Dana White: Facing too many problems, Chael Sonnen unlikely to coach “TUF 14”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chael Sonnen may end up being a coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 14,” but as of now, it’s not looking likely.

UFC president Dana White today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) no decisions have been made about the head-coaching slots for the show, which debuts in September on Spike TV.

But White also said Sonnen “has a ton of problems” to deal with, which makes a rumored “TUF 14” coaching slot against Michael Bisping unlikely.

The “Wrestling Observer” recently reported that UFC officials have explored the possibility of the polarizing Sonnen and Bisping as coaches for the upcoming season, which is the first to feature bantamweight and featherweight fighters. Production begins this summer.

However, due to his failed drug test at UFC 117 (due to elevated testosterone levels), Sonnen recently concluded a six-month suspension he received from the California State Athletic Commission. However, he still has a sentencing date after pleading guilty to a federal money-laundering charge as part of a 2006 real-estate deal. (At Friday’s upcoming sentencing hearing, he’s expected to receive two years of probation, a $10,000 fine and the revocation of his real-estate license.)

Sonnen also would need to deal with the Nevada State Athletic Commission and get re-licensed before he could coach on “TUF.” During his CSAC hearing back in December, Sonnen claimed that NSAC executive director Keith Kizer was aware of and approved the fighter’s past testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) during his fights in the state. Sonnen said the same therapy caused his failed CSAC test.

Kizer has denied those claims and said he’s never spoken to Sonnen about TRT. (Kizer wasn’t available for comment when contacted today by MMAjunkie.com.)

UFC officials ultimately “froze” Sonnen’s contract in the wake of the real-estate charges, and the fighter has turned down most interview requests since news broke.

White admits the NSAC issue could be a problem for any coaching plans. He confirmed he recently met with Kizer to discuss Sonnen’s situation but didn’t divulge details of the outcome.

As of now, though, White said no decisions have been made about the coaching slots.

“We have no clue who will coach; Chael has a ton of problems (right now),” White said.

Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu CBJJO.

 

Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu CBJJO. CAMPEONATO BRASILEIRO DE JIU-JITSU CBJJO DATA:17 DE ABRIL 2011. LOCAL:CANTO DO RIO FUTEBOL CLUBE/NITERÓI-RJ. INSC: WWW.FJJO.COM.BR OU FJJORJ@GMAIL.COM

Carlson Gracie pode “virar” nome de rua no Rio by @TATAMEMAGAZINE

Pouco mais de cinco anos depois da morte do mestre Carlson Gracie, o ícone do Jiu-Jitsu e MMA está perto de receber uma justa homenagem no Rio de Janeiro. Em projeto de lei do vereador Marcelo Arar, a Rua Silva Castro, em Copacabana, pode se chamar Rua Carlson Gracie, localizada entre as ruas Rua Figueiredo Magalhães e Siqueira Campos. “Isso é uma iniciativa que começou há quase cinco anos. Mestre Carlson Gracie foi pioneiro em um dos esportes que mais vem crescendo na atualidade, o MMA. E sua academia foi a origem disso tudo, lugar de onde saíram ícones do esporte que hoje honram seu mestre com muito orgulho”, justifica o vereador, que explica o projeto na entrevista abaixo:

 

Como o senhor avalia o conteúdo deste documento?

 

Isso é uma iniciativa que começou há quase cinco anos. Mestre Carlson Gracie foi pioneiro em um dos esportes que mais vem crescendo na atualidade, o MMA. E sua academia foi a origem disso tudo, lugar de onde saíram ícones do esporte que hoje honram seu mestre com muito orgulho. Ricardo De La Riva, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, Zé Mário, entre outros, foram alguns dos 109 faixas pretas formados pelo grande mestre que hoje levam a bandeira do Jiu-Jitsu Brasil afora. Nas décadas de 1950 e 1960, quando ainda lutava, Mestre Carlson era realmente um popstar no Rio de Janeiro. Se igualando a jogadores de futebol, dava autógrafos na rua. Era uma referência do esporte. E mesmo se passando anos de sua morte, sua figura ficou marcada na cidade, e nada mais justo que titularem o nome da rua de sua academia, que reside até hoje, de Rua Carlson Gracie. Como até já é conhecida, pois está de pé há quase 50 anos. Se trata de uma homenagem mais que justa, a um homem que era tão simpático e carismático, adorado até por seus adversário. E certeza de que vou articular com os vereadores para que seja aprovada, e farei um pedido pessoal ao prefeito Eduardo Paes para que seja sancionada. Mudaremos o nome da Rua Silva Castro para Rua Carlson Gracie. Gostaria que ficasse registrado que um forte apoiador dessa ideia foi um grande amigo meu, DJ Sadam (faixa-preta de Carlson). E se tudo der certo, vamos concretizá-la.

