brashleyholland

Nothing to do with Strikeforce. It was as near to a perfect stoppage as I've seen. A chance to what? To get hurt? If we knew who would've won...then why? And? Should we risk someone's health because they flew a few miles more than the other person? If I live 10 mins from the arena and my opponent lives 20, should the ref stop fights quicker for me than him? Look at how many boxing matches get stopped while both fighters are standing vs one fighter standing over a floored opponent. A ref is perfectly entitled to stop an MMA contest while both fighters are standing if he thinks one fighter is done. To me, standing up means nothing, it's instinct/pride. Same here. I knew Mousasi a little back in the day (he lived near me in Holland). So much potential there, but he's not looked at all great in Strikeforce, the Babalu fight being the exception.

On contracts... Generally speaking, most guys get a three fight deal. When you see fighters getting a four fight deal, its usually because they have taken a short notice fight. What this means is that they'll have the short notice bout, then win or lose they'll get the regular three fight deal as kind of a 'thank you' for stepping up. Established guys like Mike Bisping usually get six fights. Most of the above is meaningless though, as the UFC has clauses that allow them to cut fighters for a multitude of reasons at any time they choose anyway.

http://s3-ak.buzzfed.com/static/imagebuzz/web03/2010/9/20/21/yep-13160-1285032010-2.jpg

Beats the 'Tim Sylvia's Greatest MMA Moments' DVD I got last year.

Sorry folks, it's been confirmed to me by numerous sources. Brett Rogers couldn't get a visa for Japan due to his criminal record, so his DREAM fight with Tim Sylvia has been scrapped. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

Well my Christmas has just been ruined. The biggest heavyweight fight of the year is officially off.

It's Christmas dude, ESPN are just in a giving mood! But yeah, their deal runs out in August of 2012...I want to say the 12th or the 24th...We'll probably see similar gluts of programming as that date gets closer.

It's not always as simple of being 'full of it' though. He can't announce something like TUF coaches without both fighter's signatures, and approval from the TV people, who have the final say about what goes on their network. That's just politics/business. For example, the Brazilian TV people wanted Paulo Thiago to coach opposite Belfort, because of his links to B.O.P.E., the anti-drug/organised crime squad. Another interesting fact - Belfort is in the show because he's famous in Brazil. Not for being a fighter, but because his wife is a supermodel. That's right folks, Belfort is the Brazilian Alex Reid. I disagree, infact, I think it's a great idea. Having a 'feeder' league makes a clear distinction between who is and isn't good enough to fight in the UFC. To the casual viewer who isn't familiar with individual fighters, there's no difference between Phil Davis, who they see on PPV while out with their buddies at Hooters, and Ramsey Nijem, who they see on a Spike TV fight night. They see 'UFC' on the canvas, and its a UFC. By having a separate league to give young guys a shot, or established fighters who have run into hard time a chance for redemption, you're establishing two clear tiers and telling fans "If you want to see the best of the best, buy a more expensive UFC ticket/PPV" This is going to be a moot point anyway, as it appears that this is exactly what the UFC are doing. Mousasi? Larkin? No Noons? Not complicated at all. Contracts aren't 'transferred', everyone who fights in the UFC signs a new contract, regardless if they were exclusive to SF or not. Overeem wasn't exclusive to Strikeforce, for example.

At the mo they could maybe throw Melendez straight into a fight with Edgar as a main event, but beyond that...I dunno. Maybe Barnett if he wins the GP? King Mo vs Rampage could headline a Fox show or something I guess. I am I the only person that still wants to see Barnett vs Mir?

To be fair, even at this late stage in his career, I'd expect anyone with even the vaguest knowledge of Fedor to be massively surprised if Ishii beats him.

Uncle Dana says: "No more fighters are coming over from Strikeforce." Uncle Dana means: "No more fighters are coming over from Strikeforce, except all the ones we want to bring over from Strikeforce." Roy Nelson vs Fabricio Werdum next year folks.

Nope, I'm still here!

