Pudzianowski’s appearance May 7 puts into doubt a potential matchup versus former UFC heavyweight champion “Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (25-6) at Moosin in Worchester April 23, just two weeks before KSW XIII.

The potential of the matchup between Sylvia and Pudzianowski was confirmed to MMA Junkie by Sylvia’s manager Monte Cox, though Cox cautioned that no contract had been signed.

Tuesday afternoon Sylvia Tweeted that the fight had been canceled; but, according to MMA Junkie, Ohio Athletic Commission executive director Bernie Profato said promoter Monte Cox had requested his event permit be moved to April in Findlay.

Cox has not made a statement about the event.  A new date was not confirmed by Profato, nor whether or not Sylvia will be on the card and will fight Hinkle.

Sylvia’s downward spiral bottomed-out at 2:32 versus Jason Reily (6-2).  Sylvia dropped the North American Allied Fight Series heavyweight champion with an overhand left, then finished him on the mat with hammerfists.

Alexander was even quicker, setting-up Sylvia’s training partner at Militech Fighting Systems, “Tank” Sherman Pendergarst (11-15), with chopping leg kicks, before putting him on the mat with a bone-crushing knee to Pendergarst’s body, and finishing him with punches at 1:51.

Both fighters moved up a weight class.  Sylvia weighed 287 pounds for the fight, 22 pounds over the Unified Rules heavyweight limit, but 23.6 pounds less than his disastrous KO loss to “Merciless” Ray Mercer (1-1) at Adrenaline MMA 3 in Birmingham June 13.  Alexander’s matchup versus Pendergarst was contested in the heavyweight division.

Monte Cox both promotes Adrenaline MMA and manages Sylvia and Alexander and this fourth iteration was conceived specifically to get Alexander a payday and some cage time after a year long hiatus from the Octagon.  The opposition Sylvia and Alexander faced wasn’t UFC-level, but the stakes for each fighter were all-or-nothing.

After losing to Mercer in what was supposed to be a boxing match until the Association of Boxing Commissions reversed their sanctioning policy days before the event, Sylvia found himself peering out of the deepest trench of his underrated career.  A source close to Adrenaline MMA confided to Fighters.com that Alexander’s UFC career was on the line versus Pendergarst.

Both fighters now find themselves out of the quicksand of losses and on stable ground to regain former glory.  Sylvia plans to fight again before the end of 2009 and Alexander might return to the Octagon as early as December.

“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?

Sources close to Adrenaline MMA 3 told Fighters.com that, good decision or bad, Sylvia’s fight versus the 48-year old former boxing champion was a career move that Sylvia and his manager, Monte Cox, felt was safe enough.

Recall Sylvia had pocketed $800,000, not including unreported bonuses, for his 36-second submission loss to Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (30-1) at Affliction in Anaheim in July 2008, an unsustainable salary for Affliction to continue paying out after the loss and damage to Sylvia’s marketability.  Recall also that Affliction had begun renegotiating contracts after their debut and Fighters.com’s sources say Sylvia’s purse was slashed for his scheduled return versus “Headhunter” Paul Buentello (27-9).  Promotions in Japan were also calling Sylvia, but offering about two-thirds Sylvia’s asking price without providing fights highly visible in the important American market.

Sylvia had long fancied himself a potential boxing champion and thought boxing could provide additional opportunities to score paydays while he rebuilt his status in mixed martial arts.

It was Mercer’s manager who originally contacted Cox to pitch an MMA fight between Mercer and Sylvia, a fight Cox and Sylvia were not interested in because it couldn’t rebuild Sylvia’s status in MMA.  However, both Cox and Sylvia were interested in a boxing match to serve as Sylvia’s debut in the squared circle.

Sylvia was quite blatant about his intentions.  “It’s not secret I intend to use Ray as a stepping-stone for boxing.  No doubt about it,” Sylvia admitted during a pre-fight presser.

Sylvia’s and Cox’s attitudes were, “What do we have to lose?”  If Sylvia had out-boxed Mercer, it could’ve lead to some highly-visible boxing matches that could’ve reignited Sylvia’s MMA marketability and provide a secondary income stream.  If Sylvia had been out-boxed by Mercer, he would’ve been beaten by a former Olympian and world heavyweight champion boxer in a sport Sylvia had never fought in before and Sylvia would’ve been satisfied that his dreams of boxing glory were only dreams.

