Dana White and Jon Fitch both spoke to USA today about Fitch’s firing from UFC.  Right after these interviews, however, Fitch called Lorenzo Fertitta and now just as suddenly as he was gone, he’s back with the UFC.

And so is the rest of his team. And that’s great news for fight fans.

Like I pointed out yesterday, for Dana White this is not about video game rights. He just doesn’t want to deal with AKA, the management team of Fitch, Cain Velasquez and Josh Koscheck among others.

After the jump you can read the complete USA Today interviews of Jon Fitch and Dana White.

Here’s a couple of excerpts:

Jon Fitch: We’re not even getting paid for video games, but that’s not even the point. That’s a very minute subject. We could have worked around that easily. It’s the manner in which they approached us with the contract. They kind of tried to bully us into it. It’s kind of a principle thing; when’s it going to stop? (If) they bully us into signing a bad contract with the video game rights, what’s next? What’s the next thing they’re going to force us into signing?

Dana White: So this really isn’t an attack on Jon Fitch or any personal fighter. We’re just choosing not to do business with AKA any more. We’re not going to do business with them. And listen, there’s other guys out there that they can go do business with; they’re just not going to do business with me.

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Tags: aka, bob cook, contract, dana white, jon fitch, management, negotiation, UFC, video game rights

It’s possible that Jon Fitch is not being cut from the UFC.  The latest twist is that Fitch’s managers are speaking with UFC reps.

Interesting. Let’s see what develops. It’s a good thing Fitch has a strong neck. Hang in there, buddy!

Tags: dana white, jon fitch, reconcile, reprieve, UFC

Tomorrow night at Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat, Rhino Fight Team will have fighters representing their find organization. Only this time, it’s the main Rhino himself, Rob Guarino, who will be doing the fighting. Rob’s a great trainer and a great guy and I’m pumped to see him fight tomorrow.

I ran into Rob last weekend at Asylum Fight League show at the Abyss, where Rob was cornering Mervin Rodriguez. We spoke about his upcoming fight.

Garv: Ok, here with my main man Rob “Rhino” Guarino. Tell us about your fight at ROC 22.

Guarino: I’m fighting Doug Sonier. He’s a striker. I know he normally fights at 135 or 145, and he’s stepping up to fight me at 155 and we’re gonna have a good time.

Garv: Do you know anything about the guy?

Guarino: I just know he’s gonna lose.

Garv: (Laughs) So what do you have in store for Doug? Bang him out, sub him, what?

Guarino: There’s no weak links in my armor. I’m comfortable standing up and comfortable wrestling. I’m really comfortable on the ground, back and on top. I’m cool all around. I just want to get in there and compete again.

Garv: Now, Rob, not only are you a fighter, but your head trainer at Rhino Fight Team. What’s going on with Rhino?

Guarino: Well, I took off two years from my last fight with Khristian Geraci because I really wanted to get my team tight, get my team in order. And that’s what I’ve done for two years. I haven’t slept for 2 years, I’ve been training. I’ve been training every day, seven days a week with top notch guys. So now I’m back and I’m ready to start fighting again.

Garv: You also had a big win tonight. Mervin Rodriguez. He looked real good.

Guarino: Well, Mervin Rodriguez was my only fighter tonight. He was the main event. Mervin was on a three fight losing streak, then he came to Rhino and he dominated his fight tonight.

Garv: Yeah, he looked great tonight.

Guarino: Thank you, thank you. We really worked on his cardio, worked on his confidence and we worked on his abilities.

Garv: Well, Mervin looked good and I’m expecting for you to look just as good or better at ROC 22.

Guarino: Thank you, Garv. I appreciate it.

Tags: MMA, rhino fight team, rob guarino, roc 22

Dana White is chopping heads. He’s already gotten rid of Paulo Filho (with good reason) and now he’s just cut Jon Fitch. Also rumored to be on the chopping block is Cain Valesquez and even Josh Koscheck.

It seems that Dana and American Kickboxing Academy, whose owners train and manage Kos, Fitch, Cain and others, are at odds with one another and now the whole team is in danger.

According to Fitch, this is about the video game deal and having to sign away the rights to his name and likeness forever, which he refuses to do.