The 300-mile trip wasn't mentioned on the call as far as I can remember. I know he lives in the arse end of nowhere, but for me the fact that he felt the need to travel 300 miles to a hospital (if he did do that, I've not seen anything anywhere that says he did, but I've not really looked) raises questions in itself. Why not just go to the nearest clinic? There's no such thing as a 'qualified' hospital - All you need is a medical professional of the same gender to watch you pee in a cup, then seal and store it properly for transport to a testing facility. Which is how it's done in the country he was in. In Holland, if you earn over a certain amount, you HAVE to go private. Health insurance wont pay for anything unless you have all the correct paperwork, including your original referral from your GP. Most people have their GP do any procedure they can, as it save on additional expenses/insurance claims...which is exactly what Alistair said on the call. I'm not saying he did or didn't do anything. I just find it strange that the dude who has had numerous 'mystery illnesses' and was caught with a bunch of growth hormone in his car gets a pass, while the guy who went home to look after his sick mother is guilty until proven innocent. Especially when he took and passed the test (admittedly the wrong - but better - one) less than 48 hrs after Brock. That and I like playing Devil's Advocate :-p

They were actually a lot tougher on Jardine, and massively patronising to boot. Like I said before, they have a long history of being very forgiving with the motions they pass, for example halving drug suspension when literally no evidence whatsoever is presented. I can't say I was at all surprised that a conditional licence was granted, given the testimony that was given.

The plan is for them to fight. Even if Belfort gets knocked out by Rumble next month, he'll have 6 months for the suspension to pass.

He was not told by his assistant that he needed a urine test. His assistant was told to get him drug tested by the commission (This was confirmed by the commissioner on the call). In Holland, when you ask for a drug test you get a blood test, because they are better for detecting performance enhancers. He passed it. His assistant was told about the need for a test on Thursday 17th of Nov, less than an hour before Reem arrived at the airport. Reem was told on the 20th (Sunday). The next business day (Monday) the assistant got back to the commission. The commission had said they expected a response within two days. In Holland (where I have lived and worked for 8 years), Saturday and Sunday don't count. (Neither does Monday morning or Friday afternoon, but that's another story. Brock did not go to the 'qualified' testing facility that the commission requested. He went to a hospital. How do you know he made a 'lengthy' journey anywhere? The reason he went to the hospital was that he didn't want to make a 'lengthy' journey to the place he was told to go by the commission. How do you know that Brock's test wasn't administered by his personal doctor at a private hospital? He clearly has enough, or his application would not have been granted. And yes, the overriding theme was that his assistant, who was also sworn in under oath, admitted that he had never dealt with.. A) An athletic commission B) Other mixed martial artists C) Any kind of drug testing whatsoever ...the guy is a funds manager, so yeah, pretty incompetent when it come to dealing with AC's and athletes if you ask me. But that's not Overeem's fault, he can hire an idiot/inexperienced person if he wants to. The fact is, the commission requires a fighter to provide them with personal contact details for situations such as this - they should never have dealt with this guy in the first place. If Reem had got that call directly on the 17th, who's to say he wouldn't have stayed an extra few hours/a day to get the tests done? Even if he was using, he passed a blood test a few days later, so he'd have been fine on a urinalysis.

True that, true that. Just to play Devil's Advocate though - He was sworn in under oath before he was asked the question about the ticket. That was done on purpose, and he will be required to provide proof of his statement if it at any point falls under doubt. Lying under oath I would assume carries a harsher penalty than a six month suspension of his fighting licence. What this all comes down to though is plausible deniability, which he has in spades. Trust me, through most of that call (especially when they were first questioning him) it looked REALLY bad. He seemed to be digging himself quite the hole. But at the end of the day, his story kinda made sense, which apparently is good enough for the NSAC! :-p The commission is known for being particularly lenient - they've slashed suspensions and fines for literally no reason whatsoever in the past.

