UFC 100

[Brill Weave]

I had read on Yahoosports that the talk was Belfort was not doing his cutting and was actually gaining weight with the intention of fighting Fedor. I'll see if I can find the link here.

Tompkins interview: Belfort is ready to shock the world - Cagewriter - Mixed Martial Arts - Yahoo! Sports

Vitor Belfort is now in a dangerous holding pattern. He's still officially scheduled to fight Jorge Santiago even after accepting an offer to fight in the main event of next week's Affliction: Trilogy card in Anaheim against Fedor Emelianenko. If the main event opportunity falls through it'd be interesting mental test for Belfort to have re-focus on a fight at middleweight. There's also the issue of weight-cutting. The dieting to get down to 185 was done yesterday. Now Belfort is looking to pack on a few pounds.

The Belfort got the offer around 5:30 on Tuesday. Affliction found out earlier in the day that Fedor's opponent Josh Barnett had a failed a drug test and could not be licensed for the fight. Trainer Shawn Tompkins said it took about 30 minutes for Belfort, who spoke with Tompkins, Randy Couture and Ray Sefo, to give the go-ahead:

"It's a no-lose situation [for us]. Fedor has everything to lose," said Tompkins. "The only problem we'll have to deal with is the size difference"

Belfort was 204 pounds yesterday and the goal is to get back to 210-212 by next Saturday. California is asking that the Brazilian be a minimum of 206 for the fight. He'll be at a huge size disadvantage against the 230-pound Fedor but should have a speed edge:

"The chink that's in Fedor's armor is what Vitor's best at, that's boxing and speed. It's a game that we'd love to play."

Tompkins said Belfort's boxing is so good, he thinks he could be a top 10 boxer in his weight class right now.

"Whether Fedor believes it or not, he doesn't deal well with speed and he doesn't deal well with getting hit. He has to shuck the punch off before he comes back with his own. He moves well, he's very balanced but he doesn't move quick. It's going to be hard for him to keep up with Vitor's pace."

Tompkins is excited to get a shot at gameplanning for a battle against Fedor. He said it's similar to gameplanning against someone like Anderson Silva:

"It's the same level in that people look at them as unbeatable fighters. I think Fedor's a more consistent fighter than Anderson Silva and it's a bigger win for us if we beat Fedor."

Affliction is still waiting on a decision from the Fedor camp. Earlier today in Moscow, they said they'd still like to fight heavyweight Brett Rogers and that the fans don't want to see a Fedor-Belfort fight. Strikeforce, the company with Rogers' contract is hesitant to allow the big guy to fight Fedor. Rogers may be slated to fill-in for the injured Alistair Overeem against Fabricio Werdum on an August 15 Strikeforce card.

[Blarg]

Well if they are saying 'get back to' 210 then that is probably what he is before the diet so it's not that bad. I thought he was eating 500 oreos a day to put on a bunch of weight or something like that.

[FNH]

"should have a speed edge"? he's putting back on at least 20 pounds in a short time, I think he'll be a bit slower and cardio would suffer.

[archibaldcrane]

In general, 'speed edge' vs Fedor makes me lol. Also I hate hearing about how XXX fighter is a 'top 10 pro boxer' talent. No, no you aren't, shut your stupid face about it.

[FNH]

I can't decide which I want more, fedor to continue dominating and one day wreck house in the ufc, or fulfill my love of powerhouses getting upset. I think I can live without the latter if silva gets beat soon.

[archibaldcrane]

I do want Fedor to go wreck shop in the UFC after this. Also the whole "dominant fighter" in WW and MW thing the UFC has going on is lame. Machida might lockdown LHW too - the carousel at LHW champion made it my favorite weight class for a while, hopefully Machida won't GSP/Silva it.

[Brill Weave]

No, no you aren't, shut your stupid face about it.

I think Tim Sylvia learned this lesson the hard way.

[donnie]

I do want Fedor to go wreck shop in the UFC after this. Also the whole "dominant fighter" in WW and MW thing the UFC has going on is lame. Machida might lockdown LHW too - the carousel at LHW champion made it my favorite weight class for a while, hopefully Machida won't GSP/Silva it.

I don't know , I like watching them defend their titles over and over, also I feel having a champion/s dominating their classes is good for sport because they add legitimacy to it, also it helps create super-stars who attract mainstream media.

