with fighters and let the competing promotions outbid each other into bankruptcy to feature “former UFC title contender Travis Lutter” at their next event.

The forum freaks who’re appalled White would release Lutter after two losses know they’re not going to shell out $44.95 to watch him gas after one round again.

But, Lutter isn’t going to bankrupt anyone.  It’s the big guys who’re the key to White’s strategy.

It’s the thinning UFC heavyweight class that’s confusing many fans.

White paid “Cro Cop” $1,050,000 to beat Eddie Sanchez (8-1), get mauled by “Napao” Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3), and nearly retire in the cage versus Cheick Kongo (11-4-1).  Can even the most loyal Filipovic fan contend White got his money’s worth?

White had to drop $200,000 every time tough Sylvia won, but Sylvia is one of the most disliked fighters in MMA.  The UFC couldn’t even headline the two-time champion’s third title challenge versus “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) at UFC 81.  MMA rookie Brock Lesnar (1-1) was the main event.

Remember too, Emelianenko’s North American debut at PRIDE 32 broke no PPV or attendance records.

The heavyweight class salaries are irrational based on the revenues heavyweights generate.

White is chumming the MMA waters with fighters hoping sharks like Affliction, HDNet Fights, and EliteXC go on a feeding frenzy into bankruptcy like the WFA and BodogFight before them.

“The Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5) announced on his MySpace blog this afternoon that his agent informed him yesterday he had been released from his UFC contract due to two consecutive losses.

Last week in Montréal Lutter was TKO’d on strikes by Fighters.com’s second-ranked middleweight “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3).

In February 2007, Lutter tapped out amidst furious elbows launched by Fighters.com’s first-ranked middleweight “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4).

Lutter initially weighed-in two pounds overweight for his title shot versus Silva, which he won as a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback.  He couldn’t make the weight limit and the bout was changed to a non-title bout.

“I think I can beat Franklin.  I think I can beat Silva.  I’m not lacking for confidence,” “The Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5) told Fight Ticker’s Pramit Mohapatra today.

Saturday in Montréal Lutter was TKO’d on strikes by Fighters.com’s second-ranked middleweight “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3).

In February 2007, Lutter tapped out amidst furious elbows launched by Fighters.com’s first-ranked middleweight “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4).

Though Lutter oozes confidence, he lacks wins over those two elite 185-pounders.

“I got caught,” Lutter explains his loss to Franklin.

After the fight, Franklin identified Lutter’s conditioning as a weakness “Ace” aimed to exploit.

“I don’t think my conditioning is usually a reason that I lose,” Lutter argued, but later explained, “I win in the first round against these guys, but I’m losing the war.”

Lutter also vented about “hate mail” he claims to have received, “Fans of this sport just suck.  The guy who is taking the time out of his day that lives in Kentucky to email me to tell me what a piece of shit I am.  You really have to question, what is his motivation?  How sad of an individual is that?”

(In interest of full disclosure, the author of this article lives in Kentucky and thinks Lutter sucks.)

Lutter back-tracked, “I’m not saying MMA fans.  I’m saying the people that are writing me this shit.  I think the average MMA fan rules.”

Canada welcomed in the UFC Saturday night in Montréal; and, the UFC welcomed back in Canada as “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2) avenged his loss to “The Terror” Matt Serra (9-5) by second-round TKO to capture sole possession of the UFC welterweight title before his countrymen and fellow Quebecois.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion and Fighters.com’s second-ranked 185-pounder “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3) also found the land of maple leaf friendly in a second-round TKO of “The Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5).

TUF Champions “The Count” Michael Bisping (15-1) and Mac Danzig (18-4-1) debuted in new weight classes with stoppages.

Les habitants “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (20-9), “Dooms” Jason Day (17-5), and Jonathan Goulet (22-9) also had success for the home team, while “The Rock” Nathan Quarry (10-2), Demian Maia (7-0), “No Love” Rich Clementi (31-12-1), and Cain Velasquez (3-0) scored wins as visitors to the true north, strong and free.

Though seven of the 11 duels on 83’s lineup featured St. Pierre’s fellow countrymen, this French-Canadian bon soirwas entirely the Quebecois phenom’s. He entered the Octagon blazing a crimson gi with the strength of 22,000 at the Centre Bell.

