Randy Couture Goes From UFC to Hollywood
Randy Couture, who has made an excellent name for himself by showcasing his skills in the Octogan, is now taking his talents to the Silver Screen.
And this time the skills he will be using won’t be his fighting ability, rather his acting ability.
The Calgary Sun reports that Randy Couture is returning to the cage…well, sort of. This time though, the cage is Prison.
Couture is filming a prison comedy with actor Rob Schneider (Benchwarmers, Men Behaving Badly) in California.
The Calgary Sun quotes Couture yesterday about his role: “I play a prisoner.”
Adding: “There are no fight scenes. I’d prefer to not have any fight scenes. It’s kinda nice to get some work in this genre and not have to fight. Even better…no love scenes.”
Servecast Delivers Cage Rage over Broadband
Cage Rage and MBS Productions have partnered with Servecast, the leading supplier of streaming media solutions to the sports industry, to webcast ‘Cage Rage – The Ultimate Challenge’ on July 1st live over CageRage.tv
The event, which is 4 hours in duration, will feature 26 fighters from 8 countries and the main fightcard will be webcast live, and later on an archive basis, to a global audience.
The event will be made available live on a Pay Per View basis and will then be made available as an archive for a limited period to again be purchased on a Pay Per View basis. This is based on a ticket price of $10 for pre-purchase or $15 on the day of the event and $10 for all on-demand purchases after the event.
Cage Rage fans around the world can see live, exciting action from the Wembley Arena and they will enjoy the best possible broadband video experience.
The web based viewing & payment console will be available from Thursday 29th June.
Marc Ratner Learning UFC From Ground Up
His last official duty with the Nevada State Athletic Commission came on May 13, and since then, Marc Ratner hasn’t spend much time wallowing in nostalgia. He’s knee-deep in his new position with the UFC as vice president of regulatory and governmental affairs, learning about the organization from stem to stern. He’s cramming info about pay-per-views, marketing and merchandising, and will be instrumental in getting UFC off the ground in holdout locales, like New York.
Ratner, who came aboard UFC on May 15, likes UFC’s chances of convincing legislators that organization isn’t the no-holds-barred fight club they may envision. “It’s all about education,� he says. “One of the detriments is that back in ‘93-’94, their advertising was ‘no holds barred,’ and we have to get beyond that. We have rounds, judges and the combatants undergo the same testing as boxers.�
Ratner, who started as an inspector in Las Vegas in 1984, is excited about taking on this new vocational challenge at age 61. “It’s a new learning experience and I’m excited to grow,� he says. “It’s great to be on the ground floor. But [my leaving] is not an indictment of boxing.�
Ratner isn’t prone to hyperbole and simply because he’s affiliated with the UFC, he won’t take the opportunity to kick the sport of boxing. “Boxing is the most resilient of sports,� he says. “There are always going to be certain fights that do well.�
In fact, Ratner was amongst his boxing brethren on Saturday, during the Main Events card at Caesars. “I’ll always be at the fights,� he says.
Lee Murray Faces Rapid Extradition
A MARTIAL arts fighter arrested in Morocco in connection with the £53 million Tonbridge robbery could be speedily extradited to Britain, Moroccan police said yesterday.
As Lee Murray, 26, sat in a Rabat jail after being arrested in a shopping centre, a police official said that a team of British officers had arrived to collect him and Morocco would recognise the international arrest warrant.
Kent Police and the Crown Prosecution Service said that the legal process may be lengthy, lasting several weeks or even months. The timetable will also depend on whether Mr Murray choses to fight the extradition.
Mr Murray, from Sidcup, southeast London, was held with three companions, including another Briton, in the modern Mega Mall shopping centre in the Souissi area of Rabat, by a team of armed police. He is part Moroccan by birth and had been living in a villa for some months. During the arrest there was a struggle with police.
Mr Murray was seized after a two-month operation that included surveillance. An extradition warrant was issued for him through the Crown Prosecuting Service last week. Britain has no extradition treaty with Morocco but it is legally acceptable for another country to honour a British request without a bilateral arrangement.
Kent Police said Mr Murray was wanted in connection with robbery, kidnap and other offences relating to the Securitas depot raid in Tonbridge, Kent, last February.
