Boxing legend Ricardo Mayorga calls out Nick Diaz, BJ Penn

For those unfamiliar with Ricardo Mayorga, He is a four time boxing world champion who has now decided to try and make headlines the James Toney way.

Today Mayorga called out Strikeforce welterweight champion, Nick Diaz, as well as former two-time UFC champ, BJ Penn. Lets be honest here, Mayorga's best days are behind him. The last time he held a title was five long years ago, and at 38 years old he isn't exactly a spring chicken. The boxer took to Twitter to make some headlines, check them out below.

Via Twitter

"@DiazBrothers209 tu- disgrace to latinos, fighting a bum Lacy, fight me- After I f** u up, I put a dress on u and send u back to ufc maricon"

Not content with dissing Diaz, he turns his sights on to MMA as a whole:

"MMA is for maricons, first they pick that hippo Toney, now Lacy. Come see a real man and I will show that boxeo is numero uno!"

The MMA Reel translation machine tells me that a "Maricon" is slang for a homosexual. Now it's time for Penn to feel the wrath of a has-been.

"MMA putos challenge cripples like Lacy and Hippos like Toney- i will end the debate with my right fist. If not Diaz, I want that chubby BJ"

In case you guys were unaware, Nick Diaz is currently scheduled to fight professional boxer; Jeff Lacy, sometime in the fall. You can check out the details here. Is all this noise that Mayorga is making even relevant? Not really. It looks as if Dana White is going to try and organize a GSP/Diaz super-fight, so you can bet your bottom dollar that we won't be seeing Diaz in the squared circle against Lacy, let alone Mayorga. 

So what options does Mayorga have? Try and fight Diaz or Penn MMA style? Those fights would end quicker than the boxing legend can finish a cigarette. It would be less competition, more demolition. Here's a quick play by play.. "The fighters touch gloves, Penn takes down Mayorga, Mayorga taps". That's literally all there is to it, simple.

You can bet that Diaz will respond to these comments, he isn't a punk. I will keep you lot updated.

Rob Billington

Michael Bisping: "Gutted for Chael Sonnen"

The rumor mill had been swirling over the past month or so that Michael Bisping's next fight would be against the motormouth, Chael Sonnen, after the two coached on a season of The Ultimate Fighter. However, todays ruling by the CSAC means that Sonnen is suspended indefinitely, meaning it would be highly unlikely that we will see him in action anytime soon.

Bisping and Sonnen are far from buddies, the two have exchanged words back and forth for the past few months, but it hasn't stopped him from empathizing with Chael.

Via Twitter

"Gutted for chael sonnen, people make mistakes.He paid his dues and should be allowed to continue with his career. Real shame for the guy."

Do you agree? Personally I think it is about time that fighters are made pay for using steroids, whether you believe Chael or not, to lie is simply unacceptable.

Don't get me wrong, watching these guys coach TUF would be both hilarious and awesome, but sometimes people need to pay. Bisping had been pulling for a fight with Sonnen for sometime, and if it happened I think it would be safe to assume it would have been a no.1 contender fight, well Bisping thought so anyway.

"I did wanna fight him,as it would of been awesome, and a no1 contender matchup, but my own personal wants aside, I do truly feel for the guy"

No one knows what will happen with this whole debacle as of yet, it is possible that the UFC could put Bisping on ice for a few months while we wait to see how "Sonnen gate" pans out. Dana White is no fool, if they had those two as TUF coaches it could potentially be their most watched season to date.

In case you missed it, click here to read about Sonnen's suspension. 

Big Nog: "not worried" about Brendan Schaub

I reported yesterday that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be facing off against Brendan Schaub at UFC 134. After his long layoff due to an injury which occurred back in 2010, he feels confident of getting the win.

Via Tatame

"I’ll do my homework and watch his bouts. He’s a good boxer, uses the distance, but I’m prepared to strike. I won’t keep trying to take him down all the time. I’ll try to do my best, no matter where things are. I’m not worried about him. I want to be at my best, in a good shape, because I believe in myself."

With wins over Gabe Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop, Schaub is looking a lot like a legend killer. Does Big Nog have what it take to compete at the top level anymore? It's hard to tell, Nog has taken a lot of punishment over the years and has a known deficiency against powerful strikers, and Schaub is just that.