Perhaps lost among those career considerations was the fight itself versus a still-dangerous Mercer, except among Sylvia’s friends.

“Li’l Evil” Jens Pulver (22-12-1) ominously warned Sylvia, godfather to Pulver’s son, before the fight, “Professionally, sometimes you just got to step back and go ‘Damn, Tim.  What are you doin’?'”  Pulver added,  “I think they’re taking this fight with Mercer as a sparring bout.  And you’re gonna find out real fast…Mercer probably isn’t taking it as a sparring bout.  He’s not going to swing like it’s a sparring bout.”

And, Sylvia’s physical condition entering the fight implied he and his trainers weren’t taking the boxing match seriously.  Syliva weighed a career-high 310.6 pounds for the fight.

But, Sylvia was further emboldened when the Association of Boxing Commissions reversed its initial decision to allow the River Cree Combative Sports Commission to sanction the boxing bout in Alabama, a state without its own sanctioning body, and declared the boxing match illegal.  Mercer agreed to change the rules to MMA, but challenged Sylvia’s manhood to fight Mercer’s fight regardless of the rule changes.

As an MMA fight, it should’ve been a safe bet for Sylvia.  Cox could be heard just before the bell telling Sylvia, “Don’t fuck around with this guy.  Don’t let him get to you.  Go in there, take him down, and finish him on the ground.”

But, Mercer had evidently got to Sylvia’s pride.  At the first ding-ding, Sylvia walked directly to the middle of the cage, threw a pawing leg kick, and proceeded to box Mercer in their four-ounce MMA gloves.  Nine-seconds later, Sylvia was on his back after a short Mercer right hook.

Fighters.com speculates that it wasn’t the matchup versus Mercer Sylvia regrets, but perhaps his attitude towards it.  Sylvia’s and Cox’s initial estimations that the matchup was safe enough were probably correct, but, again, lost among the career considerations was the fight itself and how serious even a 48-year old former boxing world champion is.

Fighters.com:  In a video at tenth-ranked “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski‘s (14-7) website recently, Andrei identified you as the guy he’d most like to fight, probably the same way you want to get your hands on third-ranked Frank Mir (12-4).  What do you think about another rematch with Arlovski?   ”Snowman” Jeff Monson also told Fighters.com he’d like a rematch with you. With two known, good heavyweight free agents calling you out, why are you fighting Riley?  Is the downside risk versus Riley much greater than any reward, like it was in the Mercer fight?

A source close to Sylvia’s camp told Fighters.com, “Arlovski’s manager would be crazy to let [Arlovski] fight Tim again.  [Arlovski] has already been beaten twice by Tim and everyone thinks Arlovski is washed-up too.  If Tim beats him again now, it doesn’t do anything for Tim.”

To be clear, Arlovski’s manager is not the one publicly calling for the rematch.  It’s Arlovski himself, who recently repeated that he’d fight Sylvia again “any time, any place” and added about Sylvia’s UFC return aspirations, “Nobody don’t want to sign Tim Sylvia.”  It’s becoming a battle of words about who’s considered more washed-up between the two former UFC champs.

About a rematch versus Monson, Fighters.com’s source said, “It was so boring the first time, I don’t think I could sit through another three rounds of that fight.  Who would pay to watch that again?”

Actually, Sylvia’s and Arlovski’s dilemmas are the same.  They’re marquee names and still competitive heavyweights, but their perceived marketability has been devalued by their recent losses.  But, as soon as Sylvia and Arlovski accept paydays lower than their established purses, they’ve devalued themselves.  So, they want to be stubborn about the paydays they’ll accept in order to maintain their status in the market.  Sylvia is surely taking a pay cut to fight Riley at Adrenaline MMA, but it’s a pay cut his manager, Cox, can obfuscate because Cox is also the fight’s promoter.

They also want their fights televised because they’re trying to prove to MMA fans they’ve got a lot of fight left.  For Sylvia and Arlovski, fighting a fight that no one sees, even for a big payday, doesn’t help them rebuild.