Mr Murray is a middleweight champion at cage fighting, a combination of kick boxing and wrestling, and has appeared on television. A father of two, he nearly died last year when he was stabbed outside a London nightclub. He and two friends were ambushed by a gang as they left the Funky Buddha in Mayfair.
Police said they had also charged two men with money-laundering offences after a series of arrests by the Tonbridge robbery unit working with several other forces. They have also seized a substantial amount of cash — as much as £1 million — but detectives are waiting for tests to see if the banknotes come from the raid.
Police also stopped a man and a woman on the M25 and a second man was arrested on the M3.
Five men and two women have already been charged in connection with the robbery and are due to appear in court next month.
More than £20 million of the record £53,116,760 stolen has so far been recovered.
Official Statement Re. Lee Murray, and Jeremy Bailey!
Cage Rage 17: Ultimate Challenge. Saturday 1st July 2006 Wembley Arena
Due to the recent incidents involving Lee Murray and Jeremy Bailey the statement below has been prepared by Cage Rage promoters Andy Geer and Dave O’Donnell.
“Cage Rage’ is the trade marked tournament brand of Mixed Martial Arts Promotions Ltd [MMAP], which specialises in the promotion of full contact, mixed martial arts, aka ‘Cage Fighting’ MMAP does not personally manage either Lee Murray or Jeremy Bailey. The relationship with both of these fighters is strictly professional.
Both Lee Murray and Jeremy Bailey have fought in ‘Cage Rage’ tournaments since its inception in 2002. Before the Securitas incident in February Lee Murray was due to fight for the British middle weight title this Saturday the 1st July at ‘Cage Rage 17’ as the headline fight. Having had no news of Lee, MMAP was forced to change the ‘top of the bill’ to a World Light Heavy Weight title fight between British favourite Ian “The Machine” Freeman and our current World champion Dutchman, Melvin Manhoef.
Jeremy Bailey was also due to fight this weekend which now looks unlikely.
‘Cage Rage’ contests are professional, fully licensed and insured tournaments. In less than a decade, no-holds-barred fighting has gone from a novelty spectacle to a worldwide sport. It has produced athletic superstars but it unfortunately sometimes finds itself in controversial situations, which are not welcomed by MMAP.
This weekend sees ‘Cage Rage’ make the move to Wembley Arena where MMAP will promote the largest cage fighting event that has ever been held in Europe. MMAP’s priorities are currently focussed on this event and ensuring that it will showcase the best British and International fighting talents. It is not MMAP’s business to comment on the private lives of two men who have happened to fight in ‘Cage Rage’ events.
MMAP will continue to put on the best mixed martial arts shows in Europe and to present MMA as the highly skilled sport it is, both for the fighters and most importantly, the fans.�
TUF 3 Finale The Most Watched UFC Event Ever
The live finale of Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter 3 drew 2.8 million viewers on Saturday, June 24 (9:00 PM - 12 Midnight) making it the most watched UFC event in history. The card was the highest rated Spike original telecast in the network’s history in Men 18-49 with a 2.85 rating.
The viewership peaked with 3.4 million and a 4.51 rating in Men 18-34 at 10:15 PM for the thrilling three-round, middleweight war between Kendall Grove and Ed Herman. The Spike TV finale easily outdrew NASCAR’s Dodge/ Save Mart 350 on FX which garnered 1.4 million viewers.
Overall, The Ultimate Fighter 3 finale tallied a 2.04 household rating, with a 2.85 in M18-49 (1,493,000 viewers), a 3.81 in M18-34 (1,000,000 viewers) and an average audience of 2.8 million viewers. Spike TV delivered more M18-49 and M18-34 in the time period than any other channel, broadcast or cable.
“You can’t get more action than the thrilling conclusion to another fantastic season of The Ultimate Fighter,” said Kevin Kay, General Manager, Spike TV.
“We have reached the point when guys across the country say — ‘Did you catch the fight last night?’ — and they are referring to a UFC fight,” said Dana White, UFC President.
In what is the frontrunner for the 2006 UFC fight of the year, Hawaii’s Kendall Grove scored a unanimous 29-28 decision over Portland, Oregon’s Ed “Short Fuse” Herman following three rounds of nonstop, breathtaking action in the Octagon. Grove secured the middleweight Ultimate Fighter crown and a six-figure contract with the UFC.
