In light of reports earlier this week that Doug Evans would face Jorge Gurgel at UFC 77 in October comes word from MMAWeekly.com that Evans will be unable to accept the matchup due to injury.
You can read the report, which cites Evans’ manager as the source, by clicking here.
Lots of news to cover this morning and little time. I think it makes sense for another edition of the “MMA Notebook”:
* UFCjunkie.com has broken news about a lot of new UFC fights in recent days. It looks like Jeremy Stephens has preserved his job in the UFC and will be taking on Nate Mohr at UFC 76 on September 22 in Anaheim, Calif.
* Junkie is also reporting that Jorge Gurgel is likely to be facing Doug Evans at UFC 77 in Cincinnati this coming October. Many of Gurgel’s schools are based in the Ohio area, so it will be a home game for him of sorts. All those rumors about him fighting Frankie Edgar are obviously false. They didn’t make sense to begin with. Why would you force one of those guys to not be able to fight in front of a home crowd? It’s not like the UFC has a shortage of lightweight fighters to match up with them.
* Tito Ortiz is back from Iraq and recently did an interview with UFCMania.com. Apparently Tito has been successful thus far in bypassing the chain of command in the UFC and is talking directly to Lorenzo Fertitta about business matters:
“I’m dealing with Lorenzo Fertitta now and he’s awesome to deal with, a great businessman, not like that loser they have as President. What a horrible guy. He’s gonna send the company down the drain because sooner or later the fighters are gonna realize they don’t have to be bullied anymore. They should just get rid of Dana.”
The fact that Tito and Dana White won’t be going to war against each other during contract renegotiations greatly improves the chances of Ortiz re-signing with the UFC. The fact that the UFC is willing to accommodate him in this matter shows they want him back… or, at least not fighting for the competition.
* MMAWeekly.com has confirmed that Fabricio Werdum has officially joined the Chute Boxe camp in Curitiba, Brazil.
* In an interview with MMAWeekly.com, Greg Jackson has confirmed that Diego Sanchez has left his camp and is moving to California. According to the interview, Sanchez is moving further West to reconnect with his son. Sanchez will be working with Rob Garcia in California as he preps for his next fight at UFC 76 against Jon Fitch.
* The archive of my debate with Jordan Breen on his show yesterday is now available on Sherdog.com. The topic was the “Ten Biggest Underachievers in MMA” article that appeared on CBS Sportsline a few weeks back. Some people thought Jordan won and some people thought I won. Listen for yourself and decide.
* If you want to hear more of me on the radio, check out the debut edition of Inside the Cage Radio. Co-host Matt Cava and I interview IFL co-founded and commissioner Kurt Otto and BodogFIGHT analyst Paul Lazenby. Matt and I also discuss the best MMA-related TV show; Sherk and Franca; Liddell vs. Jardine and whether it’s a legit matchup; and much more! We’re cutting our second show tomorrow and Kurt Pellegrino is slated to join us. We’ll be talking about a number of things with him, including his upcoming match in a few weeks at UFC 74 against Joe Stevenson.
After a strong show last night from Strikeforce and EliteXC, I’m in the mood for more MMA and am looking forward to tonight’s live season finale of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET.
I believe four matches are scheduled to be televised but I only have time to give my thoughts on the main three.
B.J. Penn vs. Jens Pulver – I will be rooting for Pulver all the way in this one but if I have to make a pick, it has to be Penn. Pulver has a ton of heart but the 155 lbs. division has change in recent years. It’s like a refuge for new welterweights in the UFC who don’t want to be buried in an already overcrowded division. So those who could make the cut, have done it. Pulver was a small lightweight to begin with but the size difference isn’t even more pronounced. As for Penn, you never know which version you’re going to see but whether he’s in shape or not, his technique is flawless. Pound-for-pound there aren’t many better pure fighters than him in the world. After tough losses to Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes, the drop in weight for a temporary period made sense. However, Penn really doesn’t want to fight lightweight and there’s always a chance he moves back to 170 pounds right after this fight (there’s enough depth in the lightweight division now that Penn isn’t necessarily needed). The only reason why he’s making this drop is to get another shot at Pulver stemming from their controversial match five years ago. Once this fight is over, will Penn really want to keep making the cut? Perhaps he’ll be in line for a lightweight title shot, but how important is the lightweight title if he doesn’t plan to defend it? Why let a guy fight for a title in a weight class when he doesn’t intend to stick around. It kind of makes the title look unimportant. As for Pulver, I’m a huge fan of his and am really happy to know he’s open to the idea of fighting in the WEC at 145 lbs. He’s a true featherweight. After losing to Joe Lauzon last year, I was kind of worried as to what Pulver’s long-term future would be like but thanks to the WEC, there’s a long-term plan for him with Zuffa. While I strongly believe Penn is going to win, Pulver isn’t going to go out like a punk and this should be an entertaining match while it lasts.
Roger Huerta vs. Doug Evans – Evans is undefeated and a very credible fighter but he’s been brought in to lose to the UFC’s next lightweight cover boy in Huerta. I expect a quick and decisive victory for him.
Nate Diaz vs. Manny Gamburyan – Most people are picking Diaz but I’m going with Manny. The guy is one tough dude and a tough matchup because of his fighting style. He just runs in and body locks his opponent in an effort to prevent them from executing their game plan. Diaz is a very talented fighter but he showed some holes vs. Corey Hill and if Gamburyan gets a hold of him, how much of his offense will he be able to utilize? This might not be the most exciting fight in the world because of Gamburyan’s style, but I’m still interested in it because I am not really sure how it’s going to go and I want to see how things play out.
The Wolfpack MMA fight team has said via its official MySpace page that team member Doug Evans will fight Roger Huerta at the live season finale of The Ultimate Fighter 5 on June 23. Neither Huerta or the UFC have commented on this matter.
