It was a busy weekend, what with Bellator on Thursday, the UFC Fan Expo opening on Friday, Dream.14 early Saturday morning and UFC 114 poppin’ off on Saturday night. And so it’s understandable that not every noteworthy news bite got the attention it was due. Here’s what you might have missed over the Memorial Day Weekend.
Matt Hughes, UFC Hall of Famer
On Friday, former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes joined Chuck Liddell, Charles “Mask” Lewis, Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Randy Couture, and Mark Coleman in the UFC Hall of Fame. “Country Breakfast” accepted the strange glass plaque with humility, saying that, “Shaking hands, signing autographs, being a world title holder and being inducted into the Hall of Fame, this is beyond what I ever would have pictured my life being.” The former champ has a long-standing tradition of putting his foot in his mouth, but if you want to find out where he’s really coming from, check out our May 2009 covers story. http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/mma-article.asp?issid=21&aid=276
Shenanigans
According to Loretta Hunt < http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/Tennessee-Commission-Recommends-Suspensions-Fines-for-Strikeforce-Brawl-24757>, the Tennessee Athletic Commission will issue five fines and suspensions to parties involved in the post-fight tomfoolery at Strikeforce Nashville. One of those fine/suspension combo platters is expected to be served to UFC fighter Nate Diaz, and according to MMAWeekly < http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=11641&zoneid=13>, the UFC will honor the any suspension handed down.
Jon Anik Can Pay His Mortgage For At Least Three More Months
This weekend ESPN announced that it would continue to broadcast MMA Live on ESPN2 through August 2010. The show, which premiered online in 2008, will still be available on ESPN.com.
Arona To Find New Life In the Octagon?
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According to Mike Chiappetta, Pride veteran Ricardo Arona met with Dana White over UFC 114 weekend and hopes to sign with the UFC. Arona’s career petered out during the same time frame that MMA was exploding stateside, so it will be interesting to see if he can return to form in the UFC.
A Small Salute on Memorial Day
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Last but certainly not least, FIGHT! wants to take a minute to honor American servicemen and women past and present. More than a few of them – including Brian Stann, Tim Kennedy, Tim Credeur and Jorge Rivera have found homes in MMA, and like many veterans, they continue to devote time and energy to the service of others. Whether it’s Brian Stann’s Hire Heroes project or Ranger Up’s Training the Troops program, the work they do is important and worthy of attention, as are events like the Fight for the Troops card in Mosul, Iraq that FIGHT! Magazine attended last fall. So for what it’s worth, ya’ll, FIGHT! salutes you.
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