Hopefully "Minotauro" will keep applying pressure and look for some take down's as we haven't really seen Schaub off his back, Nog definitely has the better ground game, so it would be stupid of him to stand and trade. 

UFC 134 will be live in Rio, on August 27th, and will feature Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami as the main event.

Chael Sonnen to retire if todays hearing goes against him

Chael Sonnen's hearing with the CSAC is happening right now, if he fails to get a licence it is likely that he will retire.

Sonnen was suspended by the California State Athletic Comission for elevated levels of testosterone back in 2010 after his fight with Anderson Silva.

He has always claimed it is due to a medical condition, but the CSAC and NSAC have remained vigilant in their scrutiny of his alleged condition.

Sonnen's suspension ended back in April but he has yet to get a fight licence, which is part of the reason he is at a hearing today

ESPN's Josh Gross is live at the hearing, he tweeted earlier:

"If I don't get my license today I'm effectively retired. That came from the boss, Dana White." -- Chael Sonnen"

Dribs and drabs of information are coming through as I type, as the case is live right now. Apparently the CSAC are looking to come down hard on Sonnen.

What is more interesting is Chael's comments relating Dana, is seems like the UFC chief is done with his drama. What with the money laundering charges and this, I cant blame him.

Keep on the page for updates as they develop

Update: The hearing is all done, and Sonnen will remained suspended indefinitely. At this point his fighting future is unknown, but likely hanging in the balance. There has been no statements from Sonnen's camp as of yet.

Dos Santos speaks about Carwin “He’s very dangerous, but I’ll bet on my speed”

By Rob Billington. 

Junior Dos Santos is on the brink of getting a title shot, initially he was supposed to fight rival TUF coach, Brock Lesnar, but a recurring bout of Diverticulitis has sidelined his former opponent for the foreseeable future.

It was announced last week that Dos Santos had a new opponent, Shane Carwin. Carwin was pulled from his fight with Elmeno to go to war with JDS and likely become number one contender if he can get through him.

Junior knows the risks of facing Carwin, speaking to Tatame, he discusses the match up..

Via Tatame

“He’s very dangerous, but I’ll bet on my speed. I’m sure I’ll put on a great show up there”, said the friendly fighter, claiming to be ready to go, and wishing for a quick recovery of Lesnar. “Unfortunately he had that disease again, it must be pretty serious, and I wish him all the luck he can have. For what I could know about him, he’s a nice guy”.

I think Carwin vs JDS is probably a better fight than the original match up. We all know that Lesnar has a severe deficiency on the feet, whereas Carwin has lethal hands and solid wrestling (regardless if we've seen it or not). 

This fight should be Dos Santos' if he keeps his distance and utilizes he superior boxing. While Carwin is a devastating KO artist, he isn't what you would call technically proficient. 

The two will face of on June 11th at UFC 131 

Anthony Petits on Gray Maynard, lightweight title picture

By Rob Billington

Former WEC lightweight champion, Anthony Petits, finds himself in a potentially frustrating situation. If he beats Clay Guida in his upcoming no.1 contender fight he will be on the shelf until Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard return from injury and have their rematch.

Speaking to Heavy MMA he had this to say on his frustrating predicament.

Via Bleacher Report

"It kinda puts the whole lightweight (division) on a stand. I was in line for a title shot after Clay Guida, I mean I'm definitely focused on Guida, but the whole lightweight division is just kinda stuck right now."

That's for sure, the UFC have been plagued by inured champions as of late. What with the heavyweight, light heavyweight, and lightweight title's all tied up because of injuries, the future is not as good as it should be.

After news broke that Frankie Edgar had succumbed to injury it was reported that Maynard was offered a fight with Petits, but turned it down due to lack of interest. Petits is never one to shy away from speaking his mind, told Heavy MMA what he thought of Maynard's comments.

"I feel that he might be a little jealous of my level of success so fast, I am probably the most popular UFC fighter that hasn't fought in the UFC yet,"

I'm not sure if jealousy is the culprit here, I would cite that the reason Maynard turned down the fight was due to a case of a lot to lose, little to gain. If Maynard gets beat by Petits then he would have to climb the ladder again, if he won he would be exactly where he left off.