Serra had played a clever villain during the event’s promotional tour, but had no quips for “Rush” as St. Pierre packed him into the mat upon stuffing Serra’s initial shot.

St. Pierre mauled “The Terror” with short, sharp elbows as Serra pedaled through guards, all passed by St. Pierre. Serra finally crawled up the cage to his feet.

In the center of the cage, St. Pierre blasted Serra with a Superman punch, setting up a double-leg takedown near the end of round one.

Serra, a mouse puffing beneath his right eye, emptied his tank about 90 seconds into round two as “Rush” tagged “The Terror” with five snapping jabs before planting him back onto the mat with a double-leg takedown.

St. Pierre’s G’n'P onslaught poured on, driving Serra into turtle guard. A series of unanswered rib-rattling knees persuaded referee Steve Mazzagatti to end the fight at 4:45.

“I tired him out,” explained the best 170-pound fighter in the world.

Serra countered, “I ended up coming up short, no pun intended.”

Welterweights Goulet and Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-5) both pocketed 75 grand for battling the “Fight of the Night” in the card’s opening bout.

Goulet got the worst of it in the punch-up’s first round. Attempting to press his striking advantage, Goulet got tagged with a short Hironaka left hook. The Japanese fighter fell the Canadian and followed with a mix of fists and elbows to close the round.

“He tried to finish me,” Goulet admitted after the fight, “but he got too excited. I was careful because of my experience.”

The two fighters traded evenly to open the second before Hironaka was stunned with a punch that backed him to the cage. Goulet stalked with a flurry that dropped his opponent for a TKO at 2:07.

In the co-main event, Franklin also rebounded from a lost first round in which Lutter took the former champ to the mat and worked his jiu-jitsu juju. Franklin was nearly tapped in an armbar before he countered in a nifty maneuver that rolled him into Lutter’s full guard.

Lutter had worn himself weary by the second round and got caught with head kick as he shot for single-leg takedown. Franklin hammered “The Serial Killer” and motioned for the referee to stand him up. “Ace” picked Lutter apart on their feet with a combination of slick boxing and knees until the referree stopped the fight at 3:01

Danzig predicted to Fighters.com that Mark Bocek (5-2) is susceptible to a knee and the debuting 155-pounder delivered three big knees to set Bocek up for a rear naked choke submission at 3:48 of the third round.

“I paced myself, and I needed that; because, if I didn’t pace myself I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did in the last round,” Danzig said.

His fellow TUF Champion Bisping debuted at 185-pounds with a dominant TKO “W” over “Chainsaw” Charles McCarthy (10-5), who was unable to continue due to an arm injury after round one.

“Charles couldn’t get up,” “The Count” expalined after the fight.

Middleweight Quarry chased down a timid Kalib Starnes (8-3-1), who probably ran himself out of the UFC, for a unanimous decision.

Middleweight MacDonald added $75,000 to his bank balance with a “(T)KO of the Night” versus Joe Doerksen (39-12) at 54 seconds of the second round.

Middleweight Maia also earned 75 grand for “Submission of the Night”, a triangle choke of “Short Fuse” Ed Herman (14-5) at 2:27 of round two.

Middleweight Day made a successful UFC debut with a 3:58 TKO of “The Talent” Alan Belcher (12-5).

Lightweight Clementi ruined Canadian “Hands of Stone” Sam Stout’s (13-4-1) homecoming with a split decision victory.

Finally, touted heavyweight Velasquez only spent 2:10 in his Octagon debut before TKOing Brad Morris (9-3).

Jorge Gurgel’s MMA Academy north of Cincinnati opened up this week to host Rich Franklin’s training camp to prepare for his April 19 fight versus Travis Lutter.

It’s Franklin’s first gym stint since having a torn meniscus surgically repaired after losing a title rematch versus the “Spider” Anderson Silva.

“[The injury was caused] by kicking, by just being an athlete.  I’ve been doing what I can.  We postponed the fight from Columbus [in March] because of the surgery,” the former UFC Middleweight Champion said en routebetween promotional appearances in Las Vegas and Orlando.

In January, Franklin’s father, Rich Sr., passed away unexpectedly at the age of 56.

“It just took the wind out of me,” confides the fighter.

“For some reason, the UFC wanted him to fight soon.  I don’t know why,” adds Franklin’s agent, J.T. Stewart.

