The Day, In MMA with Jake Chastain
2/17/2012
Today was a fairly quiet day in the MMA world. A few good topics came about, some big names were mentioned, but for the most part the day was business as usual.
Today we got word of a couple of fights that are being added to the UFC on FOX 3 card. A bantamweight bout between Nick Denis (11-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and "The Ultimate Fighter 14" semifinalist Johnny Bedford (18-9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will be added to the UFC on FOX 3 card along with a featherweight bout between Dennis Bermudez (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Pablo Garza (11-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC). These two additions to the card make it a great watch for cable TV. The card is set to take place on May 5 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. and is headlined by a lightweight scrap between Jim Miller and Nate Diaz.
Today we also found out that the viewing numbers for last Wednesday’s UFC on FUEL TV shattered the station’s old record, peaking out at 315,000 viewers! This is great news for MMA as a whole, especially considering that FUEL TV is not received in most homes or in basic cable packages. These are definitely promising numbers for the future.
Dana White spoke today about the upcoming UFC 144 event in Japan and made it very clear that he was not going to try to hook the old die-hard PRIDE fans by making the event like the old PRIDE shows were held. He explained that this was not going to be PRIDE, but simply the UFC making a trip to Japan. No rule changes, no elaborate octagon entrances, etc. He said, "People keep asking me, 'Oh, will you play the PRIDE music? Will you do (this or that)?' No, this isn't PRIDE. It's the UFC. The UFC is coming to Japan, and what the people in Japan are going to see is what they see on television, if they're UFC fans." So beyond going overseas, this will be another exciting, but regularly run, UFC show. However, I find it hard to believe that White and his crew won’t have something special to make this a more than memorable night for the Japanese fans. We’ll see next weekend.
And while we’re on the topic of UFC 144 we also found out today that the official weigh-ins for the event are set for the day before, February 24th at the Saitama Super Arena, and Carlos Condit and UFC ring girls Arianny and Chandella will be there for the Q&A with the fans. And yes, I said Chadella Powell will be there for the Q&A. This may be shocking to some fans considering yesterday was filled with rumors about Chandella being released by the UFC for undisclosed information about previous work. Well, as of right now it seems that Chandella is still a UFC ring girl and will be in Japan with the company next weekend. We’ll see if anything else comes of this in the coming days…
In other news Paul Daley explained that he was sorry for sucker punching Josh Koscheck back at UFC 113, Benson Henderson said it was going to be an honor to take the belt away from such a skilled, professional champion like Frankie Edgar, and Rampage Jackson said he might “Power Bomb” Ryan Bader if the opportunity presents itself in Japan next weekend.
***Guys, UFC ring girl Brittney Palmer’s playboy hit the newsstands today as well and I have to say, it’s elegant, classy, beautiful, and everything else I expected it to be. Brittney has always been my favorite, dating back to her time in the WEC, and this was a great layout for her. This is a definite “must buy” for fight fans.***
A quick teaser trailer for the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter” was also released today. The season will start March 9th with Faber and Cruz as the coaches. The hype surrounding this season is huge, mainly because of the new network hosting (FX) but the video looked good and I can’t wait for this season to start. Get ready fight fans, the next era of MMA is here.
GSP also spoke with Jon Anik and explained that his recovery process was ahead of schedule. He stated, “I feel very good. I’m ahead of schedule. I feel sometimes I want to do a little bit more but even though I feel good my graft is not fused properly, 100-percent. I need to remain calm. The danger with a lot of athletes is to push through the pain and try to go to fast. If I do so, it might loosen up the graft and I might have to start the old process again and I don’t want to do that.” Georges also went on to personally ask Nick Diaz not to retire, for the fans, for GSP, and for himself. This was the true mark of a champion in my opinion and it truly reminded me of why MMA fans should love this guy and what he has done for the sport.
And with Nick Diaz in mind we heard today that he may have been able to avoid the trouble he is in with the NSAC for testing positive for marijuana if he would have applied for therapeutic exemption before the fight with Condit. Diaz is a legal California medical cannabis user, but because he did not file for the exemption with the Nevada State Athletic Commission he will still face the charges that have been brought forth. It just continues to seem like nothing can go Diaz’s way while employed by the UFC. More details about this case should follow in the coming days.
And to top it all off today marked the weigh-ins for tomorrow’s Cage Warriors 45 event. Every fighter on the main card was on weight and the show is ready to go down tomorrow in London. Best of luck to all the fighters tomorrow.
And that brings us to another conclusion of The Day, In MMA with Jake Chastain. Thanks for reading fight fans!
Until tomorrow, keep on fighting the good fight…
For more in depth MMA News and coverage be sure to check out BJPenn.com or follow me on Twitter @jchastain45
Best regards,
Jake Chastain
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