Dana White and Tom Atencio: MMA’s Newest Soap Opera

(Ladies go crazy for a sharp-dressed man, courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

One thing I’m going to miss with Gary Shaw backing into the shadows at Pro Elite is the name-calling and childish back-and-forth between he and Dana White. It was just so entertaining, what a shame to see it go. But the Dana White-Tom Atencio rivalry could be the next best thing. Sure, Atencio doesn’t wear a track suit, but he does have a wardrobe that appears to consist entirely of Affliction t-shirts, which is almost as good. Plus now he’s taking pages out of the Dana White playbook:

For the money-conscious cable-ready consumer, the difference between watching a free UFC show and paying $39.95 to watch Affliction might be a no-contest.

Affliction appeared to land one last counterpunch, however, making a deal to broadcast its card on closed-circuit television at Gold Coast casino, which is directly across from the Palms on Flamingo Road.

“It’s just another opportunity to watch our fight,” Atencio said.

Granted, it’s more of a symbolic gesture and not quite on par with scheduling an event on the same night as your competitor, but you have to love how Atencio — like White — plays dumb about it. The L.A. Times article actually has quite a few fun nuggets, most notably quotes from White where he plays the role of grizzled veteran MMA promoter:

MORE…

Ultimate Fight Night 14 Weigh-in Results

Props: MMAmania

All of the fighters made weight for tomorrow night's UFN. Irvin had to take extra time to shed a pound and a half. Don't forget, my place, 9PM. Call me if you need info: 951-660-5499.

205 lbs.: Anderson Silva (206) vs. James Irvin (206)
205 lbs.: Brandon Vera (204) vs. Reese Andy (206)
155 lbs.: Frank Edgar (155) vs. Hermes Franca (155)
265 lbs.: Cain Velasquez (236) vs. Jake O’Brien (236)
170 lbs.: Anthony Johnson (170) vs. Kevin Burns (171)
185 lbs.: Jesse Taylor (184) vs. CB Dollaway (186)
170 lbs.: Rory Markham (170) vs. Brodie Farber (171)
185 lbs.: Nate Loughran (183) vs. Johnny Rees (183)
170 lbs.: James Giboo (170) vs. Brad Blackburn (170)
155 lbs.: Dale Hartt (156) vs. Shannon Gugerty (156)
185 lbs.: Tim Credeur (185) vs. Cale Yarbrough (186)

Fighters Speak out About Rampage

Tim Sylvia, Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, Dana White and Marc Ratner comment on Rampage Jackson situation
By: Mike Trask

In a chat with the Las Vegas Sun today UFC Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner, said the company was “still gathering information” on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s strange behavior over the past several days.

In the two days since the 30-year-old fighter was arrested following a hit and run accident in California the UFC has been virtually mum. However, several media outlets reported that UFC President Dana White flew to California to bail out the former champ.
And while in the “Golden State” White was interviewed by a radio station called KLOS. Here’s what he had to say via Yahoo!Sports.com:

“I’m actually here right now, I’m in Southern California. I’ve been dealing with this all day yesterday, I haven’t really gotten to the bottom of this yet. I don’t know what I’m going to do about it yet. Last night when he got out, Rampage is very religious … yeah I’m dealing with it…. It’s not really about a fine. At the end of the day, we care about these guys. A lot of these guys are our friends. I want to find out what’s wrong with Rampage and get him taken care of.”
A day after the arrest (and White’s interview), Jackson was involved in another situation with police that led to him being taken to see mental health professionals.

UFC.com has no mention of the arrest.

In addition, in an ESPN.com chat today Tim Sylvia fielded a question about the recent legal problems encountered by Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Both Sylvia and Jackson are former UFC champions.

“I feel for Rampage. I’ve been there. Unfortunately, he’s handled it differently than others have. My heart goes out to him. I wish I could go and take him and bring him to Iowa and help settle him down. He’s a friendof mine.”
Sylvia also spoke about his training and preparation for his Saturday fight with Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction: “Banned.”

Former UFC light heavyweight champion, Chuck Liddell, also weighed in on the topic in a recent TMZ.com interview. Jackson defeated Liddell to capture the 205-pound crown.
Here are his thoughts:
“I know Rampage in and out of the ring. He is a great showman in the ring and a smart level-leaded businessman outside of it. I am shocked over this. It’s really out of character for him. I don’t know all the details on what happened, but i just hope everyone involved is ok.”

Finally, his good friend and training partner, Michael Bisping, also shared his thoughts via The Sun on the bizarre string of events that have transpired in the last 48 hours.

