Top Five Heavyweights Who Are Their Own Worst Enemy

Wow. Josh Barnett and steroids. Geez, did the guy learn nothing from his 2002 debacle? He was the UFC champ then, having convincingly defeated Randy Couture only to have the belt stripped for a failed drug test, and that was the last time he would grace the Octagon. Now he's screwed himself out of a bout with Fedor - a bout he very well could have won. And for what? Anyhoo, here's a nice handy-dandy list of the top five heavyweights who've proven to be their own worst enemy. Of course, number one is...

1. Josh Barnett - the man has submission skills, can bang when he has to, and has long been considered one of the best in his division. Unfortunately, on the eve of his match-up with the man considered the best heavyweight in the world, Barnett screws himself and his considerable number of fans out of what should have been his crowning achievement: a win over Fedor. Damn you, athletic commission, for your random drug screenings!
2. David "Tank" Abbott - the ultimate slugger who elevated not training into an art form. Tank was the sport's first heel, alternately loved and despised by one and all, and came thisclose to winning a UFC belt. Alas, it was never meant to be. Damn you, lungs, for needing oxygen!
3. Bobby Hoffman - a talent-rich heavyweight from the Miletich camp, this guy had knockout power and could compete in the Octagon with the best of them. He was also apparently crazy as a loon, and on the night of his last UFC loss, he beat on his new bride and wound up in the slammer. Damn you, brain chemistry, for needing regulating!
4. Tim Sylvia - a dangerous and capable striker with the charisma of a test tube full of Ebola, this guy lost the UFC belt the first time around for testing positive for steroids, and when he lost the belt again - to Couture at UFC 68 - his blaming of his loss on nagging injuries made his stock plummet even further. The icing on the cake, however, is his stellar performance against aged boxing legend Ray Mercer last month. Damn you, ex-boxing champ, for remembering how to throw a punch!
5. Brock Lesnar - ugh. Dude, please don't talk. Please.

KAPMMA Amateur Show in Newark Tonight

Just an FYI in case you're in the area: tonight is Karriem Abdallah Production's amateur MMA championships event at the Essex County College Gymnasium in Newark, New Jersey. A bunch of belts will be contested in the cage, so, um, yeah. Check it out.

Josh Barnett Tests Positive For Anime; Bout with Fedor Off

In what can only be described as a crushing blow to the upcoming Affliction: "Trilogy" card, heavyweight Josh Barnett has tested positive for anime in a California State Athletic Commission pre-fight screening. As a consequence, his August 1st bout against Fedor Emelianenko is off, leaving Affliction promoter and head seamstress Tom Atencio scrambling for a replacement to face the Russian. According to published reports, the specific anime Barnett tested positive for include "Fist of the North Star", "Cowboy Bebop" and "Vampire Hunter D". The former UFC champ also allegedly tested positive for "Akira", but California does not ban "classic anime" for its fighters. No word yet on who might step in to help salvage the suddenly-stricken event on such short notice.

"Kimo Dead!" Says Midget Wrestler

World-renowned Midwest Midget Wrestling Champ of the World and Dairy Queen parking lot denizen Beau "One Man Army" Taylor is reporting that Hawaiian fighting legend Kimo Leopoldo has died of a heart attack, according to every cheese-eating blog and headline-starved newsite on the Internet. A veteran from the UFC's early days, Kimo burst onto the scene with a gutsy performance against Royce Gracie at UFC 3, and despite troubles with drug addiction, the charismatic heavyweight managed to return to MMA numerous times, defeating the likes of Paul Varelans, Tim Lajcik and Tank Abbott, and losing to Ken Shamrock twice. One Man Army, meanwhile, was once voted "Most Likely To Be Unable To Ride The Rollercoaster Because He Is Only This Tall". As of this writing, no one credible has determined if the rumor of Kimo's death is true. Stay tuned for more as the story develops.

From the Mailbag: "What Amateur Loophole?"

"You mentioned in your post on the history of New York underground shows something about an 'amateur MMA loophole in the law'. What amateur loophole?" - R. Davis

I'm going to let you in on a big secret, Mr. Davis. The reason certain underground shows have remained untouched throughout the years is because they've exploited a loophole in the way the law banning MMA in New York State was written. The law, part of the New York Unconsolidated Laws, under the chapter titled "Boxing, Sparring and Wrestling" (Google it you lazy bastard), explicitly bans "combative sports", a.k.a. pro MMA - but it makes no mention of amateur MMA. In fact, later on in that chapter come the words "The provisions of this act... shall not be construed to apply to... any such contest or exhibition where the contestants are all amateurs".

Yeah, you read that correctly. The law that has kept the UFC out of the Empire State since 1997 does not apply to amateurs. And back in 2003, Jerome Becker - who at the time was a New York State Athletic Commissioner - confirmed as much to me over the phone. "We have no jurisdiction over amateur events," he said. "We only have jurisdiction over events where the competitors are paid." An attorney for the New York Department of State agreed, as did an NYPD rep from their Community Affairs office.

When NYSAC General Counsel Hugo Spindola began his crusade to stamp out anything not boxing or wrestling or an "approved martial art", he did so with Cease & Desist letters threatening the gyms hosting the events (note: boxing gyms must get licensed by the commission, and who wants to jeopardize their license for some "underground ultimate fighting" show?). If that didn't work, the State Liquor Authority would step in if the host venue sold liquor, threatening to revoke liquor licenses thanks to a law that banned selling booze at combative sports events of both the pro and amateur variety. At no time has anyone come after promoters of amateur MMA directly. How could they?

This will, of course, all change soon. The new law slowly trudging its way through the State Legislature sews up the loophole by making it all about whether an admission was charged at the door, not if the competitors were paid. But that's progress for you. And anyway, it was a fun ride while it lasted.

Michael Bisping: "I'm Going to Kick Henderson's Ass at UFC 100"

Middleweight Brit and TUF 9 coach Michael Bisping assured fans this past weekend that he'll emerge victorious when he faces Dan Henderson at UFC 100, apparently unaware that the event was a week before and that he'd fought and lost via devastating knockout. According to an interview in the Manchester Times, Bisping declared: "I'm going to kick Henderson's ass at UFC 100. That bloke's got nothing on me. He can't submit me, and he sure can't knock me out." The interviewer avoided addressing the fact that Bisping was, in fact, knocked out - although the article later goes on to quote one of the amnesia-stricken Brit's coaches. "Yeah, he's off his nut," said Paddy McPunchface. "Ain't been the same since." Bisping is tentatively scheduled to compete at UFC 105 in England, although no opponent has been named.

What Now For New Jersey Amateur MMA?

With the loss of Paul Rosner, whose USKBA played a huge role in overseeing amateur MMA in New Jersey, comes the question: "What happens now?" Referees and officials sporting USKBA patches are a fixture at the multitude of Garden State amateur promotions. Will another sanctioning organization step in? According to the NJSACB's Nick Lembo, there's no need, as the commission itself will carry on with training and licensing the inspectors, judges and referees. In other words, it will be business as usual. Rosner may be gone, but his work - and crowning achievement - will live on.

Rest In Peace Paul Rosner

The Northeast MMA community has lost another one: United States Kickboxing Association president Paul Rosner passed away. Rosner worked alongside NJSACB's Nick Lembo to develop the amateur MMA rules that are used today, and the USKBA has sanctioned countless kickboxing and MMA bouts over the years. Every amateur who steps into the cage owes a debt of gratitude to Rosner. He will be missed.

A Brief History of Underground Shows in New York

Yesterday's Gladiator Martial Arts show in Brooklyn was a bust ("organization issues" cited the promoter), so as a consolation prize, MMA Journalist will instead delve into the history of unsanctioned underground shows in New York. Yay!

A little background: New York State banned professional MMA in 1997. However, when approached, the New York State Athletic Commission's official opinion on such fights was "as long as it's not the UFC, we don't care. Do what you want." This led to a pair of tournaments at Borough of Manhattan Community College, organized by kung fu legend David Ross, where competitors wore pads and headgear. It also led to promoter Lou Neglia judiciously placing MMA bouts on some of his kickboxing cards (bouts labeled as "exhibition grappling"). These were USKBA sanctioned, took place at Vengeance at the Vanderbilt and at a one-off event in New York City called "Battle on Broadway", and curiously, when the athletic commission reversed its position, a law banning alcohol at shows with MMA bouts was used to push Neglia's non-kickboxing endeavors out of state (which, more than anything, speaks of the amateur MMA loophole in the law). And so, the timeline:

• International Fight Night - promoted by Gene Fabrikant in the heart of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, this 2001 series of events had fighters like Christian Montes, Nardu Debra, Vlad Koulikov and Brazilian Rodolfo Amaro taking on Russian fighters in a nightclub before an audience of Russian high-rollers. Montes described it as the most surreal of experiences, as he'd hop on the subway, change at a waiters' station and then fight, and it was like he was in Moscow. Allegedly, Amaro was offered money by the promoter to take a dive against his crowd-favored foe; he refused, and won by armbar. Fabrikant's unsanctioned New York efforts bit the dust when he tried to run a pro eight-man kickboxing tournament in 2002 and city agencies lined up to shut it down.
• Vengeance at the Vanderbilt - Neglia's seminal MMA event, which ran from 1998 to 2002, saw Matt and Nick Serra submit fools left and right, Phil Baroni pound on opponents, and fighters like Joe Scarola, Rodrigo Gracie, Jon Weidler, Pete Sell and Jose Rodriguez rack up wins. This was also where future MMA fighters like Luke Cummo and Elvis Garcia would polish their kickboxing skills in Muay Thai bouts. Note: the name "Vengeance at the Vanderbilt" came from the name of the venue, a Long Island nightclub called the Vanderbilt.
• Battle on Broadway - Neglia's New York City show in 2002. At the lone Battle on Broadway event, which took place in the ballroom of a hotel in Times Square, Nardu Debra submitted Brad Daddis.
• Underground Combat League - Peter Storm's long-running vale tudo underground show began in 2003, the result of a political climate that had the athletic commission actively trying to shut unsanctioned events down. The UCL still holds events to this day, has garnered the attention of the New York Times, Newsday, the Daily News, the New York Post, Fox 5 News, film producers and documentarians, and has seen the likes of UFC lightweight contender Frankie Edgar, IFL heavyweight Bryan Vetell, and fighters like Andrew Montanez, Kareem Ellington, Jay Coleman and Rob Guarino compete in its ring.
• Aggressive Shoot Championship - an event orchestrated by Jerry Mendez in 2005, this one was a pretty successful outing that followed shootfighting rules (no closed-fist strikes to the face, no strikes to the face on the ground, one rope-escape allowed). Carmine Zocchi, Tom Velasquez and JA Dudley were among the winning competitors who later went on to fight pro.
• Empire State Warrior Challenge - an upstate New York event that's been holding events since 2007, the Empire State Warrior Challenge is where schools with legitimate MMA programs go to prey upon traditional martial arts schools who are curious about this whole MMA thing. And I mean that in a good way. The amateur rules and medical precautions have done well in ensuring no one has gotten hurt.
• Clash in the Cage - a Long Island-based monthly smoker, this one is more hush-hush than most and doesn't like the attention, so all I'll say about it is that it's a good place for aspiring grapplers, kickboxing and MMAers to get their feet wet in a cage.
• Martial Arts Madness - a Brooklyn-based promotion, this bad boy had a lot of bells and whistles attached to their event a few weeks ago (a staff, concessions, ring card girls, etc.). Competitors wear pads and headgear, and seem more like the YouTube generation in the ring, but given time some real gems might emerge.

I've left out an Eastern Long Island show that held a couple events last year before folding (its name escapes me, but when I spoke to the promoter he seemed like a well-intentioned guy). I've also left out the events organized by Michael Tome, aka "Snake", on an Indian reservation in upstate New York; the athletic commission has no sway over what happens on reservations.

Preliminary Lineup for Saturday's Brooklyn Underground Show

Here's the lineup for tomorrow's Gladiator Martial Arts event, an underground MMA show in the deepest, darkest recesses of Brooklyn. This is from info I've gleaned online; whether this version of the card comes to fruition is another story entirely.

• Rafi (kickboxing and BJJ-165lbs) vs. Mighty Mouse (Krav Maga-145lbs)
• Greg (grappling-168lbs) vs. The Bully (streetfighting-155lbs)
• Braveheart (jujitsu-150lbs) vs. Malik Saldana (Muay Thai-150lbs)
• Lionheart (Muay Thai and MMA-125lbs) vs. Knightwing (Muay Thai-130lbs)
• J-Roc (Hulk Combat-170lbs) vs. Antonio "The Beast" Ramchelawon (wrestling and MMA-172lbs)

Apparently Joe "Heavy Hands", a 260-pound boxer, is still looking for an opponent.

Normally, I'd be concerned about the weight difference between Rafi and Mighty Mouse, which spans two weight classes. But as Mighty Mouse is a cartoon character from the 1940s with invulnerability, super-strength and the power of flight, he should be okay.

MMA Journalist will likely be there to liveblog the event.