Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): This fight is a rematch from PRIDE 31, where you obviously got the TKO victory, and Rua got the elbow injury. Does that make this fight mean anything more to you, the fact that there’s a history there, some unfinished business?

Mark Coleman: No, I think because we’ve already fought once, and “Shogun” has decided to make the fight personal, and everything involved in the whole situation definitely makes it a little more important to me. It’s not personal to me … Well, because he’s made it personal, I’ve had to make it personal. But really, he’s just another opponent - a very good one at that. But I just need to win this fight to keep my career going.

Mark Coleman talking to MMA Mania about his upcoming rematch with Shogun at UFC 93. Here's a YouTube of their first match and its aftermath. MMA infamy all the way.

There's been a lot of confusion about who will coach The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Bisping if Rich Franklin defeats Dan Henderson.  Rich Franklin only adds to the confusion at MMA Fanhouse:

I have not personally spoken to Dana, the UFC or any production people about the show.  Six weeks in Vegas, I've gotten to the point where I could care less for staying in Vegas for that period of time.  It's time away from my family and time away from doing the things I can do to make money.  The show doesn't pay very well...But anything the UFC asks me to do, I'm always on board for.

I think this roughly translates to:  I really don't want to do the show, so I want to show Dana that I'm on board for anything he wants so he'll be more willing to listen to my objections.

As I've said before, if Rich wins a coaching slot opposite Bisping at 185 pounds makes no sense at all for his career.  If he beats Dan Henderson, he becomes a legitimate contender at 205 and really should only be a fight or two away from a title shot.  Instead he will have to wait upwards of a year just to compete at 205 again.  All of this goes away if Henderson wins, and Henderson is the favorite, but it strikes me that Henderson should really coach opposite Bisping either way.  It's not like it's any less of an achievement for Bisping to beat Henderson if Franklin finds a way to do it at 205, it is still a huge challenge for Bisping.

Continue reading this post »

There is a lot on the line for Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 93.  If he defeats Mark Coleman, as he is widely expected to do, he may find himself in a main event with Chuck Liddell as soon as March 7th in Columbus.  If he loses, it could all disappear for him.

Shogun came to the United States as the consensus top fighter in the sport's elite division, and put in a pathetic performance against Forrest Griffin, who was considered to be a borderline top 10 fighter at the time.  Shogun has been held out by many as an example of Pride guys that couldn't make the transition, and 16 months later he has a chance to prove his performance was a result of his injury, and not reflective of his skill as a fighter.  Shogun signed a lucrative contract, and will likely have to renegotiate or face being cut if he loses to Mark Coleman.

I fully expect Shogun to win this fight, but I have reservations.  Will he ever regain his old explosiveness following his injury?  Is he as dangerous of a fighter without soccer kicks and stomps?  Will Mark Coleman overpower him at 205 pounds?  Will he gas again trying to fend off Coleman's wrestling?

Wanderlei Silva said that before his Keith Jardine fight, he looked in the mirror and told himself that if he didn't win his life was over.  One can only suspect Shogun feels the same way.  

Continue reading this post »

There have been a rash of stories over the past few days suggesting UFC 93 would be on PPV.  I was kind of surprised because I knew negotiations were ongoing and I knew Dana wants to only do one PPV a month next year.  This may just be an online gaffe, and maybe the show is still on PPV, but the newest image put up today on UFC.com suggests the show is on Spike TV.  Head over to the UFC's home page for the image.

Hopefully the show is on Spike, there is a PPV overload early next year.

Update:  They have changed the image.  This afternoon, there was a promo image for UFC 93 that had a Spike TV logo on it.  Now it is changed and no longer has the image, suggesting it was a mistake.

I didn't post it because the people over there have been especially militant about going after sites for using their pictures lately, so I didn't want any trouble.

"We like each other, we respect each other, but we want to have that fight. And my pitch to Chris is, 'The first guy that starts grappling is a pussy, so let's not do that. Let's just stand up and just beat the hell out of each other. If we get in a clinching scenario, and somebody wants to throw somebody or whatever, go ahead and do it. But let's not try to finish it on the ground. Let's stand up, and let's bang it out.'"