Here’s what “The Count” had to say:
“I’m reeling in shock after hearing about Rampage. I’m devastated for him. It’s not like Rampage. He’s a good guy, he’s a law-abiding citizen. I’m very, very concerned for him. He’s a very close friend and this certainly doesn’t sound like him. I’m concerned about what’s going on…. If you lose a fight you’re always very upset but Rampage is experienced — it’s not the first time he’s lost a fight -– he’s been on the scene a long time. Initially he was disappointed at losing but he seemed to take it all in good spirits. I spoke to him last Thursday before I flew back to England and he seemed fine -– the same old Rampage — so I’m shocked and concerned.”
Join the club.

The Spider or the Maine-iac? An Easy Choice for Me...

MmaMania put this out there regarding the choice we have to make as fans this upcoming Saturday:

UFC vs Affliction July 19

By: MMAmania

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva making his light heavyweight debut against James Irvin in a non-title bout on Spike TV for free …

… or former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia taking on the last man to hold the Pride FC heavyweight strap, Fedor Emelianenko, on pay-per-view (PPV).

What are YOU going to do this Saturday, July 19? Tell the world in the comments section below.

Reminder: MMAmania.com will provide LIVE updates and results from both events here (UFC Fight Night 14: “Silva vs. Irvin”) and here (Affliction: “Banned”).

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It's amazing how similar Silva looks at either weight. You can see a little more muscle mass, but all in all it looks like he can go up or down rather easily. I'm dropping weight right now and it makes me realize how hard it is for the guys he go down in that they don't have all the blubber to lose like I do. I'm dropping from 215 to 190 right now and in a week I'm down to 210. I think it's going to take me until about the end of September since I'm doing it nice and slow. I don't want to starve the fat but rather burn it off. Is there a difference? Well, from what I've read, the more slowly you do it, the longer it's likely to last for a variety of reasons, the main one being that you're more likely to change your lifestyle and eating habits if you do it slowly rather than to starve yourself, drop the fat and water quickly, and then gain it back when you go back to your "normal" and likely unhealthy diet.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson arrested for felony hit and run and evasion

Don't believe me, check it out.

Sad.

Here's the story:

As reported by FiveOuncesOfPain.com, former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who was arrested Tuesday in Costa Mesa, Calif., after a series of collisions involving his pickup truck, posted his $25,000 overnight bail and has been released.

Jackson was booked into Orange County Jail for felony evading, hit-and-run and reckless driving, According to Lt. Paul Dondero.

Rampage, who relinquished his UFC belt on July 5 by unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin, plowed his 2008 Ford F-250, complete with his image emblazoned on rear driver- and passenger-side doors, into multiple cars along Highway 55.

A patrol officer attempted to pull Jackson over after he was seen weaving in and out of traffic with a flat front left tire, according to a release issued by the Costa Mesa Police Department. Jackson, 30, continued driving to avoid being stopped. Losing control of the truck, Jackson drove up onto a sidewalk. He continued on, colliding with a vehicle in an intersection and running several red lights.

Eventually, the truck came to a stop and Jackson, who resides in Irvine, was arrested without incident at gunpoint. Photos of the arrest were published on TMZ.com.

Dondero said there were no injuries from the collisions and, according to FiveOuncesOfPain.com, reports of Jackson checking in to a hospital have not been confirmed.

Jackson's trainer, Juanito Ibarra, did not immediately return phone calls from SI.com.

UFC VIDEO GAME Official Website

More from James "The Sandman" Irvin on his training and Silva

UFC - James Irvin (14-4-1) prepares for his upcoming light heavyweight match with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. In this Spike.com exclusive Irvin talks about his preparation for the match. The match will be broadcast live everywhere Saturday, July 19 at 9:00pm ET/ 6:00pm PT) on Spike TV.Emanating from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV,

Dale Hartt...he could be a big name in the future.

Dale Hartt is ready to entertain you
by John Morgan on Jul 13, 2008 at 8:00 am ET

Is Dale Hartt (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) the future of MMA?Hartt will not bring an impressive amateur wrestling resume to his bout with Shannon Gugerty at UFC Fight Night 14 this Saturday night. There will be no discussion of Hartt's Brazilian jiu-jitsu world titles -- no talk of any highlight-reel knockouts in Muay-Thai.Yet the 29-year-old Hartt told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he has been focused on MMA since its beginning."I watched the first UFC, and ever since then all I've wanted to do is mixed martial arts," Hartt said. "I trained in Florida before I started training in Bangor, (Maine), with Marcus (Davis). I did Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and I did Muay-Thai. I wrestled a little bit. But everything I did, I did because I wanted to fight MMA. I never wanted to be a jiu-jitsu guy. I never wanted to be a Muay-Thai guy. I always wanted to be an MMA guy.