In the light heavyweight title bout, England’s Michael Bisping scored a second round victory against a determined Josh Haynes from Medford, Ore to also secure a six-figure contract.
In the main event, Kenny Florian scored a dominating first round victory over Canadian Sam Stout. The night’s first televised bout had Keith Jardine winning a three-round decision over Wilson Gouveia.
Spike TV, the first network for men, is available in 90 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc.
Couture Honored at TUF3 Finale
Four-time UFC Champion Randy “The Natural” Couture was officially given legendary status on Saturday night at The Ultimate Fighter 3 live finale in Las Vegas. The Natural joins fellow UFC legends Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, and Dan “The Beast” Severn in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Couture is currently the only fighter in UFC history to win both the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Titles. The former champ announced his plans to retire immediately after his loss to Chuck Liddell back at UFC 57 in February.
Couture is rumored to be one of the advisors (there are no coaches this season) of The Ultimate Fighter 4, which debuts Thursday, August 17th at 10pm (EST) on Spike TV following Ultimate Fight Night 5, which airs from 8pm to 10pm.
The Return of “Little Evil”
Former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens “Little Evil” Pulver has been signed to return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Pulver first won the Lightweight Title in a bout with Caol Uno back at UFC 30 (2/23/01). His last Octagon appearance was over four years ago when he successfully defended his title against B.J. Penn at UFC 35 (1/11/02).
Since leaving the UFC after his fight with Penn, “Little Evil” has posted a 9-4 record, making him 21-6-1 in his mma career.
The recent signing of Pulver goes to show how dedicated the organization is to making the UFC 155 lb weight class one of the most exciting divisions in all of mixed martial arts.
The Ultimate Fighter 1 - Episode Guide
Episode 1
* Light Heavyweight and Middleweight teams are chosen by coaches Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture
Episode 2
* Team Liddell wins the first Light Heavyweight Challenge.
* Jason Thacker is sent home by Randy Couture.
* Team Liddell wins the first Middleweight Challenge.
* Chris Sanford is sent home by Randy Couture.
Episode 3
* Alex Schoenauer wins the Light Heavyweight challenge. Bobby Southworth comes in last and will be forced to fight in the elimination bout.
* Bobby Southworth defeats Lodune Sincaid by knockout in the second round.
Episode 4
* Alex Schoenauer is traded to Team Couture as part of a team re-balance.
* Team Liddell wins the Middleweight challenge and the opportunity to schedule the next fight.
* Diego Sanchez defeats Alex Karalexis with a rear naked choke submission in the first round.
Episode 5
* There was no challenge or fight in this episode. The show featured Nate Quarry’s injury and the fight and pranks between Bobby Southworth, Josh Koscheck and Chris Leben.
Episode 6
* As fallout from the previous episode, there is no challenge and Dana White schedules the Middleweight fight between Chris Leben and Josh Koscheck.
* Josh Koscheck defeats Chris Leben by unanimous decision after two rounds.
Episode 7
* Josh Rafferty is traded to Team Couture in another team reshuffle.
* Team Couture wins the Light Heavyweight challenge.
* Stephan Bonnar defeats Bobby Southworth in a split decision after 2 rounds.
Episode 8
* Nate Quarry is eliminated from the show due to his ankle injury. Dana White asks Quarry to stay on as an assistant coach, and he agrees.
* Quarry gets to chose what fighter from the loser’s lounge gets to come back and he chooses Chris Leben.
* Team Couture wins the middleweight challenge.
* Diego Sanchez defeats Josh Rafferty in the first round.
Episode 9
* Forrest Griffin defeats Alex Schoenauer by tap out due to strikes on the ground in the first round.
Episode 10
* In the first middleweight semifinal match, Kenny Florian defeats Chris Leben after doctor stoppage due to opening up a cut above Chris’ eye.
Episode 11
* In the second middleweight semifinal match, Diego Sanchez wins a split decision over Josh Koscheck after three rounds.
Episode 12
* Forrest Griffin defeats Sam Hoger.
* Stephan Bonnar defeats Mike Swick.
