By Joe Ferraro

While you could cut the tension with a knife, the anticipated fireworks at the UFC 114 pre-fight press conference between Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans gave way to an awkward atmosphere; one that many were waiting to erupt with verbal explosions at any moment.

As both fighters sat within ten feet of each other, you could just sense that they were both restraining from launching into a barrage of insults to continue the trash talking they have been doing to hype their main event fight at the MGM Grand.

But as they kept their cool, both guys didn’t stop from throwing the odd shot, that was met with a rebuttal that was just as soft. Neither fighter was interested in doing what many were hoping for. Instead, they actually agreed on the same sentiment.

Jackson and Evans have had enough; they are done with the smack talk and are simply counting down the days, the minutes, the seconds until they can finally meet in the octagon. The two former light-heavyweight champions have now given up using their tongues as weapons, as the time has come to use their fists to do the talking.

One of the key themes coming from the pre-fight press conference was the importance of keeping their emotions in cheque during the fight. Both guys may have agreed, but they also reiterated there is a very good chance that once the referee steps out of their way, whatever game plan and strategy was built for this grudge match, all bets are off, as they concurred it may simply turn into an old fashioned donnybrook.

At stake in this bout is a shot for the winner, against UFC light heavyweight champion, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, For Rampage, it is a source of motivation and a chance to avenge a loss he suffered to the hands (and knees) of the Brazilian when they both competed under the “Pride” banner. For Evans, it’s a crack at the title he was only able to hold for just under five months, losing it to Lyoto Machida during his first defence as the champion.

** Please edit for grammar and spelling **

In stark contrast, it was middleweight Michael Bisping who piped up with the trash talking.

In Saturday’s co-main event, “The Count” is set to square off against Dan Miller, an American MMA veteran who holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Bisping balked at the notion that Miller’s BJJ skill set is a concern, having defeated many a fighter of the same ilk, the last being Denis Kang.

This bout is flying under the radar for most fans, but has all the makings of being a candidate for “Fight of the Night”.

Styles makes fights, and this one will showcase to athletes who love to stand and bang, but who both possess a strong ground and pound acumen. The winner, will likely be determined by the fighter who can dictate the pace on the ground by staying on top, working his punches and elbows, while working vigilantly to control his opponent from escaping their grasp.

During my post-fight interviews with all four of these men, a dichotomy of human emotions were on display, one that had many watching, smiling, grinning and even raising an eyebrow.

Rampage was visibly annoyed – he wanted to get out of there and like Dana White said in the press conference, is “always miserable”. Mind you, he did smile before and afterwards, but that was with casual conversation, not while the cameras were rolling. Even Lance Gibson, his new muay thai coach who I worked with early in my MMA promotions career knew it was best served if Jackson was allowed to leave. Gibson believes Rampage is ready, and trust me, it was evident.

Rashad was far calmer, but you could still sense that the time had come for many of the media looking for single interviews to keep their questions brief and to the point. All decked out in his suit, “Suga” was turning sour and it was time for him to get back to his room and clear his mind.

Miller was cool, smiling and there was nothing that anyone could have asked him that would have likely bothered him. As for his opponent, not so much. Bisping was in his glory, and made it crystal clear – saturday’s fight will not go the distance. He will finish this fight before the three rounds are up. No if’s, and’s or but’s.

By Joe Ferraro

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to make a “major announcement in Canada”, Tuesday, May 25th at 1pm ET. Speculation is running rampant as to what will be shared at the press conference, which will be held at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

UFC President and CEO, Dana White will host the presser, and will be joined by UFC Chairman and majority owner Lorenzo Fertitta.

For many, the impending news is likely what everyone has been waiting for, that the UFC was successful in changing regulations in Ontario, and that the sport has been sanctioned, with a UFC event likely taking place in the very near future.

Other thoughts may be that Season Twelve of The Ultimate Fighter, featuring Welterweight Champion, and Canada’s own Georges St-Pierre as a coach, opposite Josh Koscheck, will be filmed in Canada, with the two likely locking horns at the Rogers Centre later this year.

