[Centraal] MMA topic #22 Kimbo Got Smoked

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Kimbo Slice (3-1) is eyeing a return to action against the man who defeated him in just 14 seconds at Elite XC: “Heat” on October 4, Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli (10-4), according to an interview in a recent article with the Sun-Sentinel.

The possible destination for the rematch is the DREAM K-1 New Year’s Eve event in Japan.

Petruzelli was a last minute replacement for an injured Ken Shamrock when he faced Kimbo the first time around. He stunned the bearded brawler and an arena full of his hometown faithful that night by landing a straight right directly on the button and finishing him off in only 14 seconds.

The win didn’t come without some negative effects for Petruzelli, however. He made some comments on an Orlando morning radio program two days later that reeked of possible match fixing. The interview sparked an investigation into Elite XC and later was among the contributing causes to the promotion going under.

Regardless, Petruzelli was quick to say he would give Slice a rematch at the post event presser in Sunrise. And realistically it was only a matter of time before the fight was inked. But with the demise of the promotion, it was uncertain whether or not Petruzelli vs. Kimbo II would ever happen.

Both fighters are free agents now (or will be soon) and if this latest report is active, we’ll be seeing the two square off again before the end of 2008.

Petruzelli is a wrestling and karate expert who likes to finish his opponents with his striking. Nine times he’s had his hand raised because of a knockout. His only losses in his eight-year career have come to UFC veterans Gan McGee, Mario Neto, Matt Hamill and Wilson Gouveia.

Kimbo made his mark on the entertainment world by knocking out dudes in Miami backyards. By airing the footage on YouTube.com he became an overnight celebrity and fighting professionally soon became his calling.

He enlisted the help of legendary mixed martial artist Bas Rutten as his head trainer and he’s been training consistently for more than two years now. His first setback was the loss to Seth and it’ll be interesting to see how he responds in his next fight … especially if it’s a rematch with “The Silverback.”

Also rumored to be competing on the DREAM K-1 New Year’s Eve event are Joachim Hansen, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Kazushi Sakuraba, Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Masakazu Imanari, Takeshi Yamazaki, Atsushi Yamamoto, Kuniyoshi Hironaka, Minowaman, Kiyoshi Tamura, Seichi Ikemoto, Yuichi Nakanishi, Yasuhiro Kido, Yoshihiro Sato, Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto, Caol Uno, Hideo Tokoro, Masakatsu Funaki, Katsuyori Shibata, Junichi Sawayashiki, Taishin Kohiruimaki, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Gegard Mousasi and Hong Man Choi.

Star studded to say the least.

With a lineup like this, it’s safe to say Kimbo and Seth won’t be main eventing this one. If so, it will be the first time in his career that the Miami native was not the headliner.

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A bankruptcy court has cleared the way for HDNet to purchase the remaining assets of the International Fight League.

During a hearing Wednesday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York authorized the now-defunct IFL to sell the assets, which include the league's video and image library, to HDNet for $650,000 and the assumption of certain IFL liabilities.

HDNet made its bid in September, and no other bids were submitted.

In addition to the media library, HDNet also receives IFL's brand name and other intellectual property.

When contacted by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) in September, HDNet declined to comment on the potential acquisition. However, it's believed the purchase is aimed at acquiring additional MMA content, which the cable network can use under its HDNet Fights banner.


The IFL formed in January 2006 and introduced a team format. The organization had struck broadcast deals with FSN and MyNetworkTV, and at one time, the publicly traded company had a market value in the hundreds of millions of dollars. However, the organization struggled to draw fans, and despite announcing a rash of changes for the 2008 fight season, the cancellation of its Aug. 15 show was essentially the final nail in its coffin.

Completion of this week's transaction effectively closes the book on the IFL, which held its last event in May and ceased operations in July.

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Op zondag 2 november 2008 23:05 schreef motorbloempje het volgende:
owh, sorry

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today bolstered its middleweight division by signing high-profile 185-pound standout Denis Kang to a four-fight contract to compete inside the Octagon.

Here’s a snip from the official announcement:

“Denis will now be able to showcase his skills to a whole new audience who hasn’t had the chance to see this exciting fighter in action. Denis has always expressed a desire to fight in the UFC and we are pleased we were able to help him get this deal done. Denis will bring a lot of excitement to the 185-pound division! Congrats Denis!”

Kang — who has enjoyed success primarily in Japan and Korea fighting in the PRIDE and Spirit MC organizations — is on a two-fight win streak after losing back-to-back matches. He most recently defeated Marvin Eastman via first round technical knockout at Raw Combat: “Redemption” last month.

