Allegations of Impropriety Tarnish Departing Armando Garcia's Reputation

With his impending deportation looming, departing California State Athletic Commission Grand Luchador Armando Garcia's reputation has suffered more than a few blows in recent days thanks to emerging allegations of impropriety. According to published reports, Garcia, who is being expelled from the country by the Immigration and Naturalization Service for being an illegal alien, was responsible for robbing a stagecoach outside of San Diego and forcing a subordinate to dance by shooting at the subordinate's feet with a pistol. "He is a bad man," said local villager Consuela Dominguez. "We call him 'El Diablo de la Comision Atletico'. Even the children are afraid of him." Garcia's last day with the CSAC will be November 18th.

NYS Assembly Roundtable on MMA - Postscript

• Jeff Blatnik did a fantastic job answering every question regarding the safety of the sport. Someone should seriously be paying him for his work.
• Zuffa was freakin' brilliant in hiring Marc Ratner as their VP of Regulatory Affairs. His opinion and perspective carried a lot of weight, and you could see that in how the others in the room listened to him.
• Melvina Lathan and Edwin Torres of the NYSAC are very open to getting MMA into the state. They both come from extensive boxing backgrounds, but they had absolutely none of those boxing prejudices that have so long plagued the sport.
• When MMA gets regulated in New York, the athletic commission is going to hunt down and execute underground promoters like Darth Vader hunted down the last surviving Jedi.
• Assemblyman Steven Englebright ended things on a very positive note. If things go as planned, expect pro MMA in the state by the third or fourth quarter of 2009.

Liveblog: NYS Assembly Roundtable on MMA 5

More on the proposed bill: all gyms that teach MMA will need to be licensed by the athletic commission.

Liveblog: NYS Assembly Roundtable on MMA 4

James Leary, legal counsel for the NYSAC, is pitching the new law that would empower the commission to sanction the sport. Yikes. If this specific bill gets passed, anyone who gets paid to compete - or who gets paid to teach MMA or "pursue or assist in the practice of mixed martial arts" - will be considered a "professional combative sports participant". Good lord, where did this guy go to law school? That's never going to survive a legal challenge.

Liveblog: NYS Assembly Roundtable on MMA 3

NYSAC Commissioner Melvina Lathan gets the conch shell and her chief concern is the vast number of underground fights in the state. She's worried about the unregulated nature of these events, including the lack of record keeping, and her main gripe is that the athletic commission lacks the manpower to do anything about it. You can bet there's going to be a big underground fight/smoker crackdown when MMA gets regulated in NYS.

Liveblog: NYS Assembly Roundtable on MMA 2

A few words on Jeff Blatnik: for those who don't remember the role he played in getting the sport on track in the early days, then let this serve as a reminder that the man has worked tirelessly to educate state officials - in New York especially - on MMA. He's here today because he was invited by the assemblymen sponsoring the bill, and before the proceedings get underway he tells me his chief concern is for the unfettered growth of, not just the UFC, but for the smaller shows - shows which will happen far more frequently than the UFC rolling into town.

Liveblog: NYS Assembly Roundtable on MMA

MMA Journalist is live in downtown New York City blogging the New York State Assembly roundtable on the legalization of MMA in the Empire State. What the heck is a "roundtable"? Basically, just a chance for the UFC to rap about how much money the sport can bring to the state. Assemblyman Steven Englebright is the master of ceremonies, and in attendence thus far are Marc Ratner and Jeff Blatnik. After telling Ratner that he was my hero, he replied to me: "We'll get this done."

Amir Sadollah Injures Self to Avoid Facing Nick Catone at UFC 91

Middleweight TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah's bout against ROC champ Nick Catone, which was slated for the main card of Saturday's UFC 91, has now been cancelled according to the UFC website. The reason behind the last-minute cancellation is a self-inflicted leg injury, which was sustained when Sadollah purposely jumped into the path of a charging ram. Said Sadollah's trainer Dirk Frankenbaum: "I don't understand it. The training camp was great, everything was great. Then last night we showed Amir some footage of Catone's fights, and Amir ran out back and met up with that ram." Added Frankenbaum, "I guess Amir really didn't want to fight him." The preliminary match-up between Tamdan McCrory and Dustin Hazelett will now be moved up to the pay-per-view broadcast.

