MMA Hot Stuff

The Horn Blower! Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin No-Go For UFC 106

This morning, Kevin Iole broke the sad news that Brock Lesnar was forced to withdrawal from UFC 106 where he was set to defend his title against Shane Carwin, due to being ill for three-and-a-half weeks.

As a lot of Shane's twitter followers know he to had been fighting the nasty flu that's been going around. Not to mention the leg injury that he's plowed through. When I asked his team about it they said "We were committed to fighting even with a leg injured and the H1 strain. Shane forged ahead and was ready to fight. He remains committed to this fight."

Mind you I've been lucky enough to stay away from this virus so I don't personally know what your body goes through, but this guy looks pretty healthy at the Minnesota Vikings vs Baltimore Ravens game Sunday October 18th as he helped kick the game off by blowing the pregame horn. Listen to those nice healthy lungs!

To see someone like Shane rise in the ranks as he has and to be that close to a title shot, I only hope the UFC does the right thing by rescheduling this fight to happen as soon as Brock is back on his feet. Hopefully they lock everything down for UFC 108.

In other news, I lost my fantasy football game this weekend and am now tied for first.

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Open Letter From Kimo Leopoldo

Open Letter from KIMO

I’d like to thank all the members of the media, my fans, friends, and especially my family members with regards to their concern and support about me. 

I went to sleep late Monday (July 20) and woke-up to my promoter, Ron Kort, shaking me sometime between 12-1 PM/PT on Tuesday, telling me that the media is going crazy over my death, and that he and others had been looking everywhere for me. 

I had spent the night with a friend and my phone was turned off like it normally is overnight.  I’m used to people spreading weird rumors about me, but I didn’t think this one was funny.  So, I blew it off, but when Ron looked at me with that serious face of his, I knew this wasn’t a joke. 

I got up and looked on my friend’s computer, read through some of the media reports, and couldn’t believe my eyes.  From the time I went to sleep to the time I woke-up, the rumor of me dying had spread like wildfire.  All I had done was go to sleep.  I kind of felt as important as Michael Jackson, considering the media hoopla.  While reading articles, I had to stop and look in the mirror.  The overwhelming power of the media almost felt like my death was being predicted. 

I was a little taken back and, as I attempted to compose myself, Ron informed me that Brandt Stebbins (New Era Fighting’s Business Development Manager) all day had been dealing with consoling my family and friends over this issue.  Ron immediately got on the phone with members of the press and the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner’s office about getting a press release out immediately. As I was piecing the puzzle together, I had various friends yelling at me as if I set this up as a publicity stunt. 

I woke-up to being told I was dead and getting yelled at.  This wasn’t a fun wake-up.  Before I go any further, I want to let everyone know that we are investigating this matter and have a good idea of how it originated, and that NONE of this came from me or anyone around me.  I am sorry to all who know me for your grief and am amazed to see that I can make front page news in the press for negative items but not for anything good I have done.  The media has always been quick to jump on negative rumors about me without verifying the truth.

I consider myself one of the founding fathers of MMA and an important figure in this industry.  I was in this sport before it was a sport.  I have seen the many ups-and-downs of this industry and have dedicated the last few years of my life to trying to making a difference by running for California State Athletic Commissioner, trying to get fighters paid what they are worth, and getting fighters more exposure even when they are not fighting.  Given my contributions, it is amazing to me that I can get this kind of press on negative items, yet, not on my accomplishments. 

In the last few months I have been called a Meth addict in the media and now I am dead.  Both items are obviously proven not to be true.  The power of the media is strong and it is the responsibility of the media to verify the information they post; it isn’t about being the first one on the scene.  TMZ confirmed that I was dead.  Well, that’s weird because they did that without a body or autopsy report.  In my opinion, TMZ just became the next Inquirer.  Why didn’t TMZ just confirm my body was abducted by Aliens? 

No offense to TMZ or anyone else, but how about you guys in the media giving me a real chance at making a difference in this industry? Let’s try to use your power for some good.  For example, I registered on the Bob Sapp www.FightEngine.com website. If I get enough hits, I will be able to fight whomever the fans want.  No one will dictate who I fight except for you, the fans.  I will fight whomever you guys want, not what promoters want.  You guys decide.  I want my last fight to be a freak show of a fight.  I want to go out the same way I came in.  I came in carrying the cross, but lost my path along the way, and didn’t want to be a hypocrite by carrying the cross if I wasn’t living that life style.  I always believe that through Christ Jesus, all things are possible, and I believe Jesus Christ himself is my guiding angel with everything that has happened in my life. 