Finale
* Undercard
o Alex Karalexis defeats Josh Raffety by TKO.
o Mike Swick defeats Alex Schoenauer by KO.
o Nathan Quarry defeats Lodune Sincaid by TKO.
o Josh Koscheck defeats Chris Sanford by KO.
o Chris Leben defeats Jason Thacker by TKO.
o Sam Hoger defeats Bobby Southworth by unanimous decision.
* Main card
o Middleweight Final - Diego Sanchez defeats Kenny Florian by TKO at 2:49 of the first round, winning the TUF championship in the Middleweight division.
o Light Heavyweight Final - Forrest Griffin defeats Stephan Bonnar by a very close but unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), in what is described as one of the best fights in the history of the UFC. He wins the TUF championship in the Light Heavyweight division, but Dana White grants Bonnar a UFC contract as well after his performance (Main article: Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar).
o Main Event - Rich Franklin defeats Ken Shamrock by TKO at 2:42 of the first round. After the fight, Franklin stated his intentions to move to the Middleweight division; he went on to win the Middleweight championship at UFC 53.
Grove, Bisping, AND Herman Earn UFC Contracts; Florian Routs Stout
LAS VEGAS, June 24 – Despite the fact that there are only supposed to be two UFC contracts up for grabs in the finale of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ series, which was held tonight at the Hard Rock Hotel, when you put on an epic battle like the one waged by middleweights Kendall Grove and Ed Herman, to paraphrase baseball great Ernie Banks, “Let’s pay two.�
But despite the largesse of the UFC braintrust of Dana White and Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta in awarding six figure contracts to both combatants, as well as light heavyweight Michael Bisping, there was a victor in what is the frontrunner for 2006 fight of the year, and it was Hawaii’s Grove, who eked out a 29-28 decision on all three judges’ scorecards, and truly, there are few adjectives to adequately describe the ebb and flow of the 15 minute vignette that truly showed what mixed martial arts is all about.
“This is heart,� said Grove, pointing to his chest, “and I’ve got the biggest one.�
“It was a close fight,� said a gracious but disappointed Herman. “It could have gone either way.�
It didn’t look that way early on, as Herman quickly and easily nullified the size of the 6-6 Grove by dropping him to the mat and opening up with both hands. Grove looked to secure an arm, but Herman used knees effectively to escape any trouble. With less than a minute and a half left in the round, Grove finally made it back to his feet, only to be dropped again by round’s end.
Already down a round, Grove, whose left eye sported a mouse, needed to make something happen, but it didn’t look good when Herman again secured the takedown. This time though, Grove locked Herman’s arm and then looked to land a triangle seconds later. With the pro-Grove crowd roaring, Grove tightened the lock but Herman escaped, drawing an even bigger cheer from the ‘Short Fuse’ section of fans.
This is how it went for the rest of the round – Grove gets the upper hand, then Herman rebounds and puts Grove in trouble. By the end of the round, Herman got his own triangle on Grove and it looked like the end was near, but “Da Spyder� escaped somehow, and now the fight was up for grabs in round three.
And both fighters fought like a six figure contract was on the line in the final stanza, and again, it was a back and forth battle of submissions and near misses, with each fighter showing the heart that will make them welcome in the Octagon anytime. The big scores of the round were Grove’s triangles and a last second rear naked choke, and Herman’s own sub work on his foe’s arm. By the time the final bell rang though, no one knew who had won, with strong arguments to be made for each fighter.
And though Grove had his hand raised tonight, Herman has just as much reason to keep his head high.
The other two finalists, light heavyweights Michael Bisping and Josh Haynes, had a tough act to follow in their bout, but there was still enough compelling action to keep fight fans happy and also earn the pride of Liverpool a UFC contract.
As expected, Haynes started swinging for the cheap seats, but Bisping stayed cool under fire, and a minute and a half in, a heavy knee to the head dropped Haynes hard. Bisping hesitated, and as Haynes went to rise, ‘The Count’ finally moved in and wound up losing a point for kneeing his still downed opponent.
Bisping wound up winning the first frame, but with the deduction, the fight was now even at 9-9.
