Thanks
Hey, just want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks
my thanksgiving was a while ago but happy thanksgiving to those who celebrate now
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC), a highly touted light heavyweight who joined the UFC last year, has been dropped from the organization following a recent loss to Luis Cane.
The PRIDE veteran and Team Quest fighter went 1-2 in the UFC.
News of his release comes from a variety of reports, including one from fiveouncesofpain.com.
Following high-profile victories over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona in the Japanese-based PRIDE in 2007 -- victories that earned Sokoudjou a top-10 ranking in some major polls -- the 24-year-old Cameroonian fighter signed with the UFC.
He made his octagon debut at UFC 79 and suffered a second-round submission loss to Loyoto Machida. He rebounded for a first-round TKO of Kazuhiro Nakamura at UFC 84 before he was tagged with a TKO loss to Cane at UFC 89.
He appeared an unlikely candidate to be dropped from the UFC so quickly, but his sizable contract likely played a factor. At UFC 79 and UFC 84 -- the two events in which fight purses were disclosed -- Sokoudjou's contract called for $40,000 to show and an additional $40,000 as win bonuses.
Less than two weeks after earning a $60,000 bonus check for his "Fight of the Night" performance at UFC 91 -- his second such award -- lightweight Jorge Gurgel (12-5) has also received his walking papers.
Released from the organization, Gurgel has already landed with the California-based Strikeforce promotion. And while excited about his new deal, Gurgel told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) he is still disappointed with being cut from the UFC.
"It's not a happy moment," Gurgel said. "It's very humiliating, and it's a crushing of my childhood dream."
"The Ultimate Fighter 2" veteran said fighting for the UFC has long been his sole focus.
"I never [fought] for the money," Gurgel said. "If you read any of my interviews, I only did it because my childhood dream -- when I was in Brazil and 15 years old -- was to come here to fight in the UFC. I wanted to have my own school and fight in the UFC. I got there, and now I'm out of the UFC.
"One day I'll be back again. I can not be happy -- truly, truly, thoroughly happy -- about what happened. But I am excited about new opportunities and new chances and new doors that are going to open, and for me to show my skills."
Gurgel has been criticized throughout his seven-fight run in the UFC for displaying the wrong set of skills. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, the 31-year-old has generally elected to slug it out on his feet.
Gurgel said he will adjust his strategy in future Strikeforce bouts.
"I'm so sick of people asking why I don't do jiu-jitsu," Gurgel said. "So I'm going to start doing it so people can shut up. 'Why don't you do jiu-jitsu?' Come on, man.
"(UFC announcer) Joe Rogan, everybody asks me. 'Why don't you do jiu-jitsu? You'd be in the top of the guys in the weight class if you would do jiu-jitsu.' But I always get caught up in not being boring."
While looking to change his style moving forward, Gurgel said he has no regrets regarding his past strategy.
"I live with no regrets," Gurgel said. "I fight the fight the way I want to fight because it's my job. And if you're not having any fun doing your job, you should do a different job so that you have fun.
"I have so much fun striking, and I love it so much. And the high that I get that I look for when I train is to be in the octagon in heated exchanges. And we're just going crazy punching each other, moving from a head kick or something. And the crowd goes from watching the fight to, 'Wow.' That's what I feed on."
Gurgel said it is his passion for toe-to-toe wars that has left him on the short end of three decisions during his UFC tenure.
"After the three rounds are over, I go, 'Oh, [expletive], maybe I was having too much fun and I didn't worry too much about winning decisively,'" Gurgel said. "Then I lose and I think, 'Oh my God. I can not believe this.'
"I don't even think about maybe losing until the end of it. That's something that I have to fix. I always think that I'm winning and not that I'm not doing good. Because I'm having so much fun, I don't think too much about it. I just get on auto-pilot, and I get out and go to war. And that's cost me in the past.
"But I have no regret not using the jiu-jitsu. I have the arsenal. I put 16 years of my life into jiu-jitsu. I know what I can do. And I'm going to use it now."
To those that have supported him through his roller-coaster ride in the UFC, a humble Gurgel promises to return to the UFC as a le contender.
"I don't know why I have such a humongous fan base," Gurgel said. "It's definitely not based on performance because my performances have been poor in my own standards. But I think they see how I fight with so much heart, and I fight for them. I fight for my fans and mostly my students, because I want to make them proud.
"Everybody that's believed in me and supported me for all these years, I want to say thank you. And I'm only getting started. I'm going to go to Strikeforce, and I'm going to win that belt. Then I'm going to come back to the UFC as a contender and not a gatekeeper."
Boy, this really put a damper on dallaskds' day.
I thought Soku would get one more crack at it in the UFC but he looked so bad in his last fight combined with the UFC trimming the fat in this economy, i guess i shouldn't be surprised he's gone.. Took them a while to make up their mind.
Sucks for him. Didnt he say his mother was coming in in December. Now hes jobless.
