Polish mixed martial arts promotion KSW has announced that World’s Strongest Man competition champion Mariusz Pudzianowski (1-0) will compete at KSW XIII in Kawovice May 7, according to MMA Junkie. ...

Adrenaline MMA V scheduled for March 20 in Youngstown and featuring a main event between former UFC heavyweight champion “Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (25-6) and Branden Lee Hinkle (14-10) has been rescheduled to April in Findlay, Ohio, according to MMA Junkie. ...

Both former UFC heavyweight champion “Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (25-6) and UFC light heavyweight “Assassin” Houston Alexander (9-4) halted two-year, three-fight losing streaks with first-round TKOs Friday night in Omaha at Adrenaline MMA 4. ...

Former UFC heavyweight champion “Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (24-6) agreed to an interview with Fighters.com before his fight versus Jason Riley (6-1) at Adrenaline MMA 4 in Omaha Friday...until he peeped my questions. "Chad, I am not going to do this interview," Sylvia graciously responded.  "I don't like how this whole thing is coming accross.  Sorry." Below are the questions that Sylvia refused to answer along with what Fighters.com could dig-up.  You decide if Fighters.com's questions were out of line.  Of course, Fighters.com would prefer to put Sylvia on the record on the issues fans are chattering about.   And, Fighters.com stands by everything written here as told by reliable sources, but sources can only speak from their point of view.   It's unfortunate Sylvia won't tell his story. Fighters.com: Looking back, was the "Merciless" Ray Mercer (1-1) fight a good decision? ...

UFC light heavyweight "Assassin" Houston Alexander (8-4) must beat "Tank" Sherman Pendergarst (11-14) at Adrenaline MMA 4 in Omaha 18 September to remain in the UFC, a source close to the Adrenaline MMA event has confirmed to Fighters.com. Perhaps it goes without saying; but, Fighters.com wanted to verify the stakes for Alexander. "Oh, yeah. If he loses, that's it with the UFC," said Fighters.com's source. Alexander exploded onto the international MMA scene when he TKO'd "Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine (14-6-1) in 48 seconds in Alexander's Octagon debut at UFC 71 in Las Vegas in May 2007, but has been shelved by the UFC since losing his third straight when he tapped in an arm triangle to “Red” Eric Schafer (12-4-2) at UFC Fight Night 15 in Omaha in September 2008. ...

UFC light heayvweight "Assassin" Houston Alexander (8-4), former UFC heavyweight champ "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia (24-6), and prolific light heavyweight "Gumby" Jeremy Horn (81-19-5) are all rumored to fight on Adrenaline MMA 4 in Omaha 18 September. According to NWI.com, Omaha's Alexander is still under contract with the UFC, but will be allowed to fight for Andrenaline MMA after losing three straight by stoppage in the Octagon, most recently tapping in an arm triangle to "Red" Eric Schafer (13-4-2) at Fight Night 15 in Alexander's hometown last September. Fighters.com could not confirm the appearances of Alexander, Sylvia, or Horn with Adrenaline MMA President Monte Cox. ...

I'm really saddened by the news... Evan first fought for me in 1998 and was one of the guys I always enjoyed seeing at the shows, whether he was competing or not.  He always had a big smile and a handshake waiting whenever we bumped into each other.  The MMA community and everybody who was touched by him  will miss him greatly. - Monte Cox, Adrenaline MMA President and MMA Agent ...

New Jersey State Athletic Control Board Counsel Nick Lembo has called on mixed martial arts fans to submit their comments to the Association of Boxing Commissions Professional and Amateur MMA Rules Committee by 17 September. "We are interested in any comments," said Lembo.  "All comments will be passed on to the Committee for their consideration." Topics on the Commitee's agenda include: Adding smothering of the nostrils or mouth as a foul (as per the Montreal document). Removing manipulating the clavicle as a foul (as per the Montreal document). Removing heel kicks to the kidney as a foul (as per the Montreal document). Removing the allowance of stomps to the feet by two standing fighters  (as per the Montreal document). ...

So thorough was second-ranked UFC Lightweight Champion "Prodigy" B.J. Penn's (13-4-1) domination of fifth-ranked "Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (31-3-1) 24 May in Las Vegas that Penn leaps two spots in Fighters.com's June Lightweight Rankings to place as the top contender to Fighters.com's Lightweight Champion "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (15-2). Fighters.com never questioned Penn's talent, just his recent body of work at 155-pounds. Though Penn fought unquestionably tougher competition last month, "Tobikan Judan" stole the show in the division by pulling a gogoplata from the mount out of his hat to tap Katsuhiko Nagata (4-3) 15 June in Tokyo. It seems impossible for DREAM's magician from Tokyo and the UFC's warrior from Hilo to settle the cross-Pacific lightweight question; but, UFC President Dana White is desperate to keep Penn's eyes from wandering out of the young UFC 155-pound division. Penn told the post-UFC 84 press conference that, after out-boxing Sherk, it's hard for him to get motivated to fight the winner of seventh-ranked "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) versus "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-1-1) to be fought in Minneapolis 9 August. ...