After losing to Silva, Franklin negotiated a new six-fight deal with the UFC.

“I can’t really see myself fighting any place else,” he says.

“Ace” also plans to take his camp to Seattle to train with Matt Hume, the kickboxer and trainer he added to his team before his rematch with Silva.

“I’ve never seen anyone who breaks down tapes like Matt,” Franklin gushes.  “I’ve always used tapes, but never the way he uses them.”

After his last fight, Franklin took on a different role.

“I liked taping the Xience commercial, so I asked my agent to find more work like that,” Franklin explains.

He was soon offered the title role in the straight-to-DVD film “Weapon”, which is currently in post-production for release later this year.

“I am the weapon,” Franklin chuckles.  “When my agent told me about the offer, I didn’t want to do it [because it was such a big role], but they convinced me.”

Franklin stars opposite Tiffani Amber Thiessen, formerly of TV hits “Saved by the Bell” and “Beverly Hills 90210”.

“I don’t know anyone of my generation who didn’t watch ‘Saved by the Bell’,” says Franklin.  “But [Tiffani] was so friendly, so down to Earth…a professional.

“Before leaving [for Ontario], I bragged to my friends that I had a kissing scene with [Tiffani], but the first day of filming I was so nervous.

“I’m not an actor.  It takes so long to set-up each scene…and it’s not filmed in sequence, so you never really know how well you’ve done.”

He’ll return to Canada for his fight with Lutter, in Montreal.

“I think Travis is a professional,” Franklin says, despite his opponent’s lapse before the biggest fight of his career.  From Franklin, known for his professionalism, that’s a high compliment.

“Realistically, another fight with Anderson wouldn’t be that interesting for fans.  But, [fighting] is how I make money.  Whenever I’m at the end of my rope and I take a week away from the gym, I’m anxious to get back.  I’m just a competitor.”

Leather-clad UFC President Dana White manned the podium at a presser in Montréal Monday morning to promote UFC 83 at the Bell Centre April 19th.

The fight card’s big bout features interim UFC Welterweight Champions Matt Serra and Georges St. Pierre.

“To be the champion, I have to beat the champion,” St. Pierre clarified.

St. Pierre, 15-2, was TKO’d by “The Terror” Serra at UFC 69 last April, but has dominated his subsequent two opponents.

“A bit of an underdog?  Is that what you heard?” Serra teased a reporter.  “What were the odds?  Something ridiculous, like 14 to one?”

Serra’s “W” was the upset of ‘07, a year which included “Rampage” Jackson’s KO of top-ranked former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin’s submission of highly-touted PRIDE standout Mauricio Rua.

Serra, 9-4, echoed St. Pierre, “That’s what I always heard: You beat the guy, you’re the guy.”

Serra’s championship is considered a fluke.

Serra lamented, “If I beat [St. Pierre] again, they’ll want to give him the best three out of five!”

“Serra likes being Rocky,” White explained, likening Serra’s role to Sylvester Stallone’s character in “Rocky IV”.  “I want to thank Matt Serra for taking this fight in Canada.  I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of Matt Serra fans here in Canada.”

UFC 83 will be the preeminent MMA promotion’s debut in Canada.

Quebec Boxing Council Commissioner Mario Latraverse announced, “In April, we have our Super Bowl.”

Quebec was the first Canadian province to sanction MMA in 1998.

White told a curious Canadian press corps, “People in Canada don’t even realize how big this sport is in Canada.”

Tickets went on pre-sale yesterday and White claimed “13,700 were sold on the first day.  We’re almost sold out now.  This event here will be the biggest UFC event ever.”

“It’s a dream come true,” a swaggering St. Pierre boasted of fighting in his hometown.  “I can’t be more happy than I am right now.”

St. Pierre’s loss to Serra is blamed on his mental focus.

“I had a lot of issues before,” St. Pierre admitted.  “It’s done now.”

However, fighting in his hometown will compound distractions unimaginably.

“My life might change,” St. Pierre mentioned thoughtfully.

White confirmed the card will also feature former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin versus TUF champion Travis Lutter, Brit TUF champion Michael Bisping, lightweight TUF champion Mac Danzig, and Canadians Patrick Côté and “Hands of Stone” Sam Stout.