Except for the UFC and Strikeforce, that’s a tall order for any smaller promotion.  And, once a small promotion lays out the cash to put Sylvia or Arlovski atop their fight card, there’s not a lot of cash left to match them versus an equally big-named opponent.  So, when Sylvia or Arlovski find that golden deal, they’re going to be fighting guys like Riley.  It’s the economics of the industry that has made Riley Sylvia’s opponent at Adrenaline MMA 4 Friday.  Sources close to the event told Fighters.com they were lucky to find Riley because no one wanted to fight Sylvia at the available payout.

Guys like Riley aren’t big names, but are dangerous fighters.  Though Sylvia is the favorite, Riley is both capable of beating Sylvia and has nothing to lose, like Mercer in Sylvia’s previous fight.  Sylvia has everything to lose if he gets beaten by Riley.  So, the risk Sylvia is taking to fight Riley is the end of his career as a top-paid heavyweight fighter should Sylvia lose, while the reward is the continuance of Sylvia’s career as a top-paid heavyweight fighter should Sylvia win.  It’s an all or nothing gamble.

Fighters.com: Did you bed Arlovski’s ex-girlfriend, Patricia Mikula?

This question is personal, but Fighters.com told Sylvia he didn’t need to answer it.  The rumor is persistent and Fighters.com wanted to give Sylvia the opportunity to address it.

Fighters.com can only confirm Sylvia and Mikula were together in public at Adrenaline MMA 1 outside of Chicago in June 2008.

Fighers.com: What are you going to weigh coming in to Omaha?

Sylvia weighed-in at 310.6 pounds before his knockout loss to Mercer in June, 47.6 pounds over his previous fight at Affliction in July 2008.  Fighters.com was told by a source close to Sylvia that Sylvia weighed approximately 285 pounds two weeks ago and should weigh-in Thursday near the 265-pound MMA heavyweight limit.

Fighters.com: How do you feel when you hear UFC President Dana White dog on you now, saying that it was a weak division when you were UFC champion?  Other than Adrenaline MMA, what other organizations might you fight in over the next year?

Evidently Sylvia isn’t taking White’s barbs personally because he told Inside MMA he plans to return to the Octagon.  Steady paychecks soften hard feelings.  However, Fighters.com has been told by sources inside Sylvia’s camp that they feel like White is sacrificing Sylvia’s legacy as UFC champ to talk down Emelianenko as the world’s top heavyweight, whom quickly handled Sylvia and refuses to sign with the UFC.

Fighters.com’s sources have also confirmed Sylvia has already lined-up another fight before the end of 2009 on a smaller show, though the sources wouldn’t reveal the name of the promotion.

Fighters.com: Have you ever considered training anywhere else than “Croatian Sensation” Pat Miletich‘s (29-7-2) gym in Davenport?

Yes.  Fighters.com has confirmed that Sylvia has spent time training in other camps, including with Mark DellaGrotte at Sityodtong in Boston and “El Guapo” Bas Rutten (28-4-1) at Elite MMA in Los Angeles.  However, Militech’s gym remains Sylvia’s home gym.

The following questions remain unswered because only Sylvia knows their answers.  However, Fighters.com doesn’t think asking these questions was out of line.

Fighters.com: After the shape you came in and the result of the Mercer fight, a lot of fans are questioning whether your heart is in fighting anymore. How was the loss to Fedor Emelianenko affected your attitude towards this sport?

…

Fighters.com: Arlovksi recently admitted playing Russian roulette after losing his fight to Emelianenko and fifth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-0). Was your lowest point ever that low?

…

Adrenaline MMA 4 will be held at the Mid-American Center in Council Bluffs on September 18.  The undercard will start at 7:30 PM; the main card will be broadcast on HDNet beginning at 9:00 PM.  Pre-sale tickets start at $33 for general admission, $103 ringside, and $530 for a table of ten.  Purchase tickets at Ticketmaster.

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.

And, according to Fighters.com’s source, the UFC had warned Alexander he wouldn’t have another opportunity to fight in the Octagon until December. Adrenaline MMA 4 in Alexander’s hometown of Omaha is manager and Adrenaline MMA CEO Monte Cox’s way to get Alexander a pay day and some cage time in the interim.