Looking to get back on track, Bisping truly went to work in the second round, opening with a flying knee and working on a myriad of submissions, but Haynes just wouldn’t go away, again showing the heart of a lion as he tried to stay in the fight with his better skilled foe. Finally, in the final minute of the round, Bisping was able to jar Haynes, and he began letting loose with an array of strikes. Hayes eventually fell under the assault, and the bout was halted by referee John McCarthy at 4:14 of the round.
In the main event of the night, Kenny Florian, a season one TUF finalist who lost to Diego Sanchez in their bout last April, showed how far he has come in a little over a year, dismantling highly touted prospect Sam Stout in just one minute and 46 seconds of the first round.
Almost immediately, Florian got the takedown, surprising those who thought Stout would be able to hold him off and work his stand-up game, and from there, the fight was basically over, as ‘KenFlo’ worked his magic on the mat, got full mount, and then sunk in a rear naked choke as Stout gave up his back.
“I want to fight the best at 155,� said Florian. “I’ve been ready for this for a while.�
In a grueling light heavyweight bout, Keith Jardine rebounded from a horrific first round which saw him bloodied and bruised to win a unanimous three round decision over UFC debutant Wilson Gouveia.
Much faster than Jardine, Gouveia routed his foe in the first round with brutal leg kicks and quick 1-2s. But just when the end seemed to be near, ‘The Dean of Mean’ roared back, finally timing Gouveia and working in his own kicks and punches as the fight progressed. By the third round, Jardine was a bloody mess, but he was also in control of the bout, and the 29-28 scores across the board reflected the closeness of the bout as well as the rightful victor – Jardine.
TUF3 middleweights Rory Singer and Ross Pointon ended the preliminary action with a flourish, putting on a frantic 44 second brawl that saw Singer absorb Pointon’s thunder and rebound to score a first round submission win over ‘The Gladiator’.
As expected, Singer blazed out of his corner throwing power shots. With the crowd roaring, Singer absorbed a big right and fell to the canvas. The end seemed to be near, but Singer avoided any follow-up finishers and within seconds had locked in a finisher of his own – a triangle choke that forced Pointon to tap out and end perhaps the best one round fight you’ll see this year.
In perhaps the least surprising result of the night, Kalib Starnes took Danny Abbadi down to the mat and controlled the action of the meeting between TUF3 middleweight alums until the end came via rear naked choke at 2:56 of the first stanza.
Late replacement Luigi Fioravanti survived some rocky moments in the early going against TUF3’s Solomon Hutcherson in their middleweight preliminary bout, but using his veteran guile, he kept his cool, fought his way back into a positive position on the ground, and once the fight resumed on the feet, he lulled Hutcherson into a picture perfect left hook that ended the bout immediately at 4:15 of round one.
“This was a last minute thing, but I knew I had what it takes,� said Fioravanti, who lost a decision to middleweight contender Chris Leben in his UFC debut in April.
TUF3’s Matt Hamill, who became the sentimental favorite of the show due to his wrestling as well as his determination to not let being deaf hold him back from a pro fighting career, made his big show debut a successful one as stopped fellow cast member Jesse Forbes at 4:47 of the opening round.
After a brief trading session with Forbes, Hamill took him to the mat in order to work his ground and pound game. After a standup by referee Yves Lavigne, Hamill again went for the kill, putting Forbes on his back a second time. This time, Forbes was winded and had no answers for Hamill’s attack, and a series of unanswered strikes brought in Lavigne for the stoppage.
“On the show, I wasn’t so good,� said Hamill, “but I wanted to show people that ‘The Hammer’ was back.�
In the opener, Denver ’s Mike Nickels showed marked improvement over his stint on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ as he submitted highly touted Wes Combs in the first round of their light heavyweight bout.
Combs came out throwing bombs, rocking Nickels on a couple of occasions, but the Denver resident kept his cool and fired back with knees in the clinch. With little under than four minutes left, Nickels got Combs on the mat and took his back. After a series of strikes softened Combs up, Nickels sunk in a rear naked choke that produced a tap out at 3:10 of the round.
“This fight was about one thing – redemption for me and my camp,� said Nickels, who lost a hard-fought decision to Matt Hamill in the TUF3 semifinals. “I’m here to stay.�
