Thanks for tuning in this week folks! This was a light news week so let’s dig right in. Here is your week that was in MMA 5/7-5/13/2009.
UFC News
Eric Schafer had to be dropped from The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale due to a rib injury. He will be replaced by Mike Ciesnolevicz. Mike will take on Tomasz Drwal. Both guys are looking to improve upon their one win in the UFC.
Rousimar Palhares had to be scratched from his UFC 101 fight with Alessio Sakara due to a broken leg. No replacement has been named.
David “The Crow” Loiseau has been cut again by the UFC. After being passed over in the UFC’s first trek to Montreal last year Loiseau finally got to be on the big stage in front of his home town. It was his first appearance in the UFC in almost three years. Unfortunately he laid an egg and lost a unanimous decision to Ed Herman. As was expected if he lost, the UFC cut him promptly, less than a month later.
Strikeforce News
Joey Villasenor will be back in action for the first time in a year after being embroiled in the EliteXC meltdown. He will headline Strikeforce’s ShoMMA event on June 19th against Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos. To most Americans he is more well known for being the name sake of his wife Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos who is the second most famous female MMA fighter in the world behind Gina Carano. This will be Santos’ first trip to a real American promotion after plying his trade in the larger Japanese promotions for many years.
Kevin Randleman v. Mike Whitehead has been made official for Strikeforce’s June 6th event featuring Robbie Lawler v. Jake Shields. Randleman and Whitehead both add solid depth to Strikeforce’s struggling light heavyweight division.
MMA Gumbo
Roy Jones Jr. is desperate for an MMA bout. Unfortunately neither major American promotion appears willing to sully their good name with Jones’ experiment in MMA. Strikeforce and the UFC both turned down pleas from Jones for a fight in either promotion. Jones is probably better off looking for a fight in Japan. Hey, if Jose Canseco can fight there why can’t a real fighter?
Takanori Gomi finally gets a win! After suffering embarrassing back to back defeats for only the second time in his career, Gomi finally gets a win in a Shooto match. He also got his first TKO victory in almost three years. Hopefully this was what Gomi needed to get back on track after it appeared that he just didn’t have what it takes anymore. However, at only the age of thirty, one would hope Gomi still has a long successful career ahead of him.
Last but not least Antonio Rogerio Nogueira picks up his fifth win in a row this week. What was so special about it was that this was the first time he’s ever fought professionally in Brazil in front of his countrymen. Hopefully we’ll see Rogerio back in action in the states soon. While a spot on the next Affliction show is the most likely destination I’d love to see him make the move over to Strikeforce where he’d be a legitimate contender for Babalu’s title immediately.
Alright folks that’s it for this week. It was quick and dirty but sometimes that’s just what you need. Until next week,
Enjoy the fights!
