Cage Gossip: MMA Rumors for UFC, Strikeforce & Bellator Rumors
Your weekly source for MMA news & rumors about Frank Mir, Joe Warren, Fedor Emelianenko & more!
5. UFC 114 Estimated at 925,000 PPV Buys
According to Dave Meltzer’s weekly newsletter, the early estimates for UFC 114 PPV buys are clocking in at 925,000, putting it as the 4 th highest PPV in UFC history. To put this into perspective, UFC 100 did 1.6 million, UFC 66 featuring Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 did 1.05 million, and UFC 92 featuring Evans vs. Griffin (Mir vs. Nogueira, Jackson vs. Silva) did around 1 million. UFC 91 (Lesnar vs. Couture) and UFC 94 (BJ Penn vs. George St. Pierre) both did roughly 900,000 to 920,000 buys.
This is great news for the UFC, who many thought lost steam this fall with weak cards and low-buy rates following an epic UFC 100. Such a high buy rate for a card that didn’t feature a title fight nor an undercard with marquee names, speaks volumes about the impact of the Ultimate Fighter on promoting a fight, and the stardom of Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans.
4. Joe Warren to Fight at 135 Pounds After Bellator Tournament
Joe Warren told MMAJunkie.com Radio this past week that he plans to drop down to the bantamweight division, 135 pounds, following the completion of Season 2’s Bellator Featherweight Tournament. Warren, who has advanced to the finals of the tournament after defeating his first two opponents, says of the 145-pound division, "These guys are just way bigger. It's been harder for me to take people to the mat and control more. They pop their hips into submission attempts and throw big punches in there."
Warren is scheduled to fight Patricio "Pitbull" Freire at Bellator 23 on June 24 to crown the Season 2 Featherweight Tournament Winner and to earn a shot at Bellator’s Featherweight Champion Joe Soto. But if he losses on the 24th, will be the last time we see Warren at featherweight. "After this tournament is done, hopefully I never fight this weight class again," Warren said. "I'll drop down to [bantamweight]. It's just a more comfortable weight for me.”
Warren is a terrific wrestler with a bright future in MMA. Already a beast at 145-pounds, one can only imagine just how good Warren will be at the lighter weight of 135.
3. Strikeforce to Hold Middleweight Tournament in August to Crown New Champ
If current Strikeforce champion Jake Shields leaves the organization for the stardom of the UFC, Scott Coker and company might not need to worry about building up a new champion, an 8-man middleweight tournament will do it for them.
Coker told MMAJunkie.com that if they can’t come to terms with current champion Jake Shields, “Strikeforce has a bunch of great middleweights, and we'll go into the tournament business. We're still fleshing out the details, but we're leaning toward that."
The tournament will feature 8 middleweights currently under contract with Strikeforce, including fighters such as Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Robbie Lawler, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, and Melvin Manhoef. The tournament is tentatively scheduled to begin August 21 at an event in Houston, and carry on into the fall of 2010, eventually crowning a champion in December.
I’m a huge fan of tournaments, and believe there is no easier way to build a star in a division lacking one than by holding a tournament. Many of the big stars who came out of PRIDE made their names by fighting and winning in Grand Prix, and just last year DREAM showed the power of a tournament to make stars when the largely unknown Marius Zaromskis head-kicked his way to the hearts and imaginations of MMA fans across the world.
2. Frank Mir to Fight at Light Heavyweight
In an interview this past week with MMAFigs.com, Frank Mir said:
“Right now I have a couple months off, so I've actually been toying with the idea of maybe going down a weight class. Since I don't have a fight for a couple months, I've just been watching what I eat and see how my body does without trying to put size on; what my natural weight will fall to now since I have lifted a lot lately to add size. I'm kind of curious where I think I would fall at. Because some of the guys I train with that are light heavyweight, bone structures are the same. Sometimes I stand next to Forrest and I think I'm in the wrong weight class."
After another humiliating loss to a giant heavyweight, Mir is rethinking his place in the MMA landscape. Since I don’t see the UFC adding a Super Heavyweight division to their weight classes anytime soon, fighting at 205 may be Frank’s best chance at recapturing a title. That is, if Frank can cut down to 205. Prior to bulking up for the Carwin fight, Mir walked around at 235-240 pounds. Rampage prior to his fight with Rashad was walking around at 251 pounds. So it’s certainly not a stretch for Frank to cut down to 205 and be in good shape, the only question is whether Frank will be able to hang with the dangerous strikers that make 205 their home, especially with the rumors that Anderson Silva will be joining the ranks of light heavyweight before 2010 is up.
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1. Fedor to Retire After Two More Fights
A “press release” sent out by M-1 Global this past week stated that Fedor will be running for a congressional seat in Russia for the pro-Kremlin party 'United Russia.’
According to MiddleEasy.com, if Fedor is to win the congressional seat, he will retire from MMA following the completion of his Strikeforce contract. His Strikeforce contract currently has only two fights left on it, including his June 26 showdown with top ten heavyweight Fabricio Werdum.
If this rumor turns out to be true, we may never get to see Fedor in the UFC, nor the dream match between Fedor and Lesnar. It’s disappointing news for fight fans, but “The Last Emperor” will be turning 34 this year, and with the heavyweights getting bigger and better with each passing month, there may be no better time than now for the Russian heavyweight to retire from the fight game.
If Fedor only has two fights left in his career, it’s possible that Fedor’s last fight in MMA could come against Alistair Overeem for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship. While Overeem has shown weaknesses throughout his career, he is easily the toughest opponent Fedor will face since he fought Mirko “Cro Cop” five years ago. If Fedor is to lose, his retirement won’t seem so unusual, and with the “death” of his fight career, Overeem will immediately become the highest-sought fighter not in the UFC.
That’s it for this week’s edition of Cage Gossip, be sure to check back next Tuesday for the latest rumors in MMA universe!
By Jeffrey Concerto
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer