Monday, March 30, 2009


Shady Kansas City Promotion Trying to Screw One of Fred Ettish's Fighters

A shady Kansas City-based promotion called Close Quarter Combat, which held an event in the Kansas City area on March 21st, is trying to screw one of Fred Ettish's fighters - but you don't try to screw one of Ettish's fighters and get away with it. A competitor in UFC 2 and well-respected and longtime member of the MMA community, Ettish runs a Miletich Fighting Systems school nearby, and when CQC matchmakers Rick Huddleston and Jason Shane came around snooping for participants for their March event one of Ettish's students signed up. Unfortunately, despite athletic commission presence and oversight, no one got paid after the show... so Ettish is going to the press. And the state's attorney general. And the governor's office. And taking legal action. Bottom line: don't screw with Fred, because Fred is the Man. "CQC believes in helping our fighters reach their highest potential inside and outside the ring," reads a pre-event statement from the promotion. "We strive to help our fighters get maximum potential earnings and exposure during their career and to prepare them for a successful life after fighting in the ring." They seem to be failing to live up to their mission statement.

UFC 101 in Philadelphia to Not Be Headlined By Eddie Alvarez

The juggernaut that is the UFC will be coming to Philadelphia for UFC 101, and the organization is pulling out all the stops for its first event in the "City of Brotherly Love" by reportedly not having Philadelphia-based superstar Eddie Alvarez headline the show. Slated for August 8th at the Wachovia Center, UFC 101 will see non-Philadelphia native BJ Penn taking on another non-Philly fighter in Kenny Florian, while non-Philadelphia resident Forrest Griffin squares up against someone who probably couldn't even find Philadelphia on the map in Thiago Silva. Meanwhile, top-ten lightweight and local hero Alvarez still is not headlining the event (much less in the show). Said a spokesman for the organization, "We're very excited to be coming to Philadelphia - a place rich in pugilistic history and tradition - and what better way to celebrate our arrival than by not having the most successful Philadelphia-based fighter of all time on the card?"