While many fans have likely forgotten the financial woes that FEG, the parent company of both K-1 and DREAM, is currently suffering, due to the recent tragedies in Japan, President Sadaharu Tanikawa expresses some sentiments regarding both matters. It wasn't too long ago that both the K-1 and PRIDE brands were arguably the two strongest entities in the combat sports world, with nearly one-hundred thousand people in attendance at one point to witness a live PRIDE new years end extravaganza. Now, FEG has struggled to secure footing in the combat world since the company sold PRIDE some years ago to the UFC, and now that Japan is in ruins since tsunamis and earthquakes have ravaged the lands, Tanikawa thought it would be fitting for him to address the people who are struggling during this time. ...

Looks like the San Jose based promotion will be gearing up for a rematch in pitting current Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez for his second title defense as he may be taking on former rival Tatsuya Kawajiri for the 155-pound title. The two standouts originally met a little over four years ago under the now defunct PRIDE banner, where Melendez scored a pretty close decision victory over the Japanese superstar. Since their encounter, both men have found tons of success in their division, with Kawajiri clearing house in Japan while Melendez took care of all comers that Strikeforce had to offer him here in the States. ...

DREAM, in a lot of peoples opinion, is the worlds greatest Japanese organization. With a depth of talent in several weight classes, and some of the best production in the business, there should be no reason explaining why the promotion has struggled--but struggled, they have. After rating dips, fall out from sponsors, and constant financial woes, it appears that paying fighters in an effective and timely matter is their next area of least-expertise. The most notable case, current DREAM featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes has only just been paid for his last outing, a successful title defense against former DREAM lightweight champion Joachim Hansen. The bout took place in March of this year--almost 7 months ago. The norm, as far as compensation goes which is detailed in their contracts, is for said fighter to be paid within 30 days post-fight. ...

Welcome back fans and friends to another edition of “Great Moments in MMA History”. Today’s moment centers on the one and only Fedor Emelianenko, and with a career as storied as Fedor’s, it’s tough to pick what fight to highlight first. In what was undeniably the deepest Heavyweight division on the planet, Fedor Emelianenko reigned supreme as the PRIDE Heavyweight Champion with one dominating win after another, a streak of victories against stellar opponents that has yet to be matched (although current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva is catching up). But it all had to start somewhere, and despite Fedor having won one fight in PRIDE before today’s featured fight, the crushing defeat of Heath Herring by Fedor Emelianenko is undoubtedly one of Fedor’s greatest moments. ...

This weeks installment of "Weekly Jab" brings you news on the new UFC light heavyweight champion, a former NFL football player and one of the most recognizable names in the sport. ...

I have been spending a lot of time on mixed martial arts (MMA) message boards as of late and have seen an influx of new fans of the sport joining these sites. Many times we see their first ever post ridiculed by the more senior members and the self-anointed "MMA Hardcore". Could it be the most loyal fans of the sport are actually hampering the growth by their actions? ...

Lately we have seen eye pokes become more prevalent in mixed martial arts (MMA). The pokes have had an impact on fights, fighters and the fans. There are a couple options to help eliminate this but will work? Re-designed gloves or making it a foul are two options that must be looked at to fix this major issue. ...

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fans should prepare to hunker down for what will be a very long night of fights starting tonight at 8 PM EST/ 6 PST. UFC on Versus is the first event followed closely behind by five hours of DREAM 13. ...

As I surf the internet bouncing from one mixed martial arts(MMA) site to the next a reoccurring theme occurs. The discussion of Pride Fighting Championships, the fighters, the rules and now a select number of fights being show on Spike TV. This brought back fond memories for me and made me think about the current state of MMA and what made Pride stand out from the crowd. ...

Fighters.com's seventh-ranked lightweight “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (12-4) and recent UFC signee, former PRIDE champion “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-6) are on a collision course as a runaway train of hype grows for a showdown between the two fighters. ...

Fighters.com's fifth-ranked lightweight "Bully" Gray Maynard (8-0) and Nate Diaz (10-5) will rematch an The Ultimate Fighter 5 exhbition match tonight at UFC Fight Night 20 in Fairfax, Virginia. ...

Regardless who wins the middlweight matchup at UFC 102 in Portland Saturday, Demian Maia (10-0) and "Great" Nate Marquardt (28-8-2) might get a second shot at each other 25-27 September at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championships 2009 in Barcelona.

Both UFC title contenders will compete in the -87.9kg division, along with "Toquinho" Rousimar Palhares (11-3). Sengoku judoka Kazuhiro Nakamura (13-9) and DREAM welterweight Andre Galvao (3-0).

UFC welterweight champ "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2) will compete in the -76.9kg division, along with the UFC's "Zenko" Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-3), Japanese free agent "K-Taro" Keita Nakamura (15-4-2), and Brazilian free agent "Uirapuru" Marcelo Azevedo (3-5).
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Fighters.com's tenth-ranked "Shogun" Mauricio Rua (16-3) wants revenge versus "Hammer" Mark Coleman (15-8) at UFC 93 in Dublin 17 January. "It's a revenge, and Coleman will be ready," Rua told Tatame. Coleman won their original match-up in Saitama, north of Tokyo, in February 2006 by TKO when Rua broke his arm bracing himself for a Coleman slam. "We fought once; and, I think this fight isn't over yet.  If I were him, I'd never celebrate a victory like that, but let's see it now," Rua challenged. ...