"Hartt has taken the blue-collar approach to MMA, and he has become a jack-of-all-trades en route to his UFC debut. Now less than a week away from the biggest night of his life, Hartt is looking forward to an opportunity to silence his critics."It's like a validation," Hartt said. "Validation for the sacrifice I've made and all the sacrifice my family's made."It's like before you fight in the UFC, everybody looks at you like you're wasting your time. My whole family, they think I'm wasting my time. And now, all of a sudden, the UFC thing comes along, and oh, maybe I'm not wasting my time."

Hartt nearly reached his lifelong goal earlier this year. After trying out for season eight of "The Ultimate Fighter," the Team Irish fighter just missed getting a plane ticket to Las Vegas."I was pretty much the last guy cut for 'The Ultimate Fighter,'" Hartt said. "I've had a girlfriend for a long time, and she was pregnant. I knew if I went on the show, I was going to miss the birth of my child. I was prepared to do that, but I wasn't super happy about it.

"Despite missing out on what seemed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Hartt now finds himself with a golden ticket providing direct access to the world-famous octagon. The undefeated lightweight remembers fondly the moment he received the offer to fight for the UFC.

"If someone from the Olympic gymnastics team would have been there, I think they would have asked me to go to the Olympics," Hartt said. "I was in the parking lot, and I was doing back handstands and flips, and all kinds of crazy crap I've never even seen before. I'm telling you, it was amazing the athletic endeavors I was undertaking in this parking lot -- all while still staying on the cell phone."

Hartt has finished all five of his previous opponents, but he realizes that his game planning must improve now that he is competing on a much-higher level. "I'd like to stay a little bit more relaxed and a little bit smoother than I normally am," Hartt admitted. "I hope Shannon Gugerty's not reading this, but I'm kind of a tank. It's kind of my nature. They call me 'Dale Monster' in training. I'm just like 'Forward.' I use sheer determination and will to overcome my obstacles. I'm trying to actually use my feet to move and not just engage and go forward."

As a valued member of Marcus Davis' training camp, Hartt has been exposed to the rigors of life in the UFC. Now it will be his turn as the center of attention."I'm kind of a weird guy," Hartt admitted. "I always known I'm a weird guy, but this has just accentuated that for me. I'm not really nervous, and that actually makes me nervous. I'm nervous about not being nervous. I'm worried that all of a sudden, I'm going to be standing there at the gate, and all of a sudden this huge wave is going to hit me and I'm going to be like, 'Holy [expletive], I'm fighting in the UFC.'"

Despite those concerns, Hartt is prepared to deal with the possibility of first-time jitters."I'm going to try my best, and I'm not making any promises here, to have that nervous energy empower me to perform," Hartt said. "Empower me to give me strength, speed and hellacious pain endurance."It is that type of attitude that fuels Hartt and that pushes his desire to be a new fan favorite."I don't care if I went in there and fought Fedor (Emelianenko) and he beat my face in for 15 minutes," Hartt said. "If I went in there, and I gave it everything I have, even if I was on the bottom eating punches, but I was still fighting him the whole time, and he said afterwards, 'Man, that son of a bitch never gives up, and he was fighting me that whole time,' I'd be happier than a pig in poop."

Rich Franklin's Take on Anderson Silva vs James Irvin(Video)

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO FROM UFC.com

Rich "Ace" Franklin gives his thoughts on the upcoming July 19th light heavyweight fight between UFC middleweight king Anderson "The Spider" Silva and hard-hitting James "Sandman" Irvin.

From by themmapost.com

James Irvin: ‘Im going to have a trap set’ for Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 14 (Video)

By: MMAmania

James Irvin seems to be saying all the right things heading into his 205-pound tilt with Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19. He’s got my wheels turning:

(Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “Shaolin’s Finest” for the assist.)

Karo Speaks Out...I don't know about you, but this makes me want to see him fight!

“I have so much anger built up inside of me I just feel bad for whoever stands in front of me. But you know, its very important bro. I want this fight, but eventually I’ll fight Thiago on paper. In the rematch its going to be disturbing what I’m going to do to Thiago Alves. I promise to you, and I promise to everyone else it will be disturbing what I do to Thiago Alves. But its like I’ve never been stopped like that in a fight, never been robbed like that in a fight. At this point right now, I just have to think about my future fight. I can’t think about the fight with Alves, I can’t (think) that I wasn’t there mentally, that I was burnt out. All this shit was going on inside my head, but I can’t think about any of that stuff. Thiago, he won on paper, he beat me, he beat Matt Hughes, he deserves it. He took the fight very serious and the best man won that day. But at this point I want to make an example of Yoshida and everyone else who’s going to stand in front of me until I can get my title shot and get my title. Eventually it will happen I just gotta take the fight game very serious. My worst enemy has always been that I’ve been too talented to train, and now its catching up with me. I gotta start training or those guys will start catching up with me.”