Be sure to check out Anthony Petits vs Clay Guida at the TUF 13 finale, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Brendan Schaub on tap for UFC 134

By Rob Billington. 

Big Nog will make his long awaited return to the octagon in his home country of Brazil, against young prospect Brendan Schaub, at UFC 134.

Both sides have previously stated their interest to face off, looks like Joe Silva has granted them their wish.

Nog has been sidelined due to injury since early in 2010. In his last fight he got KO'd by heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez. With fans saying he has lost his edge i'm sure Nog will be hungry for a win in this fight, especially since he will be fighting in Brazil.

Brendan Schaub has been on the up and up since losing in the TUF 10 finals against Roy Nelson. With back to back wins against Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop, Schaub looks like a legend killer, in my opinion this is a tougher fight for him, but only time will tell.

UFC 134 will be live in Rio, on August 27th.

Rashad Evans doubts legitimacy of Jon Jones' injury

Article by Rob Billington

This was bound to happen, as I reported yesterday, Jon Jones will not be having the surgery on his thumb that caused Rashad Evans to lose his title shot. Evans, having signed for a fight against Phil Davis instead, now feels short changed. He has even gone as far as to say Jones is ducking him.

Via MMAjunkie

"Jon doesn't need surgery," Evans today told www.mmajunkie.com. "He did not need the surgery. No doctor will operate on him. They say he doesn't need it."

"It's obvious he doesn't want to fight," he said. "Because if you don't need surgery and you're not going to have it, then why tell the UFC that you're going to have surgery and not have it?"

Interesting take on the whole thing I have to say, It definitely doesn't look good on Jon Jones, who declined to fight Evans over a seemingly minor injury. I noticed that when Rashad confronted Jones in the cage after his win over Shogun the champ seemed quite sheepish, which is out of character for him.

I reported yesterday that the two had to be separated by GSP at a Las Vegas nightclub, apparently they nearly came to blows. Evans had this to say about the whole debacle.

"He pulled me over, and he's like, 'I just want to tell you right now – I'm going to destroy you,'" Evans recalled. "'You're going to be my first knockout highlight.'

"I'm looking at him in disbelief like, is this dude serious? So I was like, 'Ok, you are. Then why didn't you take the fight?'"

Touche, It's good to see a healthy rivalry forming here as it can only make for a more exciting fight for us fans.  With lack of interest in this years TUF I think it would be a great idea to have these two coach a season, granted Jones is a bit too young to be coaching, but it still would be great television.

This fight has the potential to be one of the biggest PPV's in UFC history if they market it right. I just want to see them fight sooner rather than later.

Cain Velasquez back training after long lay off due to injury

Article by Rob Billington. 

UFC heavyweight champ, Cain Velasquez, has been sidelined from training since injuring his shoulder in a title fight with Brock Lesnar. The shoulder is one of the worst places to pick up an injury, and he has been sidelined for almost eight months because of it.

While Velasquez cant do any weight lifting or sparring, he has been permitted to resume cardiovascular training. Speaking to heavy MMA, he had this to say:

“Yeah, I’m back in the gym. I’m limited in what I can do. I can’t punch with my right hand yet,” Velasquez told HeavyMMA.com. “The doctor wants me to take two months to strengthen my right hand.”

It will be a full year before he fights again, his next bout is rumored to be in October. Initially Cain was supposed to fight the winner of Lesnar/Dos Santos, but with Lesnar injured and Carwin taking his place it is unknown if Carwin will get a title fight should he win. I would presume he will, the UFC heavyweight division is a mess right now.

Jon Jones declines surgery, will be fighting this fall.

By Rob Billington

This is all a bit fishy to me, so Jones pulls out of surgery after Rashad signs another fight? Is this psychological warfare, or a genuine injury?

I mean it's his thumb for Christ's sake, the reason the surgery is not going through is because Jones' doctor told him that the surgery would be too invasive for an injury like he has, basically it isn't an injury that will leave him without the use of his hand or anything.