Elusive Russian Sergei Kharitonov (15-3) breached Fighters.com's Heavyweight Top Ten in September without having fought for a year. Kharitonov TKO'd "Demolition Man" Alistair Overeem (28-11) in Yokohama in September 2007; but, has been more active on the rumor mill than in the ring since. He was floated as "Cro Cop" Mirko Filipovic's (23-6-2) opponent at DREAM.4 in June and lately was mentioned as a challenger for the EliteXC Heavyweight Championship versus "Bigfoot" Antonio Silva (11-1). Kharitonov found his way into neither fight and may have a short stint as a top ten big boy as fighters beneath him line-up legit matches. A spot opened for Kharitonov when "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring (28-14) was mauled by physical phenom Brock Lesnar (2-1) in Minneapolis 9 August, shoveling Herring out of the eighth rank. ...

"People didn’t get tested [for performance enhancing drugs in PRIDE]," "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (22-7), the last to don PRIDE straps at 90- and 83-kilos, told Sam Caplan in January. The convo' revolved around "Ely" Paulo Filho (16-0), and took a serious turn quickly. "Are you saying Filho may be a juicer?"  Caplan quizzed. "Well that’s my opinion anyway," Hendo admitted.  "He hasn’t looked good since he left PRIDE.  I think that’s what not being able to use steroids will do to you." In an entirely unrelated story... Filho's on-again-off-again WEC middleweight title rematch with Hendo's stablemate Chael Sonnen (19-9-1) is off...again. From the suits at WEC headquarters: "WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho has chosen to withdraw from his March 26th title defense against Chael Sonnen after voluntarily checking himself into an undisclosed rehabilitation center in Brazil on Thursday morning, March 13, to seek help for a substance abuse problem." But, Tatame had documented Filho's intention days before. "I wasn’t on a good moment, had depression," Filho revealed to the Brazilian website.  "I wasn’t motivated to train, wasn’t training well, so I decided to do what the contract says and transferred the fight to June." Maybe it was something in the water in PRIDE, as they say. Filho's fellow PRIDE standout, "Cro Cop" Mirko Filipovic (22-6-2), misplaced his motivation around the same time his urine came under the scrutiny of American state athletic commissions too. “I was empty before fights, depressed, I hated myself," Cro Cop told DREAM's first press conference about his nightmare in the UFC. Later, on his blog at www.mma-id.com/CROCOP, Filipovic elaborated.  "The losses came from a lack of motivation.  I was really empty, I had no fire left in me." Cro Cop joined the UFC after winning PRIDE's Open Weight Grand Prix by knocking out "The Axe Murder" Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) and submitting "The Babyface Assasin" Josh Barnett (21-5) on strikes on the same September night in 2006. It was the pinnacle of Cro Cop's career. But at his new address, Filipovic lost consecutive battles with "Napao" Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3) and Cheick Kongo (11-4-1), nearly filing papers for his retirement pension in the cage with Kongo. Of course, with three current UFC belt-holders having 43 PRIDE fights among them, not all PRIDE fighters have shared the same sudden depression and lack of motivation after joining the big show.  And, those who haven't are naming names... "I knew Dan would knockout Wanderlei [Silva]," "Rampage" Quinton Jackson (29-6) said during a conference call promoting his light heavyweight title unification bout with Henderson last September in the UFC.  "Wanderlei wasn't allowed to use that juice he like to use," 'Page explained about the 2007 Vegas PRIDE fight in which Hendo punched out Silva in the third round. Silva, known for his sustained balls-to-the-wall MMA onslaughts, debuted in the UFC last December versus "Iceman" Chuck Liddell (21-5) sporting a noticeably more svelte physique and a new, energy-conscious fight game even the crunchies at Greenpeace could be proud of. Now, Silva, the former long-time PRIDE 90-kilogram champ who fought Filipovic weighing more than the heavyweight, is openly contemplating a drop to 185-pounds. Anyone can peep my 16-inch guns and know I've never used performance enhancing drugs, nor experienced the withdrawal symptoms of quitting the junk; but, a quick perusal of the "Anabolic Steroids" fact sheet at the Center for Substance Abuse Research reveals depression, mood swings, and fatigue as withdrawal symptoms of "that juice", as Rampage called it. And, one needn't be Columbo to deduce that lost muscle mass is another clue. Fighters talk to me too.  The dish is that those who seemed to have bottomless tanks over seas, but suddenly gas State-side; like, say...in round three of a 205-pound scrap versus a lovable, but lower-ranked opponent, are minus a lab-detectable dose of EPO. Erythropoietin (EPO) is abused by endurance athletes to increase the number of red blood cells oxygenating their blood stream. It's Big Bear in a bottle; or, the canned equivalent to circuit training while wearing a snorkel. It's important to note that none of the athletes mentioned in this muse have failed drug tests, that I'm aware of.  I presume they're all clean. For all UFC fighters, their Octagon performance is their staunchest alibi or their bitter betrayer. And the most bitter withdrawal symptom of abusing performance enhancing drugs is the lube-less mind-fuck on your pride. One day your chin is high, standing atop a mound of crumpled opponents, tough mothers in their right, but confident in your ability, your stature in the world's toughest athletic contest. Now, the training regiment you once ate up is nearly impossible.  When you leave the gym, you have just enough energy to dread going back the next day.  Suddenly, you hate training.  You muddle through, sure the smell of blood will right your ship, but it's no longer in you to best a fighter you would've beaten like a red-headed stepchild before. Were you ever the beast you knew you were?  Was it ever you, or was it always what was in the bottle?  Can you ever stand atop that mound on your own? To avoid coming to Jesus, a man might scurry back to a place that doesn't ask for a urine sample, or check out of a fight that could force answers his ego can't handle. ...