 

Como gestor da área de turismo, que ganhos o senhor espera que a cidade tenha com a aprovação desse projeto?

 

Eu, como vice presidente da Comissão de Turismo do Rio de Janeiro, espero inúmeros benefícios não só a cidade, mas para todo o país. O momento atual que vive o Rio de Janeiro é ideal para homenagear alguém que teve atuação significativa no esporte nacional e internacional: a cidade será sede do UFC em 27 de agosto do presente ano, em 2014 sediará uma Copa do Mundo de futebol e, por fim, em 2016 será sede de uma Olimpíada. Ora, é saudar um ícone do esporte neste momento em que a cidade tenta se firmar como um destino turístico do esporte no cenário nacional e internacional. Esta iniciativa vai ao encontro do sentimento de uma cidade que procura ser conhecida pelo esporte, pela saúde e beleza de seus habitantes, e não como destino de turismo sexual. Temos que, através destas iniciativas, dar uma conotação distinta a nossa cidade. Hoje é comum ver a nossa cidade sendo visitada por inúmeros praticantes de arte marcial, e eles viajam de longe para prestigiar nossa arte e nossa cidade.

 

Hoje, também como faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu, fale um pouco de sua vida como praticante da arte, e de como pretende lutar pelo nosso esporte.

 

Minha carreira no Jiu-Jitsu foi curta, porém de grande importância em relação a minha formação de caráter. Foi naquele momento em que o homem descobre muito a respeito da vida, e graças ao esporte tive sucesso nesse ponto. Comecei a lutar com 16 anos e encerrei minha carreira no esporte um tanto que prematuramente, aos 25, devido a uma séria lesão no joelho. E aquele momento foi também quando me vi muito empenhado na carreira profissional, e o esporte acabou ficando de lado. Tenho recordações muito boas da época em que competia. Especialmente de um Mundial no qual competi na faixa roxa, e enfrentei o atleta Paulo Filho, aluno do grande mestre, em uma semifinal. O Mestre Carlson gritando na beira do ringue, daquele jeito especial de só quem o conheceu sabe do que estou falando, me marcou profundamente. Venci a luta, e logo após o término do combate o Mestre Carlson veio me parabenizar pela vitória, pois era um homem que sabia reconhecer a derrota. Lembranças de disputas contra atletas de muito nome hoje em dia como, Anderson Leal, Léo Leite, Cumprido. Lembranças que guardo com muito carinho. Isso foi um pouco da minha curta carreira no esporte, mas da qual levo comigo a filosofia aprendida, que vai além de ganhar ou perder, mas sim do ganho de experiência de vida, que é algo grandioso e sem preço. Minha bandeira aqui na Câmara é da valorização do esporte, e defenderei a todo custo essa iniciativa.

Sonnen and Bisping Targeted As TUF 14 Coaches

At least that is the word coming from renowned industry insider, Dave Meltzer. 

In what is almost a shocking bit of information, Meltzer has confirmed that the UFC plans on putting Bisping against Sonnen for the next installment of the reality series.

After both men have made headlines recently, it almost seems a bit inappropriate to put either one in the spotlight. However, the UFC and SPIKE TV appear to not care.

With Chael you have a failed PED test, Athletic suspension and a guilty plea in a federal money laundering case.

With Bisping you have the UFC 127, spitting incident, the controversial knee and the all around poor level of sportsmanship displayed against Jorge Rivera and his team.