I was pronounced dead and now I am resurrected.  This is my second chance and I don’t want to let fans down.  I am here to help train fighters for combat in the ring. I will train and walk fighters to the ring at any event. I am here to help fighters get paid their worth, I am here to entertain my fans and the whole MMA community, win or lose, and I am here to help make this fun and enjoyable for everyone.  If I hit a certain number of votes on www.FightEngine.com, I will be a main event fighter for one of their scouting events, and you will be the ones to vote about whom you want me to fight.  I would appreciate just as much attention as was given to me in these last few days on google.com, yahoo.com and other media sources to also occur on fightengine.com.  Show me you guys really believe that I am as exciting to watch fight as everyone tells me to my face and I promise to live the right life style, train hard, and walk to the ring in my last fight with the cross on my back and with a real aggressive fight for the fans to watch.  I’ve been known to head-butt guys in the back of the head, slap my opponent in the face, and even in Tank’s case, kiss my opponent on the cheek after I wipe the floor with them.

So, please vote for me on www.FightEngine.com and e-mail your interview and business relationship request for me to my promoter at RonKort@NewEraFighting.com.  I am currently being approached to do cartoon voice-overs, interviews, and more.  I am eager and happy to accommodate all of your requests.  So, please, let’s try to keep this fun and entertaining but, most of all, truthful and positive. 

Remember, it isn’t necessarily about being first in the media, rather, being accurate.  I love my fans, family and even the media for all you have given me and will drive my focus on the positive, not the negative.  Thank you all.

God Bless, 

 

KIMO

GSP: Did He or Didn't He?

I started to feel like I was the only MMA site out there not talking about the Georges St. Pierre "incident". Ladies, for those of you that may have missed it (because this is THE ONLY site you read, right?), the "incident" occurred during the UFC 94 fight between GSP and BJ Penn. People are claiming that GSP's corner rubbed his back, shoulders and chest down with Vaseline, also known as "greasing."

The rules regarding Vaseline or "greasing" are somewhat ambiguous. I did a little digging around and found the Nevada State Athletic Commission Rulebook for MMA. Section NAC 467.598 pertains to the physical appearance of unarmed combatants.

1. Each unarmed combatant must be clean and present a tidy appearance.

2.  The excessive use of grease or any other foreign substance may not be used on the face or body of an unarmed combatant. The referees or the Commission’s representative in charge shall cause any excessive grease or foreign substance to be removed.

3.  The Commission’s representative shall determine whether head or facial hair presents any hazard to the safety of the unarmed combatant or his opponent or will interfere with the supervision and conduct of the contest or exhibition. If the head or facial hair of an unarmed combatant presents such a hazard or will interfere with the supervision and conduct of the contest or exhibition, the unarmed combatant may not compete in the contest or exhibition unless the circumstances creating the hazard or potential interference are corrected to the satisfaction of the Commission’s representative.

4.  An unarmed combatant may not wear any jewelry or other piercing accessories while competing in the contest or exhibition.

Rule #2 is the gray area. Every fighter has his corner man apply Vaseline to his face. I think this is for many reasons such as keeping sweat out of their eyes and allowing the opponents gloves to slip off (obviously) the face so they don't cut as easily.  But what does "excessive use" mean?

Well, during the GSP vs BJ fight it's been claimed that GSP's corner man (Phil Nurse), who was responsible for applying the Vaseline to GSP's face, also rubbed his shoulders, back and chest with Vaseline. At some point someone from the crowd noticed and told the commission what was going on. That's when the commission went in the cage and told GSP's corner that he had to be wiped down with a towel.

What's interesting now are the reports circulating that this isn't the first time GSP has been accused of "greasing". Both Matt Hughes and Matt Serra claim that GSP rolls around in butter before fights (wow they finally agree on something).

The last thing I heard was that BJ's attorney wrote to Keith Kizer, the Nevada commission's Executive Director, requesting they launch a "comprehensive investigation and review of the activities."