Veteran heavyweight Pendergarst has lost five consecutive fights, but has submitted his opponent in eight of his 11 wins.

Alexander has been submitted twice and was TKO’d on his back versus Thiago Silva (15-1) at UFC 78 in Newark in November 2007. As phenomenal as Alexander has been on his feet, he’s been as abysmal on his back. And, the fight will be in the heayvweight division, Pendergarst’s optimal weight class.

It’s rare the UFC allows one of it’s fighters to fight outside the Octagon while remaining contracted to the UFC. It’s rarer still so much is at stake for that fighter. And, remember that it was at Adrenaline MMA 3 in Birmingham 13 June where former UFC heavyweight champion “Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (24-6) was upset by “Merciless” Ray Mercer (1-0) in a nine-second KO.

Sylvia will return at Adrenaline MMA 4 versus Jason Riley (6-1). Riley knocked out Justin Black (2-2) for the heavyweight title at Caged Vengence 4 in Columbus 3 April.

Adrenaline MMA 4 will be held at the Mid-American Center in Council Bluffs on 18 September. The undercard will start at 7:30 PM; the main card will be broadcast on HDNet beginning at 9:00 PM. Pre-sale tickets start at $33 for general admission, $103 ringside, and $530 for a table of ten. Purchase tickets at Ticketmaster.

The rest of the card includes:

HDNet Broadcast at 9:00 PM:
“Grinder” Chad Reiner (19-8) v “Meat Cleaver” Forrest Petz (13-7)
Alonzo Martinez (22-10-1) v Ryan Williams (10-4)
Jeremy Lang (13-1) v Matt Delanoit (13-6)
Joe Vedepo (9-2) v Webster Farris (1-0)
James Siepel (4-1) v Bob Tuttle (0-0)

Untelevised:
Todd Meneely (0-0) v Corey McDonald (1-1)
Dustin Smith (2-0) v Marcos Marquez (3-1)
Matt Bentley (0-1) v Danny Black (1-0)
John Hansen (3-1) v Gregg Van der Creek (0-0)
Dakota Cochrane (3-0) v Bill Holcombe (1-1)
Ryan Shell (0-1) v Roberto Rojas (4-0)

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.

However, Fighters.com has confirmed with sources close to the event that Omaha middleweight Jake Ellenberger (20-4) will take his four-fight winning streak into Adrenaline, though no opponent has been chosen.

Ellenberger knocked out Brazilian Top Team’s Marcelo Alfaia (6-5) in 42 seconds at Bellator 11 in Uncasville 12 June.

In a downright stupid matchmaking call in the Adrenaline MMA 3 main event, Sylvia got laid out in nine seconds by forty-eight year old former boxer “Merciless” Ray Mercer (1-0) in Birmingham 13 June.

Horn bounced back from a dismal 0-3 run in his lastest Octagon stint to tap Chris Davis (5-1) in a rear naked choke at Adrenaline MMA 3.

- Monte Cox, Adrenaline MMA President and MMA Agent

“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).

Reviewing weight classes (as in the Montreal document).

Rules or prohibited strikes for amateurs.

Downward pointed elbow strikes.

Where strikes should be allowed to the back of the head.

Knees to the head on the ground.

And, scoring.

Comments must be submitted in writing by 17 September to:

Nicholas Lembo
State Athletic Control Board
Hughes Justice Complex
PO Box 180
Trenton, NJ 08625

The Association of Boxing Commissions Professional and Amateur MMA Rules Committee consists of the following members:

Chairman Nick Lembo, New Jersey
Jim Erickson, North Dakota
Andy Foster, Georgia
Dale Kilparchuk, River Cree
Keith Kizer, Nevada
Armando Garcia, California
Josef Mason, Colorado
Mike Mazzulli, Mohegan Sun
Bernie Profato, Ohio

In addition, Lembo has announced a fighters sub-committee consisting of:

“Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-3)
Renzo Gracie (13-6-1)
Stephen Haigh (4-2)
“Gumby” Jeremy Horn (80-18-5)
Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes (42-7)
Tara LaRosa
“Croation Sensation” Pat Miletich (28-7-2)
Fighters.com’s Lightweight Champion “Prodigy” B.J. Penn (13-4-1)

And, an industry sub-committee of:

Monte Cox, Adrenaline MMA promoter
John McCarthy, broadcaster and referee
Lou Neglia, Ring of Combat promoter
J.D. Penn, Rumble on the Rock promoter
Joe Silva, UFC matchmaker
Marc Ratner, UFC vice-president
Jared Shaw, EliteXC vice-president

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.

