MMA Grapevine News

1st and most important things 1st. Fedor Emelianenko has been talking about a contract with Bodog, K-1, and the UFC for the past week. The UFC seems to be in the lead, as long as Fedor is allowed to compete in annual Sambo competitions in Russia. The UFC is understandably worried that a Sambo injury could hurt a big contract with #1 fighter in the world, but it would be a huge mistake to let the Last Emperor slip through your fingers.

Denis Kang (ranked #6 on our Middleweight Top 10) is going to make his contract decision in the next week. It looked like Bodog had the edge with the popular fighter, especially because Kang wants to continue to fight MMA matches in his homeland of Korea, and UFC fighters are bound by exclusivity to fight only for Zuffa.

Elite XC pulled out a big signing, as Rameau Sokoudjou (who burst onto the scene in Pride FC with upset wins over Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona) in what his Team Quest camp described as a "lucrative 4 fight contract."

The MMA gods have spared the life of Ken Shamrock who was slated to face Michael Bisping in England at UFC 75. Mercifully, it seems former Ultimate Fighter Matt "What?" Hamill (who was on the same TUF season as Mike) will be brought instead, and we don't have to see a death in the octagon. Also, Mirko Cro Cop will make his return at the same April card, as he will face fellow striker Cheick Kongo. Cro Cop is coming off the worst loss of his career and a brutal KO from #1 Heavyweight contender Gabriel Gonzaga, which landed the Croation in the highlight reels in the worst possible way, and cost him a title shot. Interesting to see how Cro Cop will return against another opponent known for KO power. Finally, UFC 75 will have the now official unification bout of the Pride FC & UFC Light Heavyweight Titles between Dan Henderson and Quinton Jackson.

In the land of free TV MMA, IFL is just terrible, and their last "event" didn't have one compelling fight the entire evening. The IFL just continues to falter and draw little attention as they head into their "playoffs" which will hopefully create some decent matches. IFL's "Battleground" show is just horrible and if these guys don't speed up the time between their fight cards and the airing of the show on TV, they just will not be able to compete with the top brands.

Bodog Fight however is beginning to not only land top talent, but their show is having some really competitive fights, and they even showed some matches from their 1st two PPV's for free on the show. A very smart move which is garnering them more attention as they begin their newest "season" of fights at the end of June. They have landed great fighters like Jake Shields, Nick Thompson, Eddie Alvarez, Roman Zentsov, Yves Edwards, Yuki Kondo, Trevor Prangley, Amar Suloev, and many more. Also curious, that in the crowd as "guests" we have seen Phil Baroni, Josh Barnett, Royce Gracie, Gilbert Melendez, and don't forget they have Matt Lindland under contract as well. Bodog has blown past the IFL in a rocket ship, and the WEC isn't far behind them.

Believe it or not, the show "Fight Girls" on the Oxygen channel, is really good. The women are kickboxers (not full MMA fighters) with actually real and compelling talent. Trained by the legendary Master Toddy, they also get to work with the gorgeous and talented Gina Carano (what else do you need). It is a reality show, so there is a lot of these beautiful ladies (and they are hot, this is no LPGA) bikini's, panties, and other small outfits if you are in to that sort of thing.

Busy busy busy weekend with The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale with Nate Diaz vs Manny Gamburyan and BJ Penn vs Jens Pulver 2, as well as the Elite XC/Strikeforce card starring Frank Shamrock and Phil Baroni so get ready for all the MMA action you can handle. Bet.