Perhaps both may be true and actually come to fruition, but maybe the UFC, in their current mode of global expansion is thinking something else.

Maybe the time has come to open an office in Canada, which White often refers to as the “Mecca of MMA”.

The organization sees how big the sport truly is here, especially considering the vast amount of main stream media that attends their various public engagements.

Prior to GSP’s last fight at UFC 111, the organziation held a Fan Q’n'A session at Toronto’s Eaton Centre. The event was attended by not only hundreds of fans, but covered by many major media organizations covering every type of platform.

Like they have done overseas in the UK, I would not be surprised if the UFC announces the opening of “UFC Canada”, an office that will handle many of the current resposniblities that fall upon the staff residing in Las Vegas. Sources are telling me that former President of WWE Canada, Carl DeMarco has approached the UFC about heading an office in Canada, with Shane McMahon also rumoured as approaching the organization in hopes to buy a 5-10% stake.

Whispers of McMahon wanting a UFC office in Toronto are also running rampant, with “Shane-O-Mac” looking at also suggesting the organization open an East Coast UFC office in New York, NY.

If this is the case, one can just imagine how close the organization truly feels about sanctioning the sport in Ontario and New York. They must be close, or maybe, it’s already done.

By Joe Ferraro

Coming off their third successful show in Montreal, and with a sold out fourth show next month, set for Vancouver, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has made tentative plans to hold their biggest show to date, at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Numerous sources have informed me, that the organization has reserved Saturday March 26th, 2011 as their first foray into the province of Ontario. This will also mark the UFC’s first event to be held, inside of a stadium.

The Rogers Centre, with it’s retractable roof, can seat over 46,000 fans for baseball and football, but when floor seats are added, the number dramatically increases to over 65,000. The current record for paid attendance is 68,237, set by Wrestlemania X8, on March 17th, 2002.

While UFC President Dana White has often stated he wants fans to enjoy the live UFC experience, and does not want them to experience bouts that look like “two ants on top of a matchbox,” it’s going to be tough for him not to try and break the WWE’s record. He is far too ambitious and competitive to not try and leave his mark on Rogers Centre history.

The UFC’s current attendance record is 21,390, set by UFC 83: Serra vs St-Pierre 2. To break the Rogers Centre record would mean they would have to more than triple their existing best that was set at their first show in Montreal. I have often joked with White that in order to do so, he should consider having five title fights on the card; of course, you can imagine what his responses have been.

But I also suggested another option for him to consider.

Two weeks ago, in the bowels of the Bell Centre, I sat with White and suggested the UFC consider amalgamating all weight classes with the WEC. Take the champions from the WEC, and the top contenders, and move them over to the UFC, while taking those who are on the verge of being cut, and send them down to the WEC, creating a true farm system for up and coming fighters to develop under, while competing against those who have proven their worth, but their stock may be fading.

His response was a positive one, but I believe it would take a lot of work (TV deals aside) to complete such a venture, mind you, one of his favourite quotes has always been “some things take time to get done”.

Of course, one key match-up that many believe can break the existing record, is the long rumoured super fight between UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva and Welterweight Champion, Georges “Rush” St-Pierre. While many hold their breath for this fight to finally take place, both pound for pound greats have other fighters to worry about first. For Silva, it’s Chael Sonnen on August 07th. For GSP, it’s Josh Koscheck, once both fighters are done their coaching stints on season twelve of The Ultimate Fighter.

While the rumoured March 26th, 2011 date is only a tentative one, perhaps it was reserved with some internal confidence that their lobbying efforts to sanction Mixed Martial Arts in the province of Ontario, are moving ahead as planned, with success, just around the corner.

The sport is currently not sanctioned in the province, and as the company continues to speak with federal leaders, in hopes to make changes to Section 83 of Canada’s Criminal Code, the other issue is Ontario’s Athletics Control Act.

If changes can be made to the definition of “professional contest and exhibition”, whereby to include MMA as a sport ,along with the adoption of the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, then it’s safe to say, shortly thereafter, the Octagon will rest on the same surface as the one used by the Toronto Blue Jays.

