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.

Follow us on twitter!

Shane Carwin

Kevin Iole

Me!

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

RUMOR: Shane Carwin vs Cain Velasquez UFC 104 in LA

Thanks to Shane Carwin's Twitter, we know he's interested in facing Cain Velasquez October 24th in Los Angeles.  It looks like the bout is not signed sealed and delivered just yet but close.

The Heavyweight division is just so exciting and a match up between these two undefeated fighters would be fantastic.

Shane is coming off an impressive win against Gabriel Gonzaga where he won by Knock-Out 1:09 minutes into the first round.

There's been some buzz about Shane fighting the winner between Randy Couture and Antonio Nogueira.

ESPN MMA Live

Here is this weeks installment of ESPN's MMA Live. Can I just say that I love this weekly show? Great job ESPN for putting this out there for the fans.

This week's show spends some time on the controversial topic of Kyle Maynard's MMA debut. You may Kyle as a congenital amputee that found success in wrestling and then went on to pursue his dream of fighting. His dream has been met with mixed reviews. Hear what Kenny and the crew think of Kyle's achievement and future in the sport. Also, Kyle joins the crew live to discuss his love for MMA and why he wants to fight. What does Kyle have to say to the naysayers out there? Find out!

Say what you will about Kyle's place in MMA, but you must admit he's got heart and courage and you have to admire his determination.

The crew discusses the addition of Anderson Silva VS Forrest Griffin to the UFC 101 card. And apparently Kenny read my post about fighting styles, because he agrees this will be an exciting one given Griffin's aggressiveness and Silva's counter-punching style.

We hear about updates to the June 6th Strikeforce card. Jeff Sherwood joins to discuss the Sherdog top 10 pound-for-pound fighter rankings.

And Kenny takes us to Cambridge Culinary School of Arts for some tips on "healthy living" through turkey chili. I'm a little disappointed that we didn't see Kenny and Keith demonstrate the "chicken wrist", but the chili recipe looks GOOD!

ESPN MMA Live: Episode 47

Miguel Torres will be defending his title against Takeya Mizugaki in his own back yard this Sunday!

Miguel called in talked about not feeling the additional pressure fighting in front of his hometown fans, they're what helped him get where he is today. He also talked about his training preparations.

He also talked about his plans to move up a weight class. I'd LOVE to see this.

Kenny confirmed the fight with BJPenn will in fact be happening and as he announced on KennyFlorian.com looks like UFC 101 August 8^th in Philly.

Lashley joined in and he talks about his performance against Jason Guida. Find out what he thought of his performance also find out if he would fight for the UFC now. Is there a possibility he'll appear on The Ultimate Fighter? Also, find out his thoughts on being compared to Lesnar.

 

Announced/Rumored Fights:

• Forrest Griffin vs Thiago Silva happening at UFC 101
• Matt Hamill vs Brandon Verra UFC 101
• Rousimar Palhares vs Alessio Sakara UFC 99
• "JZ" Cavalvante vs Tatsuya Kawajiri Dream 9
• Gegard Mousasi vs Rameau Sokokjou Dream 9

 

Versus to sign multi-year extension with WEC that could run two more years

--I'd like to see old fights hosted on versus.com.

The crew gave a Fight Night debrief. If you missed the fights check out what they had to say.

Loving the training table series keep it up guys. Although I'm still craving a whopper my way.

ESPN MMALive: Sticky Situation RECAP

Hey guys, sorry I'm a day or so late on this. I've been down and out with the 'sick-ick'.

Here's a recap from the Sticky Situation from MMALive

Sitting in for Kenny was a suit wearing Stephan Bonnar

'Greasegate' testimonies heard; no formal action taken by NSAC, even with BJ's mom being present, the fight wasn't overturned.
GSP didn't even show up for the hearing.
BJ made an interesting quote about GSP "cheating"... get the full quote from MMALive
Strong words, but lets just see it again. How about a rematch!

Karo Parisyan fined, suspended 9 months from the failed drug test at UFC 94, he also saw the win overturned and ruled as a NC

Ken Shamrock suspended due to steroids...
The team talks about how steroids are different in MMA with fighters being regulated by state commission.  And now every fighter is tested before /after fights as well as randomly.

Kimbo Slice transitioning to boxing? Apparently MMA training is too hard.

Forrest Griffin vs Thiago Silva at UFC 101 in August

UFC announces first-ever 'UFC Fan Expo' for the UFC 100 weekend!

Pat Miletich from WAMMA joined in on the episode to give the rankings.

Heavyweights - Congrats to Shane Carwin at #9!

Light Heavyweights - Keith Jardine at #8! Check out the rest of the top 10!

WAMMA's mission is to be what the AP is to other sports. Ratings/Rankings of fighters and to potentially let the true #3 & #2 fight no matter what the division.

Middleweight - Demian Maia at #6? I might argue that one.

Welterweight - I'm surprised to see Carlos conduit at #7. Shields definitely should be higher. It will be interesting to see where he lands after his fight with Robbie.

Lightweights - Josh Thomson may be #7 but I expect to see that change after his fight with Gilbert Melendez.

Featherweight - No surprise to see Mike Brown at number 1. He's on FIRE!

Bantamweight - Miguel Torres also at number 1. Wouldn't it be interesting to see Mike Brown and Miguel Torres meet at a catch weight?

The rumored fight:  Stephan Bonnar vs Mark Coleman at UFC 100 July 11th. Looks like it's a go as soon as Mark Coleman gets his paperwork in order
My opinion, this is a must win fight for Stephan.

Miletich to fight again? Possibly could be back to fight a "big name" this summer.

I wonder how many fighters watch Kenny's MMA for Dummies? Great moves and very educational.

For some reason I'm craving a Whopper...One that I can have my way.!
Follow me on twitter if you aren't already. twitter.com/mmahotstuff

UFC: Matt Serra VS Matt Hughes in May

According to Matt Hughes' web-site, he is expecting to fight Matt Serra in Las Vegas on May 23rd.

This fight has been a long time coming, definitely since Season 6 of the Ultimate Fighter, and long before since they've never liked each other. Although they've never fought, they have always wanted to. Hughes doesn't like Serra's attitude and Serra thinks Hughes has a huge ego.

Even though they're both entering the twilight of their careers, it should make for an entertaining fight... as there's nothing better than watching a fight between two guys that dislike each other as much as these two fighters do.

UFC 95: Josh Koscheck staying busy with possible fight at UFC 95

Josh Koscheck is apparently making a run at the "most active fighter of the year" award, as he is rumored to be added to the UFC 95 card, coming to you from the O2 Arena in London.

In what would be his 3rd fight in only 4 months, Koscheck is rumored to be taking on UFC newcomer Paulo Thiago. Koscheck is coming off a stunning KO victory over Yoshiyuki Yoshida at "UFC's Fight for the Troops" on December 10th. Prior to that he suffered a tough loss to Thiago Alves while stepping in on short notice at UFC 90 on October 25th.

Paulo Thiago comes to the UFC with an unblemished record of 7-0, fighting mostly for the "Jungle Fight" promotion out of Brazil. The UFC is wasting no time throwing Thiago into the mix at the welterweight division by giving him a shot at one of the top contenders at that weight class.

UFC 95: The Spider VS The Iceman??? Rumors begin!

UFC 95, which is said to be taking place on February 21st in London, England is rumored to feature Anderson Silva as the main event. Who will he fight? The rumor is that discussions are in progress to possibly match up Silva against "The Iceman", Chuck Liddell at light heavyweight.

We'll keep you posted as more information is released!