I hope and trust many of you are enjoying your day off today, hopefully spending some quality time with family and friends. If you are like me, you are either working or catching up on various chores around the house.
Lots of MMA news since I was on the air last night. Here are a few of the bigger stories:
Looks like many of us who were wondering what was wrong with Houston Alexanderduring his last bout vs Tiago Silva may have found our answer. The normally aggressive and explosive ’Nebraskan Assassin’ appeared tentative and completely off his gameplan during that loss to the Brazilian. News recently broke that the NJACB tried to prevent Houston Alexander from fighting Tiago Silva one hour before fight at UFC 78 (due to Alexander having only one kidney).
Alexander donating a kidney to one of his daughters awhile ago. How the New Jersey Athletic Control Board could bring this up right before the fight is beyond me. The Legal counsel for New Jersey Athletic Control Board disputes this accusation, but it does lend credence to why Houston Alexander just did not look mentally right during that bout.
UFC 83 is less than one month away and current Welterweight Champion Matt Serra will have to travel to Montreal to defend his title. Montreal is home to his opponent, Georges St.Pierre and it appears Matt Serra is Ready for the 22,000 Boos that will rain down upon him once he makes his way to the Octagon. This may appear to be a negative for Serra but it works both ways, as it will increase the pressure on St.Pierre to win this bout. Stay tuned for more on this incredible bout and event…I’ll have some big news for you soon.
CBS has announced May 31st as their inaugural date for their ‘Saturday Night Fights’ programming. During some NCAA games yesterday, they aired their CBS Saturday Night Fights Commercial (video). The card will feature Kimbo Slice in the main event with Elite XC Middleweight champion Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith as the co-main event. From a business perspective, it looks like EliteXC is creating matchups that should produce ratings.
With The Ultimate Fighter 7set to debut on April 2nd, the UFC is already recruiting for The Ultimate Fighter 8. If you are interested in trying out, here is the Ultimate Fighter application for season 8 (seeking) heavyweights and lightweights.
Strikeforce’s next event, scheduled for March 29th will showcase Frank Shamrock vs Cung Le in The Battle for San Jose. This will be a solid test for both fighters as Shamrock is not looking at fighting anyone in the upper echelon of the middleweight division but in Cung Le, he will face an exquisite striker with phenomenal takedown skills. For Le, its a definite step up in competition as he will have his hands full with the former UFC Champion, and the current Strikeforce middleweight title holder.
In closing, if you think Randy Couture and Dan Severn are too old to fight in MMA, then meet Skip Hall: The baddest grandfather on the planet.
Ciao for now,
Showdown Joe
Click here to subscribe to Ferraro's blog