The plus side would be they both have historic trash talking abilities which will surely provide the fans and SPIKE TV with limitless amounts of classic sound bites to use in the latest installment of the show.

Meltzer’s report reads as follows…

The plan from Spike TV and UFC for the next season of Ultimate Fighter, which would air September through December, is to have Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping as coaches to build to a PPV match in December. The winner would likely be in line for the first middleweight title match of 2012.

Bisping and Sonnen have already started publicly trash talking. Neither UFC nor Spike can publicly announce this due to Sonnen not being licensed in Nevada. Keith Kizer, Executive Director of the commission has said he would not rubber stamp Sonnen’s license due to his contention that Sonnen lied in his California State Athletic Commission hearing in December when he claimed he and Kizer had spoken and that Kizer had approved his testosterone use exemption for Nevada due to a claimed medical condition. In addition, Sonnen is under indictment in a mortgage fraud case from 2006. He was suspended by UFC in January when the he pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge of defrauding a lending institution to make a real estate sale.

White had said last week when asked about Sonnen, that Sonnen is on hold until his case is taken care of. Sonnen is expected to be given two years probation and fined $10,000, as well as forfeiting his real estate license, in conjunction with his guilty plea, at a 4/8 sentencing hearing. Sonnen was at first scheduled to be sentenced on 3/28, but he and those in UFC knew at least several weeks ago that the date had been moved.

The decision, rumored for weeks, is controversial and will likely be heavily criticized if it does happen. Some will say Bisping and Sonnen are being rewarded at a time when both should not be rewarded. On the flip side, the belief is that the two, because of their strong personalities and interviews, can create another dynamic similar to Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson, or Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz, which resulted in not only the two highest rated seasons in the history of the show, but also huge PPV numbers in each case. I would not expect going in that these two will produce that level of business, but they are the type of personalities that one would expect to lead to a much talked about season. What this ultimately looks to come down to is how commission members will vote on Sonnen, or if UFC wants to risk Sonnen going before the commission given Kizer’s assertion, that all evidence is true, that Sonnen lied, using his name, to get his California suspension for failing a steroid test reduced. UFC has a lot of pull, as their hierarchy includes former commissions and the former Executive Director, and their shows bring the commission a ton of revenue. I’m pretty sure if the commission had its way, they wouldn’t want to go against UFC, but would also not want to be put on the spot and have to vote. So this could go a lot of different ways. If the feeling is Sonnen won’t get the votes to get a license, rather than him apply and be turned down, I would think they will change plans. Chris Leben and Wanderlei Silva were names considered in the past for Bisping to coach against but they are trying to get Silva to fight Vitor Belfort on 7/2.

Bisping is coming off spitting in the direction or at the corner men of Jorge Rivera on the 2/27 show in Sydney, as well as giving him a controversial and brutal knee while Rivera was still down. Due to the legitimate bad blood between the two leading to the fight, many believe the knee delivered in the first round was intentional. Bisping has claimed he was trying to time it just as Rivera was getting up, stating why would he risk a disqualification loss that would hurt his career in a fight he was heavily favored to win. There was almost a consensus belief that Bisping should have been disqualified in the fight, but it was allowed to continue. Rivera may have never fully recovered, although he did knock Bisping down early in the second round. Rivera got tired shortly after and Bisping finished him.

Bisping was punished financially regarding the incident in a quiet manner. The exact details have not been released but a very significant bonus that he was going to receive coming from the Rivera fight was withheld by UFC as a fine based on his actions that night. There is one side that would say that both Bisping and Sonnen (who lost a guaranteed title shot that would have likely done huge numbers) have both been significantly punished and now it should be a clean slate. But you could argue that would be fine if they were being booked to do a match against each other, but by making them coaches, they are being rewarded, even if the original idea for this pairing came prior to the Bisping incident going down, and was under consideration for the recently completed season had Sonnen gotten his suspension lowered but didn’t mention Keith Kizer’s name in doing so. Sonnen vs. Bisping was considered before the 2/27 show, so the argument can be they are just going through existing plans, and not actually rewarding Bisping for coming out of the show as such a strong heel based on two unsportsmanlike incidents. But to most people, it will look that way.