Read the whole interview HERE at fightticker.com

Affliction: Banned -July 19th

Main card

• WAMMA Heavyweight Championship bout: Fedor Emelianenko vs Tim Sylvia
• Heavyweight bout: Andrei Arlovski vs Ben Rothwell
• Heavyweight bout: Josh Barnett vs Pedro Rizzo
• Middleweight bout: Matt Lindland vs Fabio Negao
• Light heavyweight bout: Renato Sobral vs Mike Whitehead

Preliminary card

• Heavyweight bout: Aleksander Emelianenko vs Paul Buentello
• Light heavyweight bout: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Edwin Dewees^[4]
• Middleweight bout: Vitor Belfort vs Terry Martin
• Featherweight bout: Savant Young vs Mark Hominick
• Welterweight bout: Mike Pyle vs JJ Ambrose
• Middleweight bout: Justin Levens vs Ray Lazama^[5]

Affliction: Banned is an upcoming mixed martial arts event co-promoted by Affliction Clothing and Adrenaline MMA.^[1] The event is scheduled to take place on July 19, 2008 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

The evening's main event will feature the last undefeated Pride FC heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko who is considered the best heavyweight fighter in the world against former 2-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia for the newly-created WAMMA heavyweight championship.^[2] The one hour undercard will be broadcast on the Fox Sports Network and the main fight card will be broadcast live on pay-per-view.^[3] Also appearing at the event, the heavy metal band Megadeth will be performing live.

Click on the link to see Gonzaga's fight last week

After Gonzaga looked less than stellar against Werdum, many began doubting him. He dropped two in a row in fact because his loss to Werdum came after he lost to Randy Couture. Well, I've always felt that Gonzaga is very dangerous. Who knows what happened in the Werdum fight? I have some ideas though: first of all, Werdum had beaten Gonzaga once before; secondly, Gonzaga looked really good...remember the big leg kicks that had Werdum on the floor a few times? He then looked to gas, but I think after all the work in the first and the adrenaline wearing off, he just loss power; third, Werdum is a great fighter. He just beat Vera and despite the controversey, he looked really good.

Anyway, if none of what I said above makes a ton of sense, that's OK. Gonzaga just destroyed a decent fighter last Sat. night but the bout wasn't aired. Check it out HERE. Wow.

Silva says the LHW strap belongs to....Machida?

Props: Tatame.com

Quoteworthy:

“[Fighting at 205 pounds] is an experience we are doing for several reasons, and one of them is a request from Dana White…. I don’t have a desire to fight in this category and am only doing it because I was asked and I think I can. I have no desire to dispute this belt because Lyoto has already proven that it belongs to him. I am taking this fight because I like to fight and I like the challenges.”

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva shares his opinion about the LHW division AND expresses his desire to stay at MW. Obviously he's a gamer because he's willing to do it. I think, however, that he's showing respect to Machida because I think he used to train with him and because like many others-myself included-I think Machida gets the next title shot even though many will arge, IF Silva wins, that he deserves a shot. He's obviously a lot more marketable than Machida and he's very well known.

Will Affliction Work Out? How has the money been spent?

Affliction issues more than 250 media passes for ‘Banned’ event on July 19

By: James Iannotti (mmamania.com)

Affliction MMA spent literally millions of dollars to secure one of the most talent-laded fight cards ever put together for its inaugural “Banned” event set to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on July 19. To do so, it seems the upstart promotion has had to deprive its marketing department of the necessary funds it takes to sell a non-UFC event in the United States.

Or so it seems.

Television commercials have been scarce — apparently the the clothing company-turned mixed martial arts promoter is banking on the star power of the athletes it has rounded up to take care of the PPV sales along with a heavy online advertising campaign.

There’s also that massive billboard in Times Square.

This combination may have worked had it not been for Dana White and the UFC throwing together Ultimate Fight Night 14 on short notice. It takes place on the same night — for free on Spike TV — with arguably the most popular fighter on the planet right now, Anderson Silva.

I’ve seen plenty of ads for the UFC’s show on July 19, but like I said, where’s the Affliction hype machine been hiding?

Perhaps, however, Affliction is smarter than most give it credit.

Today, the company distributed a press release, stating that a record number of press passes have already been requested for “Banned” … and we’re still nearly two weeks out.

Is it possible that Affliction thinks a strong late push from the Internet, radio and television world will be enough to sell its top-notch product? Look at this article, for example — we’re already helping them market the event and they didn’t have to spend a dime.

It’s an interesting concept.