The UFC is set to make their “major announcement” Tuesday, one that I believe will focus on the companies plans to open a corporate office in Ontario, likely in the city of Toronto, but I would not be surprised if many more topics will be addressed by White and majority owner Lorenzo Fertitta, as the curiosity of the MMA media and Canadian fan base has reached an all time high.

By Joe Ferraro

This Saturday, May 22nd, organizers and guest speakers for “MMA Day” unanimously and whole heatedly agree that having a fan friendly rally at Queen’s Park can help raise awareness for the sport, while paving the way to sanction the sport in Ontario.

I was first approached about the fan friendly idea by Neil Forrester, founder of The Substance Group.  He is quietly regarded as one of the most influential movers and shakers in the MMA industry, both in Ontario and across the country, doing a variety of work behind the scenes, away from the media spotlight, often never receiving the credit he deserves.

“I got involved in creating the rally as I feel its a shame that thousands of people cannot enjoy there passion in there own backyard and have to travel to watch it live or compete”, stated Forrester, also one of the owners of the Grant Brothers MMA Gym in Toronto.

Forrester began recruiting who he believed were parties that shared his vision, with one of them being MMA Expo founder Gerald Chopik, who quickly jumped on board and began spearheading the movement.

“MMA Day on May 22 gives Ontario families, related industry workers and MMA athletes and fans the opportunity to raise awareness about not only how they – but the province at large – will benefit from MMA being sanctioned in the province” said Chopik.

“We are known as a progressive society; an inclusive society. Times change and our policies, politicians and our Province must keep pace accordingly” stated Chopik, who believes the timing couldn’t be better for politicians to make a positive change for it’s voting constituents.

“Not that long ago, Ontarians battled the provincial ban on Sunday shopping, on having an alcoholic beverage with their meal and on the freedom to buy a lottery ticket if they so chose.  Sanctioning the fastest-growing sport in the world is exactly the same scenario. Not everyone has to become an MMA fan; just like not everyone has to buy a lottery ticket. With MMA now sanctioned and doing well in a number of provinces across Canada,  we are also missing out on the financial benefits that would result from approving the sport. The overall consensus is that sanctioning MMA is inevitable. So what are we waiting for Ontario?”

Chopik brings up one of the biggest sticking points that raises eyebrows for many of our political leaders – the economic impact MMA can bring to the province. It is estimated that with the the three UFC events that have taken place in Montreal over the past three years, an estimated $20 million dollars was gobbled up by the La Belle Province. Financial analysts believe 50% of the money spent came from the province of Ontario. In essence, the province is agreeing to finance the profits of it’s bordering partners.

Forrester also recruited UFC welterweight veteran Jeff Joslin, who jumped at the opportunity to be a part of history.

“Without hesitation, I chose to be a part of ‘MMA Day’, to support the sport that has giving me everything good in my life.”

Joslin, who also hosts a radio show in his hometown of Hamilton, comes from a family steeped in the traditions of martial arts.

“As an instructor, mixed martial arts (MMA) competition had been my proving ground to see what techniques actually work in realistic situations. As a fighter, MMA has allowed me to support my family, travel the world, stay in great shape and meet many great people.”

While benefiting from the financial and physical aspects that MMA has brought to his well being, it’s another intangible that the sport can develop within us all, that Joslin believes is truly unappreciated.

“Even better, the challenges of mixed martial arts competition has shown me what I’m capable of as a human being, working towards my goals, dealing with set backs and persevering until the job gets done.”

London, Ontario’s Mark “The Machine” Hominick, a veteran of the UFC and currently a featherweight with the WEC, stated “Being apart of MMA Day shows that although MMA is regarded as a mainstream sport in many states and provinces, it is still at a grassroots level in Ontario.”

Hominick, who has a BA in Business from the University of Windsor, is one of the owners of Adrenaline MMA, a mixed martial arts training facility he helped co-found with fellow athletes Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout and Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki. He is a prominent believer in the shared philosophy that all of the “MMA Day” organizers understand – passion breeds success. He continued “A gathering of some of the provinces top athletes and personalities illustrates that the people most closely involved in the sport are the most passionate about getting the sport positive media, sanctioning and recognition.”