Bisping also needs to get licensed in Nevada, and his actions in Australia could make that also not a rubber-stamp. But it is Sonnen’s being approved that will likely be more difficult. Ultimately this will come down to a vote of the Nevada commissioners should Sonnen apply. If he is denied, it will make it difficult for him to fight in a number of states. If he does not apply, it is doubtful he would be denied the right to fight anywhere but Nevada, since he has served his California suspension, which ended in February. But if he does not apply, he would not be able to coach, eliminating a major boost to his career, name recognition and drawing power, as well as eliminate him from a major fight. Sonnen would be favored to win such a fight, and then earn a title shot. If Anderson Silva is still the champion, such a fight would be expected to do huge business, and even if Silva isn’t champion, Sonnen with his verbal skills and coming off a high-profile win and challenging for the title would be expected to do strong business.

Sonnen, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White and other major UFC officials had a private meeting several weeks ago with the Nevada commission in an attempt to smooth things over and get Sonnen licensed. At the meeting, Sonnen was asked directly by Kizer why he claimed he had a conversation with him regarding approval of testosterone use when no such conversation took place. Sonnen admitted that he had never directly talked with Kizer, claiming he didn’t mean to imply that he directly talked with him, but that his manager, Matt Lindland, had gone over his need for medical use of testosterone in February 2008, prior to his March 26, 2008, fight in Las Vegas with Bryan Baker. Still, there was no mistaking Sonnen at the California hearing saying he directly talked with Kizer, and on MMA Live right after, he reiterated that story. When Kizer’s denial of a conversation ever taking place, he claimed Kizer told him to keep things quiet, that everything was taken care of, and that Kizer had to deny it due to HIPPA laws. In fact, that law is not applicable in this instance, and the only two cases where testosterone replacement therapy has ever been allowed in Nevada in the history of the sport are both basically public record, the cases of Dan Henderson and Todd Duffee.

At that point Lindland was put on the phone. Lindland claimed he had called Kizer asking about the procedure for a testosterone use exemption for Sonnen. Kizer apparently recalled Lindland bringing it up, talking about the procedure, but Sonnen nor any fighter was mentioned by name, in a conversation believed to have taken place in early February 2008. Kizer said Lindland never mentioned Sonnen by name, and when told the procedure if someone was to apply, Lindland never followed up. Lindland claimed he followed up via e-mail. Kizer claimed to have never received an e-mail and noted that the procedure in place, including consultation with doctors, never started nor was any name ever given to him of a fighter applying for an exemption. Neither the Nevada commission in checking their records of deleted e-mails in February and March of 2008, nor Lindland, were able to produce the e-mail in question.

UFC 132: @wandfc vs. Chris Leben

@wandfc (above) will fight Chris Leben at UFC 132

 

Former PRIDE champion @wandfc  (33-10-1) will face Chris Leben (25-7) in a middleweight bout at UFC 132 on July 2 in Las Vegas.

The promotion made the announcement on April 4 on UFC.com.

After ruling the Japanese circuit at light heavyweight for years, Silva lost his last two fights in PRIDE and went 1-2 in the UFC at 205, dropping fights to Chuck Liddell and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson with a win over Keith Jardine in between. He then began the cut to 185, first losing a close decision to Rich Franklin at a 195 catchweight bout and beating Michael Bisping in his first middleweight contest.

Due to injury, Silva hasn’t competed since the February 2010 win over Bisping.

Leben had put together a three fight win streak following consecutive losses to Michael Bisping and Jake Rosholt. However, his win streak came to an end against Brian Stann at UFC 125, where he suffered just the second KO/TKO loss of his career.

Last days to compete in New York by @graciemag

Pimenta’s one who’ll be there in NY. Photo: Dan Rod.

 

Sign-ups for the New York International Open carry on full blast. The IBJJF event set for April 16 promises great matches.

“Now the Pan’s done, I’m going to compete in New York. I’m going with the folks at GFTeam here to do another IBJJF tourney,” says Denílson Pimenta, who was runner-up in the lightweight division at the Pan in the masters category and closed out the absolute with his friend Theodoro Canal.

The deadline for the final is April 9. To find out more and participate, click  here.