Dana White says it’s not about the video game, it’s about having to deal with AKA.

Either way, it’s a bloodbath.

Tags: aka, bob cook, cain valesquez, dana white, jon fitch cut from ufc, josh koscheck

Fedor vs Arlovski is a dream match up that fans have been speculating about for years.  Now, finally, the Day of Reckoning is upon us.  January 24th, 2009 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.

Also rumored for the show is Josh Barnett, Matt Lindland, Vitor Belfor and Babalu Sobral.  This card is shaping up nicely and should be another great one from the folks at Affliction.

You can check them out on the web at http://www.afflictionclothing.com/dayofreckoning/

Here’s the promo vid:

Tags: Affliction, anaheim ca, arlovski, babalu, day of reckoning, fedor, honda center, josh barnett, matt lindland, tickets on sale, vitor belfor

Oh man, Rich Franklin just finds it hard to stay awake when Machida is fighting. When they fought each other back in 2003, Lyoto put Rich to sleep with his fists. Now he’s putting him to sleep with his style.

In response to a question at a UFC fan-club session prior to UFC 91, Franklin had this to say about fighting Machida again:

“I’d fight him. The thing about a Machida fight that isn’t appealing to me is that stylistically, Machida is kind of a boring fighter. That’s not a putdown. It’s not a putdown. He’s very, very effective. He’s good at what he does. He’s constantly backing away and forces his opponent into mistakes, and that’s how he catches you.”

I hear ya, Rich. For fans, Machida can be frustrating to watch because his “elusiveness” can sometimes be interpreted as “safety first” and UFC fans are more keen on seeing guys like Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin who prefer to mix it up more.

Still, you can’t deny Machida’s talent and skills. He’s here to stay.

Prop to MMAJiuJitsuFighter for the ‘Shop

Tags: boring, lyoto machida, MMA, rich franklin, snoozefest, UFC

If there’s one person Matt Serra does not want to be confused with, it’s Matt Hughes. These two guys genuinely don’t like each other and are scheduled to clash in the UFC early next year.

So it must have been quite a shock for Serra to see this poster when he got to Humber College in Toronto. He was the guest speaker, but they made just a tiny mistake.

If Matt is at tomorrow’s Ring of Combat, I will made sure to bust his chops about this.

Tags: canada, humber college, matt hughes, matt serra poster, mix up, poster, snafu, toronto

Loretta Hunt from Sherdog interviewed Randy Couture shortly after he fought Brock Lesnar. Loretta was the co-author of Randy’s book and she’s an excellent journalist.

Here’s the vid:

Tags: after the fight, brock lesnar, interview, loretta hunt, loss, randy couture, sherdog, video

After taking a beating from Brock Lesnar, at least Randy has a nice place he can go back to and lick his wounds. The following pic is a photo of Randy’s house. Please don’t stalk him–he’ll kick your ass if you try.

Tags: home, house, randy couture, UFC

Matt “The Law” Lindland lost his bid for political office when he was defeated earlier this month in the Oregon’s State Representative, but he’s still involved in the world of politics.  And now he’s got a new movie out.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Cage Fighter Matt “The Law” Lindland had to earn his nickname the hard way, through perseverance and a good lawyer.  Back in 2000 Matt was in one of the biggest political sports messes ever, resulting in his case on the steps of the supreme court.  His success in the Sport of Mixed Martial Arts came to an abrupt halt as politics came knocking on his door again.  This is his story, one that some people don’t want told.

The “some people” in question are obviously from the UFC–Dana White in particular–and that’s what this film is really all about.

Back in 2000, there was a royal mess of a situation with Matt Lindland and the UFC and this film documents it.  Apparently a selling point for the flick is the fact that Dana White evidently did not want it made.

From the press release:

Despite 39 profanity and threat filled text messages from the Cell Phone of Dana White, President of the UFC, FIGHTING POLITICS is here to tell the real story of Cage Fighter Matt Lindland.  FIGHTING POLITICS has been submitted to the 25 largest Film Festivals for screenings, more dates to be released soon.

Ok, time to grab a bucket of popcorn, everyone.

After the jump there’s the movie’s trailer for you to check out.

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Tags: dana white, fighting politics, matt lindland, MMA, UFC