Also expected to attend the rally on Queen’s Park, the very lawn of the Provincial Legislature, are Carlos Newton (first ever UFC Welterweight Champion from Canada), current UFC fighters, MMA business owners, coaches as well as various representatives from the Hospitality and Tourism sector, numerous politicians who are in favour of sanctioning MMA, as well as yours truly.

Organizers encourage everyone, from all ages and walks of life, to come out and support “MMA Day”, from 12pm-5pm on Saturday. This historical event will be covered by all of the major media so you might just be seen on camera, and can truly say you were there, to help lay the foundation for the future of Mixed Martial Arts in Ontario.

Misc MMA Notes:

•    The discussion pertaining to Performance Enhancing Drugs in MMA is really picking up
•    Ominous prediction that UFC 115 may be the only MMA event in Vancouver for a long time, as it apparently looks like the City of Vancouver doesn’t want to the Vancouver Athletic Commission to sanction any events, or at least make it very difficult for promoter’s to do so. So what’s the point of having the commission again?
•    Check out the Impact FC: The Uprising Trailer, featuring Josh Barnett, Karo Parisyan, Ken Shamrock, Carlos Newton and Big John McCarthy
•    As THQ gets ready to release UFC Undisputed 2010 on May 25th, MMAPayout.com interviews Colin Mack, GM of Fighting Games for THQ, to discuss what influence the game may have on the sport, as well as delving deeper into features like career mode and sponsor items (i.e. putting MMA Connected’s logo on your fighter’s shorts)
•    UFC takes the next step in the evolution of viewer habits, with the Roku player. Is this the future? With many predicting the future of television is going to be broadband, is Zuffa steps ahead of the curve?

By Joe Ferraro

This weekend, two events taking place south of the border will have various bouts whose results will have interesting implications for not only the subjective world of MMA rankings, but also for the sport in general.First off is Strikeforce’s Heavy Artillery show, featuring Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem defending his title for the first time in over two years, vs Brett Rogers, who is coming off a loss to Fedor Emelianenko.

Overeem, who has spent the better part of the past twenty four months fighting on the K-1 circuit, as well as getting in seven MMA bouts, fighting in Japan as well as his homeland of The Netherlands. “The Reem” is the best striker in the heavyweight division, one who I personally believe is a notch above the like of UFC sensation Junior Dos Santos and the power punching Shane Carwin. Alistair has competed with the world’s best strikers via K-1 and has held his own. While Rogers is a banger, I don’t believe he has the skills to knock Overeem out – but don’t tell that to Sportnet’s Tyler “The Interm”, who joined me on this week’s broadcast of “The Showdown” on THE FAN 590. Tyler firmly believes, along with one of our callers, that Rogers will shock everyone, and walk away the new Strikeforce champ.

Should Overeem emerge victorious, it should set up a pay per view showdown with Fedor Emelianenko, but whether this fight ever materializes remains to be seen. “The Last Emperor’s” handlers continue to protect the consensus number one heavyweight, and as time goes on, their client is getting older, making it much easier for the “small” heavyweight to fall prey to the new generation of monsters in the division: The Lesnars, Carwins, and Overeems, who are massive beasts with skill. With Fedor’s bout vs Fabricio Werdum now official, I will not be surprised if “Vai Cavalo” defeats the Russian legend.

Pointing Fingers
One of the side stories that has been hovering over the Strikeforce event, surrounds the drug testing the organization will be implementing, stemming from the media scrutiny that has been aimed towards Overeem, who used to be a stealth light heavyweight, but ballooned to a heavyweight a few years back. Finger pointing aside, I’m a firm believer of “innocent until proven guilty”, even though the visual evidence would suggest otherwise. Yes, call me a fool, but until he tests negative, I will not say otherwise. In this day and age, athletes in all sports will generally be leaps and bounds ahead of most of the drug testing that commissions use anyway, but if you really want to dive deep into this story, may I suggest reading Fight Opinion’s Zach Arnold’s story here, who does a great job analyzing this whole predicament.