YAMMA Pit Fighting Heavyweight Champion "Diesel" Travis Wiuff (52-11) will fight on the undercard of Affliction: Banned 19 July in Anaheim, outside of Los Angeles, according to the Rochester Post-Bulletin. No opponent was named. Though there is no official indication, Wiuff may be Plan B for heavyweight prospect Ben Rothwell (29-5), who is also opponent-less as fight day draws near. Negotiations for Rothwell to fight Fighters.com's fifth-ranked heavyweight "Pitbull" Andrei Arlovski (12-5) remain mysterious. Fighters.com reported Arlovski has always been Rothwell's intended opponent, despite Rothwell's denials. However, recently both Rothwell and his agent, Adrenaline MMA President Monte Cox, have admitted Arlovski is on the table. "Of course [Affliction] talked about Andrei, but I don’t know what his contract status is," Cox told Cage Potato on 12 May.  "[Arlovski] was supposed to be free from his UFC contract on May 1, but I honestly don’t know if it will be Ben and Andrei fighting in that show." Rothwell corrected his denial, "I was trying to clear up that I was not fighting [Arlovski] in September on another [organization] as the original rumor stated.  I tried to never say if I was/was not fighting [Arlvoski]." Arlovski has remained mum on the issue. Wiuff comes off his YAMMA tournament victory in which he won UDs over "Pato" Marcelo Donald Pereira (1-1), "Suave" Ricco Rodriguez (28-9), and Chris Tuchscherer (13-1) on the same night in April. Wiuff is also scheduled for the biggest pay day of his career in Japan, fighting "Ironhead" Kazuyuki Fujita (15-6) at Sengoku III on 8 June. ...

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. ...

I've corresponded with an executive carry-over to Adrenaline MMA, Vice-President Brian Patton, about the Sylvia steal and his new promotion debuting 14 June in Chicago. Last Friday, former M-1 Global CEO Monte Cox announced he and the American M-1 team would part ways with Global to form Adrenaline MMA.  He also announced he had negotiated "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia's (24-4) early release from the UFC and signed Fighters.com's third-ranked heavyweight to a non-exclusive contract along with former IFL star heavyweight Ben Rothwell (29-5). Cox manages both Sylvia and Rothwell; and, I asked Patton whether Cox had a conflict of interest acting as both manager negotiating contracts and promoter signing the two top heavies to contracts. "I do not believe there is an ethical [conflict of] interest in anything Monte has done," Patton contended.  "As more information is released, I believe you will come to the same conclusion, but I cannot comment further." Both Sylvia and Rothwell have been ecstatic about their new deals; but, Rothwell at least is aware of the potential conflict, if only because everyone else is wary. Rothwell told CagePotato.com, "What will happen is I’ll probably be represented by someone else now and Monte will be the CEO of this new company, just to avoid the conflict of interest problem that people keep talking about.  I don’t want to deal with that.  As of right now he can be my manager, but that will probably change." Rothwell and Sylvia are both Miletich fighters, training together in Davenport; but, Patton said, "Ben and Tim - they could fight down the road." Sylvia had a fight left on his UFC contract; but, UFC President Dana White was evidently immediately receptive to his two-time champion's release. "I think the UFC received the request well.  It is my understanding the deal was made pretty quickly with the UFC," Patton said. Cox concocted the plan to bring Sylvia into his promotion after M-1 Global's original fighter, "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (27-1), asked for his release from the promotion, which had yet to organize its first event. Patton said, "[Cox] began talking to Tim after the Fedor's request had been processed.  I believe they approached the UFC in just the past two weeks.  I believe it was last Wednesday or Thursday when it was official." Sylvia called out Fighters.com's fifth-ranked heavyweight, Emelianenko, on "Inside MMA" last Friday; and, Patton said, "There have been discussions since [Sylvia signed with Adrenaline MMA] of the possibility of Fedor and Tim fighting. Neither the UFC or M-1 Mixfight replied to my requests for confirmation of Patton's claims. ...

"The Snowman" Jeff Monson (24-7) has said he doesn't follow MMA. I believe him! Today Adrenaline MMA, formerly M-1 Global, announced Monson will headline their debut card versus Michael Russow (9-1) 14 June in Chicago. On a call from Scotland tonight, where Monson is giving seminars, he asked, "Who's Mike Russow?  What do you know about him?" Russow is a wrestler from Chicago coming off a first round north/south choke submission of Roman Zentsov (16-12) on New Year's Eve.  Russow's only loss was to Sergei Kharitonov (15-3) at PRIDE's last American dalliance, after which Russow compalined to the referee that Kharitonov had held his glove to secure the armbar. "That's Monte Cox's promotion?"  Jeff asked.  "Yeah, I knew my manager was talking to him.  We'll do anything with Monte." Monson hasn't fought since December either, when he won a unanimous decision over Hakim Goram (4-3). In November 2006, Monson lost a UFC title fight to "The Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia (24-4), another recent Adrenaline MMA signee. He said, "I don't feel I fought my best in that fight; but, no, I'm not seeking revenge or anything like that."  He added, "If I were offered the fight [with Sylvia], I'd take it." ...