The most important fact for me is this: He booked that ticket two days before the commission asked for testing. That in itself pretty much proves that he did not leave the US to avoid that test - his trip was already planned and booked. Also, they figured out that there was about an hour between his assistant receiving the call and him actually arriving at the airport. Now, I don't know how far his place is from the airport, but we could potentially be talking a window of minutes for his assistant to inform him. It seems massively, massively unlikely that Reem skipped town. It's not odd to me that he gave them a blood test. From what his assistant said under oath, he had no clue about anything to do with testing anyway. It's the commission's responsibility to deal with a fighter, not any old unqualified person they've chosen to hire to answer their phone. This guy asked for a drug test, and in Holland, a blood test is what's done. If the guy is unqualified as he say he is, then I'm not in the least bit surprised that there was a miscommunication. But that's the commission's fault.

Did you not read my post on the last page? Reem does have to test in the US, when he gets back. He also has to test in the next 72 hrs in an approved location in the EU AND two random tests after the fight. That's the most any combat sports athlete in the world has EVER been tested for one fight. He's also provided clean blood tests, which are better than the urinalysis he's being asked to provide now. So how is that in any way lenient?

Why?

I'm updating my post on page 296 just incase ppl are only checking the last post.

NSAC discussing Vlad Matyushenko's applications now. Licence approved. Keith Jardine's licence up next. Jardine being asked about his suspension in Texas. Both these guys only up for review because they are over 35. Standard procedure. Jardine got grilled about shoving an official to a ridiculous extent. Also about fighting with a migraine. Ultimately his licence was granted. Some 44 year old female fighter being reviewed now. Reem should be up next. Reem being discussed now. Kizer issued out of comp testing for Reem on Nov 17th. Something happened to prevent that. Reem did not take the test as requested on the 17th. Lesnar took the test and passed. Nothing heard from Reem camp for 4 days. Reem went to Holland that weekend. Reem did a blood test a week late, passed but this was the wrong test. This test was arranged by Reem's doctor. Reem passed these tests. Overeem went in for urine test on Wed Dec 7th. Results expected this week. Overeem being forced to take an oath now. Will then be questioned. Overeem says his mother's situation, testinging in Holland being different to US. Reems firsts test were taken by his physician. Second barrage of tests were done at a facility in Germany. Overeem is talking now...being questioned about his flight, re: if he took a flight before or after he knew a random sample had been requested. Said he didn't know when he took the fight. Reem: "I did not make efforts to avoid testing" Overeem says he bought his ticket for Holland on the 15th, left Vegas on the 17th. This is VERY important. Deliberations starting now. Commission saying Reem's people not appreciating urgency RE: random testing. Looks like he'll be licenced pending samples he's waiting on being clean, plus 2 random samples over the next 6 months. The motion is open to approve a conditional licence The motion was NOT seconded, further deliberation happening now Commissioner Brady suggesting Reems comes back to US and gets tested. Says not comfortable issuing exemptions. What a roller coaster. The commission now wants Reem to produce another test - rather than the one he gave on December 7th. On his own dime... He's in EU until Christmas Eve...so he might be sent to the UK for a test. This motion could go to the floor soon... Motion passed, Overeem is licensed conditionally. Conditions are: Test in 72 hrs, test when he lands in the US, 2 tests over next six months.

Just to clarify, Frank Mir has *NOT* been asked to be ready....Malki Kawa (his manager called the UFC and told them that Mir *WOULD* be ready to step in. I'm on the conference call of the commission hearing now. Will update as I can.

Mike Dolce has come up with a special variation of the Dolce diet involving some morphine and a chainsaw. Florian will be making a 'test cut' to 125 in no time!

Most fighters aren't tested at all. Some commissions have started to do 'out of competition' testing. There was a rumour going around that Lesnar had to do an OOC test last month...if that's the case then it would be 'normal' for his opponent to be tested also. When applying for a licence, you do have to present recent medicals. How recent depends on the commission but I believe it is 28 days in Nevada (which makes them useless anyway). Overeem hasn't fought in Nevada for years - this could very well be a case of "Here's your licence, now who's for horse meat sandwiches?"