The rest of the card will see:
Andrei Arlovski (242) vs. Antonio Silva (265.5)
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (186.5) vs. Joey Villasenor (186)
Roger Gracie (205.75) vs. Kevin Randleman (205)
Antwain Britt (204.5) vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (206)
Pre-Lims
Justin DeMoney (169) vs. Jesse Finney (172)
Lyle Beerbohm (156) vs. Vitor Ribeiro (156)
Darryl Cobb (184) vs. Booker DeRousse (187)
Mike Chandler (170) vs. Sal Woods (170)
Lee Brousseau (204) vs. Fransisco France (206)
Tom Aaron (157.5) vs. Erik Steenberg (155)
Matt Ricehouse (156) vs. Greg Wilson (155)

Shine Fights: Worlds Collide
The other event that is picking up steam this weekend is Shine Fights: Worlds Collide, which will see a 160 lbs catchweight bout between UFC veteran Din Thomas vs former boxing champion Ricardo Mayorga. The ladder has been dealing with his boxing promoter Don King, filing an injunction to prevent this bout from happening, citing his client his breaching an existing promotional contract.

Regardless, if this fight does take place, it will be another example of the “Boxing vs MMA” matchup, and who is better suited under what medium. The answer is generally simple: Boxers will defeat MMA fighters under the rules of the Sweet Science, while the opposite is true under the Unified Rules of MMA. A boxer’s one dimensional arsenal should technically be no match for any legit mixed martial artist, but, with four ounce gloves, one landed punch can spell doom for anyone. In this example, Din Thomas has good striking for MMA, but is nowhere near Mayorga’s specialty. If Thomas chooses to stand with Riccardo, it may be a short night for the Florida native. If he takes Mayorga out of his element, he should easily win this fight on the ground.

This is a pre-cursor for the tentative bout between Randy Couture and James Toney, set for UFC 118, August 28th, in Boston, Mass. I spoke with Couture at length about this bout, and it’s safe to say he will not be taking any chances vs “Lights Out”, but again, and I stress, everything changes when a boxer of Toney’s calibre lands one punch. It’s not the same as a punch from an MMA fighter, Shane Carwin included. If Toney lands, and wins, one can just imagine how our boxing bretheren will rejoice in the victory. I, for one, am already fielding some excellent debate from my own circle of friends about the bout. I can’t wait for it to happen.

As for the rest of the Shine Fights: Worlds Collide card, here it is ( along with the official fighter weights ):
Murilo “Ninja” Rua (191) vs. David Heath (191.2)
Eduardo Pamplona (168.2) vs. Derrick Noble (169.2)
Alexandre “Cacareco” Ferreira (204.2) vs. Jamal “The Suit” Patterson (205.8)
Braulio “Carcara” Estima (179.4) vs. Rick Hawn (175.2)
Luiz Azeredo (152.8) vs. Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett (155.8)
Mario “Serious” Stapel (149) vs. Zac George (150)
Roger Carroll (183.8) vs. Paulo Souza (185.8)

And it goes without saying: The UFC will be counter-programming these events with a two and half hour presentation of “UFC: Ultimate Fights”, starting at 10pm EST, featuring Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir (UFC 111), Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung (WEC 48), Mark Munoz vs. Kendall Grove (UFC 112), Terry Etim vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (UFC 112), Matt Serra vs Frank Trigg (UFC 109), Nate Diaz vs Rory Markham (UFC 111) and Paulo Thiago vs Mike Swick (UFC 109).

Misc MMA Notes:
• Bobby Lashley’s next opponent is rumoured to be the 6′ 5″, 285 lbs undefeated Ron “The Monster” Sparks (5-0) on the undercard of Strikeforce’s June 16th show, in Los Angeles, California.

• Congrats to UFC Middleweight Michael Bisping, who tweeted his wife gave birth to a “lump”, a healthy nine pounds baby boy. “The Count” will fight next at UFC 114, Saturday May 28th vs Dan Miller.