Anyway, that's enough of me ranting. Jones' manager, Malki Kawa, had a chance to tell the guys over at mmaweekly what went down.

Via MMAweekly

“The UFC flew us out to their doctors here in Nevada on Wednesday. We came out here, we met with the doctor. The doctor looked at Jon and basically advised Jon that in his opinion that he thought that surgery was maybe a bit drastic. He didn’t have to have it if he didn’t want to if he could stand the pain and he didn’t have to sit out and go through all that rehab. Jon chose not to have the surgery. He wants to be back in the cage and fight. He thought it was something medically he absolutely (had to do) and this doctor gave him the option not to do it if he didn’t want to.”

“Between the September/November area hopefully, you’ve got to understand if he comes back June 11, the first day he’d be back is that Monday, and he’s not going to be able to go full speed that day and start an eight-week camp from that moment (to fight) Aug. 6.”

So there you have it, all you Jon Jones fans don't have to worry about him going around like Luke Skywalker in Return of The Jedi, he will be fine. Rashad has been short-changed big time over the past year, he now has a tough fight against a phenomenal wrestler in Phil Davis, which he chose because of Jones' injury. Sucks to be him.

There will be conspiracy theories abound about this one, I as a fan am a little pissed off that the match-up I want to see wont be happening for even longer, and with Brock's illness, Maynard and Edgar injured, I cant help but feel a little bit let down with the UFC landscape at the minute.

Possible match-ups for "Bones" include Lyoto Machida, or maybe "Rampage" Jackson if he beats Matt Hamill at the upcoming UFC 130.

And the beef continues, Rashad Evans and Jon Jones have an altercation in nightclub

By Rob Billington

For those unaware, the UFC fighters summit is underway in Las Vegas, Nevada. If you don't know what it is let me explain, basically every Zuffa fighter (including Strikeforce guys) have to attend this event and get briefed on future plans etc. Having this many fighters in the same place at the same time is surely a bad idea, especially with all the rivalries we see in this sport.

The biggest rivalry currently ongoing is that between Rashad Evans and Jon Jones, who bumped into each other in a Las Vegas nightclub. The story came from the Las Vegas review journal:

"Vegas Confidential learned the incident took place near the table of UFC champ George St. Pierre at Surrender nightclub at Encore. Jones and former champ Tito Ortiz had a table next to St. Pierre's.

St. Pierre ordered Jones and Evans, former friends who trained together, to take it elsewhere before things got ugly.

Jones and Evans, who have been having words of late, walked away to hash out their differences."

The most bizarre thing about this story is that Tito Ortiz and Georges St. Pierre were sitting at a table together, talk about opposites attracting. Speaking of Tito Ortiz, he too was involved in a war of words at the fighter summit with none other than Matt "Meat head" Mitrione, check the video below to see what went down.

Really bad audio here, I cant make out jack shit. It does however, look like it begins to heat up.

TapouT's "Punkass" and "Skyscrape" to be sued over distribution of "Mask's" ashes

By Rob Billington

This is all very crazy, so let me explain a little. For those unaware; TapouT co-founder Charles "Mask" Lewis passed away back in 2009, at a memorial service his buddies and fellow work mates; "Punkass" and "Skyscrape", handed out between 50-100 vials of his remains to close friends. Lewis' sister, Carla, is not impressed.

TMZ broke the story that Carla Lewis has decided to press charges, apparently she is the only person with any rights to retain said ashes, however she has stated that both Skyscrape and Punkass hold a significant amount of Mask's remains and have refused to return them.

In light of this whole mess both Skyscrape and Punkass  have offered to return the ashes, they even went as far as to say that Mask had distanced himself from his sister before his death.

Phew, that is some dramatic shit. Ashes being handed out like free candy, angry sisters, law suits, It's all a bit too much for me, i'm a MMA fan, not a Desperate Housewives fan. Too much drama.

And on a side note, why the fuck are TMZ covering so much MMA? They should stay the fuck out of it, all they do is report negative shit, Tito "beating up" Jenna, Hughes "breaking a womans nose", and now this. Here's an idea, how about you stick to reporting about if Lady Gaga has a dick or not!

If you want to subject yourself to the original article it's HERE