MMA Journalist Exclusive: Brock Lesnar Admits to Abusing Leprechauns in Imaginary Interview

In an exclusive imaginary interview with MMA Journalist, Brock Lesnar, who squares off against heavyweight champ Randy Couture this weekend at UFC 91, has revealed that he is an abuser of leprechauns. The former WWE wrestler, who earned his shot at the UFC title with a mere 2-1 fight record, describes a darker aspect of himself that most fans probably don't know - an aspect that fans maybe don't want to know. Here's an excerpt from that shocking imaginary interview:

• Mr. Lesnar, you've accomplished a lot in the world of wrestling, and on Saturday you're facing a legend in the sport of MMA, so you definitely have a lot to be proud of. Is there anything about you you're not proud of? Well, there is, actually. All my life I've hated leprechauns.
• Leprechauns? Yeah. You know, those little Irish fellas who guard pots of gold at the end of rainbows? I hate 'em. Always have.
• I see. And have you ever acted on this hatred? Yeah, I have. I mean, well, some might say I've abused them.
• Abused? How so? Well, at first it was all verbal. Like, whenever I'd see them I'd put them down... make fun of their pointy shoes, things like that. But as time went by, I'd walk by and kick over their pots of gold. And lately, I've just been tackling them. They hate that. They hate getting their clothes messed up.
• That's very interesting. And where do you think this hatred stems from? I don't know, man. I just hate 'em.
• Okay. Are you at all worried that revealing this... behavior might adversely affect your fans' opinions of you? I don't know. I guess. But it's something I have to get off my chest. I mean, fans know me as this big hulk of guy who doesn't even remotely deserve a shot at the UFC belt - but really, I'm much more complex than that.
• Wow. Well, thanks for your time, Brock. No, thank you.

Fabricio Werdum Cut From the UFC; the World Mourns

The world is in mourning today with the news that Fabricio Werdum, a Brazilian heavyweight and jiu-jitsu black belt, was cut from the UFC's roster. The purported reason behind his exit is said to have been contractual in nature, driven in no small part by the Chute Boxe fighter's shocking upset loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 90. Werdum's career highlights included TKO wins over Brandon Vera and Gabriel Gonzaga in the Octagon, and Pride victories over Aleksander Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem. Said UFC Chief Executioner Dana White, "I know I'm not alone in feeling like we've lost a good friend today... Say, do you want to be fucking fighter?" Werdum leaves behind an ill-conceived heavyweight tournament and a disgustingly-anemic weight class. In lieu of flowers, the UFC prefers fans to make a cash donation to the "Give the UFC Your Money" charity.

So Where Did Lyman Good End Up?

East Coast standout and Team Tiger Schulmann superstar Lyman Good was on the verge of big-time exposure when EliteXC offered him a contract, but then EliteXC bit the dust. So where did Good finally end up? It looks like the Bellator Fighting Championships is the winner. The Bellator Fighting Championships will air on ESPN Deportes (ESPN's latin-centric sports channel), and will feature eight-man tournaments in various weight-classes. More details should come when the BFC starts leaking more info.

CSAC Head Armando Garcia to Be Deported by INS

California State Athletic Commission Grand Luchador Armando Garcia, the controversial head of the Golden State's MMA-governing body and a longtime illegal alien, is slated for deportation by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and will therefore be stepping down, MMA Journalist has learned. With over two decades of boxing and Mexican wrestling experience on his resume, Garcia brought a distinctive flair to the sport of mixed martial arts, and though he was partly responsible for the administrative mis-steps in the high-profile suspensions of Sean Sherk, Phil Baroni and Nick Diaz, his trademark sombrero and low-slung pistols will surely be missed. When asked for comment on his deportation, Garcia replied, "No hables Ingles." It's expected he will return to his original job as a bandit in his native country. A successor has not yet been named.