Penn wants Fighters.com’s Welterweight Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2).

White wants Penn to focus at 155-pounds.

Fighters.com predicts White is committed enough to the division and keeping Penn in it to sign some of the top lightweights not already in the UFC.

Maybe Aoki. Maybe not.

Maybe sixth-ranked Eddie Alvarez (14-1), who draws “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-4-2) in DREAM’s Lightweight GP in Tokyo 21 July.

Alvarez is on loan to DREAM from Adrenaline MMA, run by Alvarez’s manager Monte Cox.

Cox has a good relationship with the UFC and and his fighters.

Fighters.com speculates Cox would gladly send Alvarez to the big show for awhile if he feels like Adrenaline can’t give Alvarez the fights that best capatalize on Alvarez’s success in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Aoki fights on the same card as Alvarez in July, matched versus tenth-ranked “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (25-10-4).

Third-ranked “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3) returns versus a yet-to-be-named foe 24 August in Tokyo, keeping Fighters.com questioning why we’ve seen so little of the former PRIDE Champ since losing to Nick Diaz (17-7) in February 2007.

Eighth-ranked Hermes Franca (18-6) returns in Las Vegas 19 July from his suspension for testing positive for banned substances. He’s matched versus rising talent “The Answer” Frank Edgar (8-1).

Third-ranked “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-1-1) and ninth-ranked “Dida” Andre Amade (6-3-1) are both on the shelf after losing in DREAM’s Lightweight GP.

June Lightweight Rankings

1. “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (15-2)

Aoki has eleven straight wins, including MMA’s first gogoplata stoppage over Joachim Hansen, topped only by MMA’s first gogoplata stoppage from the mount over Katsuhiko Nagata.

2. “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn (13-4-1)

“Prodigy’s” return to lightweight quickly resulted in UFC gold with two second-round stoppages over Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver. In May, he dominated the best the UFC had to offer in a TKO of Sherk. Will he stay at 155-pounds?

3. “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3)

Gomi avenged a 2006 blip to Marcus Aurelio with a stoppage on NYE the same year followed by a stoppage of Mitsuhiro Ishida. A year-long layoff keeps Gomi from ichi-ban, but he returned last month with a stoppage of Duane Ludwig.

4. “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-1-1)

“JZ” has brushed Amade, Vitor Ribeiro, and Nam Phan off his shoulders with stoppages since a MD over Caol Uno in ’06, part of 13 straight without a loss until losing a UD to Aoki in April.

5. “The Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (31-2-1)

“Muscle Shark” had been on the shelf for nearly a year since decisions over Franca and Florian. In his return, Penn outclassed the wrestler to a TKO, leaving both top UFC lightweights with slim competition within the promotion.

6. Eddie Alvarez (14-1)

Since dropping from welterweight for the DREAM Lightweight GP, Alvarez has been relentless in a stoppage of Amade and a UD over Joachim Hansen.

7. “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (9-3)

Florian is a finisher since losing a UFC title challenge to Sherk by UD. “KenFlo” is ready for a second run at the title, but will first face Roger Huerta for the UFC top contendership.

8. Hermes Franca (18-6)

Despite a year suspension, Franca has been busy the last two years with stoppages of Spencer Fisher, Nathan Diaz, and new WEC champ Jamie Varner. He’s only dropped a UD to Sherk and returns 19 July versus Frank Edgar.

9. “Dida” Andre Amade (6-3-1)

Since a UD over Uno, Amade has been stopped consecutively by top tenners Alvarez and Calvancante. In the last two years, “Dida” has also stopped Artur Oumakhanov and Hiroyuki Takaya.

10. “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (25-10-4)

Uno splashed into the top ten with a submission of former PRIDE title contender Mitsuhiro Ishida. The former UFC and K-1 star now begins a run in DREAM that leads to Fighters.com Champ Aoki in July.

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.

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.

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.

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.”