• MMA Junkie is reporting that WEC 50 will take place August 18th, at The Palms in Las Vegas
• “MMA Day”, a rally that will take place at Queen’s Park in Toronto, will bring together Ontario residents who wish to have the sport regulated in their province. Come one, come all, and please say “Hi” to yours truly. Come join us on Saturday May 22nd, and let us know you are coming by confirming your attendance on the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114793371892846&ref=ss

By Joe Ferraro

As Paul Daley and Josh Koscheck prepare for their number one welterweight contender bout at UFC 113, “Semtex” made it clear that should he emerge victorious, a bout with champion Georges St-PIerre may not be on his radar. To wit, his opponent Josh Koscheck agrees.

While interviewing Daley for Saturday’s special edition of “MMA Connected”, the British striker shocked the Sportsnet crew with his response to whether or not the UFC would grant him a title shot vs GSP, considering he would only have three victories inside the octagon.

He stated, “It wouldn’t be surprising to me, because of the people left in the welterweight division to fight GSP with a bit of character. My fighting style could make for an entertaining fight. Again, it wouldn’t be surprising, but the real surprise is whether or not I would accept.”

While the dream of every fighter is to contend for their divisional championship, Daley believes that the right timing should be a priority.

“As much as I like to talk smack, I’m a realist” said Daley, while changing the posture in his chair, as if to really accentuate his point.

“GSP is at the top of the game; the very top of the MMA game. If this is a career, I want to have longevity in the UFC. I want to (slowly) reach the top so when I’m challenging for the belt, in my mind, I have to be at the same level.”

Contenders in a variety of divisions have often lost their chance at earning a title, often losing the fight mentally, psyching themselves out due to the reality of fighting a dominant champion. It has happened vs the likes of not only those who have faced GSP, but even Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko and Wanderlai Silva in his prime.

Daley understands this, and wants to be certain he doesn’t fall into this mental trap.

“I can’t enter that fight thinking GSP is better than me, he’s a better athlete and be in awe of him. I have to go in there on the same playing field as him, and not be worried about his takedowns, that he makes more money than me; in my mind, I want to be as equal as him on every plain.”

While his praise for the Canadian is high, he does not hold his American opponent on the same pedestal, who believes may be underestimating his fight preparation.

“I think if you go into a fight and you don’t think like that, then that’s naive on you, just like Koscheck thinks that I don’t work on the ground or that I don’t have Olympic coaches that I’ve working for God knows how long.”

With that being said, “Semtex” was asked whether or not Koscheck is the perfect barometer en route to an eventual bout with St-Pierre?

“Yes” he said emphatically, but he made it clear as to why.

“I know I’m better than Koscheck. I have 100% faith that I’ll beat Koscheck on Saturday night, there’s no doubts in my mind about that. But between Koscheck and GSP, there’s an even bigger gap and I wanna make sure I get the Jon Fitch’s in, and the Thiago Alves’ in, and really prove my pedigree before jumping in there with GSP.”

Could Daley’s assessment of GSP be derived from his teammate Dan Hardy’s recent loss to the champ at UFC 111 in March?

“I haven’t really spoken with Dan about fighting GSP. We have different mentalities. Dan went at the GSP fight, not trying to bring him down to normality; (for Dan) it was just another fight. For me, it’s not just another fight. This guy is the best. At the moment, he’s the ‘Michael Jordan of MMA’. You wouldn’t go out and play basketball with Michael Jordan straight off the playground our out of high school…you need to be at that level.”

We couldn’t wait to sit Josh Koscheck down to get his thoughts on what Daley had been saying about GSP. He eventually joined us about thirty minutes later, and when we shared the information with him, his eyebrows raised, almost perplexed by Daley’s commentary.

“That’s interesting. If he says he wouldn’t take the title fight with GSP, if he was to beat me…that’s very interesting” said the American Kickboxing Academy standout.

“You don’t get many opportunities to fight for the welterweight championship of the world. You know, I’ve been in the game for awhile. I’ve had 18 UFC fights, and I haven’t had the opportunity to fight for that title yet…that’s a dream come true for me.”

Koscheck, the veteran, understands that Daley ( and likely the UFC ) would want to build him up further, but still took the time to offer a backhanded compliment towards his opponent.

“At least he’s thinking rationale about one thing” stated Koscheck. “I definitely don’t think he’s ready.”

We’ll find out on Saturday night.