Yep, she didn't even know he was a fighter, now he's canned by the UFC
Hopefully Strikeforce picks him up soon or something.
It actually may be for the better. He can rack up 5 or so wins in Japan or Strikeforce and I'm sure he will be back. He's so young.
True, he does have youth on his side.
Great news...Cain Velasquez said he has no intention of fighting in any promotion other than UFC!
OK I found the Arlovski pic I was telling you guys about about a month ago PM me your email address so I can send it to you. Im not going to host it or put it up here, its too embarassing hahaha.
Tim Sylvia vs. Ken Shamrock? Believe it.
Got this from bloodyelbow. Left the poster's commentary in since it echoes my own thoughts anyway:
“I was supposed to fight Ken Shamrock December 20, but it’s been postponed to February now,” said Sylvia. “He’s a free agent. I was supposed to fight him in a small show called XP3 Promotions. I believe in Texas, but it’s postponed to February now.”
Cox echoed Sylvia’s position that a bout with the 44-year-old Shamrock was in the works.
However, Melissa Ingram, director of media relations for Ken Shamrock Entertainment Inc., was hesitant to describe the fight as being in “preliminary negotiations.”
Shamrock’s manager Ron Donohoo told Sherdog.com on Monday that the bout was not under consideration.
“Our organization was approached some time ago about the prospect of Ken fighting Sylvia, but it was rejected,” Donohoo wrote in an email.
Donohoo did not disclose the reason the fight was declined. XP3 Promotions, which has a Feb. 7 event scheduled at the Reliant Arena in Houston according to its Web site, was not immediately available for comment.
Despite the opposing sides, Sylvia expects to see much action in the coming months, including a fight with Shamrock.
“I love to fight and a fight’s a fight,” said Sylvia. “He’s a Hall of Famer. He’s a legend. To progress your career you always have to fight somebody like that.
“I don’t know if he’s a stepping stone or anything, but he’s been on some of the same cards I’ve been on and he’s been highlighted over me, so I want to let people that I am better than this guy and there’s no reason he should have been highlighted over me.”
Let me be unequivocally clear: any athletic commission that approves this fight should be hung by their heels with piano wire in the nearest town square and spat upon by citizens strolling by. Then fired. Then banned from ever holding a position on any athletic commission ever again in their life. Then spat on again.
I know there's a defense to be made for cashing in on star power after a fighter is long past their peak and I do not equate this to Couture vs. Liddell IV (that fight and this one are surely universes apart), but there is an obvious tipping point where age and star power can get fighters seriously, seriously hurt. Unbelievable.
“I don’t know if he’s a stepping stone or anything, but he’s been on some of the same cards I’ve been on and he’s been highlighted over me, so I want to let people that I am better than this guy and there’s no reason he should have been highlighted over me.”
Tim you Suck, seriously dude, you just Suck!!
In a exclusive interview with Sensei SporTV via Tatame Brazil Dana White says that Machida could become the best pound for pound fighter should Anderson Silva retire.
He isn’t surprised with the possible retirement of Silva after all “Anderson Silva is rich! I’d also retire if I was him”, said Dana in jest. Though he doesn’t actually believe Anderson will retire any time soon . If it does happen, the president believes Lyoto Machida will become the 'The Spiders“ successor.
I was a bit surprised to see that Dana White holds Machida in such high regard:
"Machida has everything to be the next best pound for pound fighter in MMA" said White.
Don't anybody give me any low-brow crap about Machida being "boring". I'm feeling contentious today.
Machida is boring
Don't mock me, sonny. I've got a cane and I'm not afraid to use it!
Is that another movie quote?
No. Just joking. This is a movie quote:
"Did they look like psychos? Huh? Is that what they looked like? They were VAMPIRES. Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them; I don't give a f*ck how crazy they are!"
THATS AN EAAAAASY ONE!! From Dusk Till Dawn
Machida,
Way to leave GSP out of the conversation Dana. He only gets asked 40 times a press conference if GSP is there with Silva yet as PD for PD king and was asked when promoting the Penn/GSP 2 fight if GSP wins, would he fight Silva next and we'd find out?? and he said "Likely yes"
"Lyoto boring as , i refuse to engage Machida", He'll never be big tiime, with the fans, his style just sucks..
LOL GSP NUT HUGGER.........but I do agree with you. I think pound for pound best fighter GSP is number 2 after Silva.Machida,
Way to leave GSP out of the conversation Dana. He only gets asked 40 times a press conference if GSP is there with Silva yet as PD for PD king and was asked when promoting the Penn/GSP 2 fight if GSP wins, would "Lyoto boring as , i refuse to engage Machida", He'll never be big tiime, with the fans, his style just sucks..
I'm a MEGA GSP Nut-Hugger and proud of it, but seriously Dana will almost never be able to sell Machida.. Dude in the o fight there were times, when he would hit o and literally run 10 steps backwards as fast as he could. If the Octagon could be made 10 feet bigger, he'd love it, more room to hit and sprint..
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