[tyven]

Diaz vs Riggs II is off

god fucking shit god dammit motherfucker what the fuck is wrong with MMA right now. this summer was going to have such amazing fights and now three of them are ruined.

i guess diaz is still fighting, but fuck i wanted to see him pummel riggs

[tyven]

FEDOR VS DIAZ LETS DO IT

[Dimmauk]

Diaz vs Riggs II is off

god fucking shit god dammit motherfucker what the fuck is wrong with MMA right now. this summer was going to have such amazing fights and now three of them are ruined.

i guess diaz is still fighting, but fuck i wanted to see him pummel riggs

Official: Joe Riggs vs. Nick Diaz title fight scratched from Aug. 15 Strikeforce event
by Dann Stupp on Jul 24, 2009 at 11:50 am ET
A card once newsworthy because of its sheer volume of title fights has now seen that number of championship bouts cut in half.

A week after the organization announced that Alistair Overeem's (29-11) injured hand forced him out of a title defense with challenger Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1), Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) a fight between Nick Diaz (20-7) and Joe Riggs (30-10) has also been dropped from the Aug. 15 card.

Diaz and Riggs, whose first epic meeting took place under the UFC umbrella three years ago, were slated to fight for Strikeforce's first-ever welterweight title.

The Aug. 15 show takes place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., and airs on Showtime.

The loss of the Diaz vs. Riggs II fight (Riggs won the first meeting via decision) was first reported by GracieFighter.com, the official site of Cesar Gracie's school, which is home to Diaz. The report stated that Riggs could have an extended hospital stay because of "a bad reaction to an as of yet undisclosed drug."

"I heard something like, but we're still looking into it," Afromowitz said.

Afromowitz confirmed that the organization is searching for a replacement to fight Diaz, but he couldn't say whether or not the fight would still have title implications.

"It's still all speculation right now," Afromowitz said. "We just don't know yet."

The Aug. 15 Strikeforce event is headlined by a fight between Gina Carano (7-0) and Cris "Cyborg" Santos (7-1) for Strikeforce's first-ever 145-pound women's title. The Strikeforce lightweight title is also up for grabs when current champ Josh Thomson (16-2) meets interim title-holder Gilbert Melendez (15-2) on the card.

As for Werdum, Afromowitz said the organization hopes to also find a replacement for him. Sources have suggested that the former UFC fighter could get a crack at an interim heavyweight title (Overeem hasn't defended his belt since winning it in November 2007) if a high-caliber replacement is found, but Afromowitz declined to comment on the possibility.


Also,

http://cyber-sport.us/zalaczniki/1_763.gif

[noblemountain]

Affliction is now cancelled.

Affliction Cancels ‘Trilogy’

Think that about does it for the "t-shirt guys".

[donnie]

beat me to it! , but damn that could be it for affliction , unless they manage to postpone the event 2-3 month later and re-organize

[Dimmauk]

Fedor should have just signed with the UFC instead of wasting his time. Does this cancellation still count as a fight for Fedor's contract?

[Epical]

I'm pretty sure Dana's erection could destroy worlds right about now.

[donnie]

I really feel fedor will end up in strikeforce not UFC. but if that happens , I hope they learn not to place all their organization to 1 fighter

[Xno Kappa]

Epic! Barnett single-handily brought down Affliction.

[Dimmauk]

I really feel fedor will end up in strikeforce not UFC. but if that happens , I hope they learn not to place all their organization to 1 fighter

Why in the fuck would Fedor go to Strikeforce?

[Xno Kappa]

Fedor's demands are retarded and Dana White already stated as such. If him or his management keep that nonsense up its only logical he would end up in Strikeforce. An organization trying to establish itself is more then willing to shell out whatever they can to accommodate the top HW where as in UFC has the collateral to say screw it.

[Dimmauk]

Fedor's demands are retarded and Dana White already stated as such. If him or his management keep that nonsense up its only logical he would end up in Strikeforce. An organization trying to establish itself is more then willing to shell out whatever they can to accommodate the top HW where as in UFC has the collateral to say screw it.

It would seem like the UFC and Fedor need each other. Fedor is pissed cause he isnt fighting anyone, and the UFC is struggling to find people for the division. Its the main reason the next TUF season has Heavyweights. One side is going to have to give in at some point.

Strikeforce's fights are getting cancelled too. No more Diaz vs Riggs, and no more Overeem vs Werdum.