The Canadian with South Korean roots was a participant in the Dream Middleweight Grand Prix 2008, losing to eventual tournament winner Gegard Mousasi via submission (triangle choke). He was an early favorite to win it all before getting upset by the slick Armenian.

Kang was also the runner-up at the PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix 2006, losing to Kazuo Misaki via split decision.

No fight date or possible opponent for Kang is known at this time. However, expect to see him make his Octagon debut sometime in early 2009.

If he can get off to a good start don’t be too surprised to see him fighting reigning division champion Anderson Silva sometime very soon … Kang has great mixed martial arts skills and would be a nice test for “The Spider.”

This is great news — the promotion had been trying to wrangle the services of Kang for more than a year. Job well done.

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Xtreme Couture Vice President Kim Couture (0-1) has signed with Strikeforce and will fight fellow one-fight veteran Lina Kvokov (0-1) at the organization's Nov. 21 "Destruction" card.

The event takes place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., and airs live on HDNet.

The organization announced the late fight-card addition earlier today.

Strikeforce spokesperson Mike Afromowitz today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the Couture-Kvokov fight will be one of approximately six fights on the night's televised main card, which features title defenses for Strikeforce world lightweight champion Josh Thomson and light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth.

Couture, the wife of UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, made her professional debut at June's "A Night of Combat" event in Las Vegas. Couture was cracked with an early blow that broke her jaw in the first few seconds of the fight. The 32-year-old rode out the three-round fight, but opponent Kim Rose scored the unanimous-decision victory.

"Losing that fight was the best thing that ever happened to me," Couture stated in today's press release. "It’s completely changed me as a fighter. I’ve started doing things a lot different. It made me realize that I have to be the aggressor or I’m going to get hurt."

Couture now meets 33-year-old Kvokov, who made her professional debut in April with a first-round submission loss to Tamara Parks.

Kvokov, a mother of four who recently dropped out of law school to pursue her fighting career, was introduced to MMA by friend and UFC/IFL veteran Matt Horwich.

"I just think that it’s such a great thing, being able to beat someone up and get paid for it," Kvokov stated. "I can’t think of a better way to earn a living."

The Couture-Kvokov fight will be held at 130 pounds.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship has suspended UFC middleweight and UFC 89 headliner Chris Leben nine months and fined him one third of his fight purse for failing a drug test at the Oct. 18 event.

The UFC announced the suspension and fine after Leben tested positive for the steroid Stanozolol.

UFC 89 took place in Birmingham, England, and the UFC served as its own regulatory body for the event since the country has no athletic commission that oversees MMA shows.

Leben suffered a unanimous-decision loss to British fighter Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC 89, which aired via tape delay on Spike TV.

"I've really done everything I can to turn my life around, and this is a huge setback for me, but it is something I will have to deal with," Leben stated. "During my time off from fighting, I want to speak to kids about the dangers of using performance enhancing agents and let them know it just doesn’t get you ahead in life. Of course this is a hard hit for me monetarily, but more so this is embarrassing for me and for all of my fans. I apologize to the UFC and everyone who supported me in my fight in England. I hope to work through this and get back to fighting soon."

Stanozolol, which is often sold under the brand name Winstrol, is a synthetic anabolic steroid derived from testosterone that is usually prescribed to treat anaemia and hereditary angioedema in humans, though it's also available for veterinary uses. The drug is popular in the bodybuilding world, though MMA fighters such as Tim Sylvia, Phil Baroni and Kimo Leopoldo have tested positive for it in the past.

All 22 fighters from UFC 89 were tested, according to the UFC.


"I am obviously disappointed with Chris, who has made great strides getting his life back on track," UFC President Dana White stated. "To his credit, he has taken responsibility for his actions and is accepting the punishment that has been handed down. But as always, the UFC puts the safety of its athletes first and foremost, and we won’t tolerate anyone using performance enhancing drugs in our organization."

Leben had been scheduled to headline UFC 85 with Bisping in June, but the bout was postponed so that Leben could serve jail time for a previous DUI offense. He hoped jail time wouldn't be issued and that the move would allow him to secure a visa for the event. However, Leben was sentenced to 35 days in the Clackamas County Jail in Oregon (though he was released early), and the fight was postponed.

Serving the jail time was part of what Leben called a maturation process that followed his move to Hawaii, where he now serves as an MMA instructor at the ICON Fitness and MMA Center. Prior to UFC 89, Leben, who appeared on "The Ultimate Fighter 1" (with a few drunken rampages), also said he had quit drinking.

He'll be eligible to return to the UFC in July 2009.