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TUF Viewing Party with Phillipe Nover

TUF 8 competitor and all-around killer Phillipe Nover will be holding an episode eight viewing party on November 5th. Obviously, Nover fights on that episode. The Aviator Sports and Recreation Center in Brooklyn is the location (just south of the Belt Parkway), and the festivities begin at 8pm. Check out http://phillipenover.blogspot.com/ for more details.

Dan Miller Upholds Proud Family Tradition of Winning in the Octagon

Dan Miller - IFL middleweight champ, ace grappler and older brother of lightweight badass Jim Miller - was successful in upholding his family's proud tradition of winning in the Octagon, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Matt Horwich at UFC 90 this past Saturday. Thanks to some tough genes and a solid work ethic, the tradition, which began when Grand Pappy Miller defeated Zulu in a 1936 UFC bout, has held strong for three generations. And if the Millers have their way it will continue for generations to come. Said former babysitter Alissa Handerson, "Yeah, the Millers... they're tough. Rowdy, but very, very tough."

Observations from My Couch: UFC 90

• Sean Sherk and Tyson Griffin fought a fantastic fight. However, it was extremely disturbing to hear Randy Couture cursing like a sailor in Griffin's corner. Extremely disturbing.
• What is Rich Clementi? He's crafty. Crafty. I don't know why that's stuck in my head. Oh wait, yes I do - it's because Joe Rogan said it two billion times.
• Thiago Alves could very well demolish Georges St. Pierre.
• Anderson Silva is the nicest guy in the world. After all, he did carry Patrick Cote for two rounds in their championship bout.

Things That Won't Happen at UFC 90

UFC 90 on Saturday night! Anderson Silva committing another legal murder! Wahoo! Here's a list of things that won't happen at this Rosemont, Illinois event:

• Patrick Cote is not going to emerge from his bout with Silva unscathed. In fact, he's going to be scathed. Very, very scathed.
• Josh Koscheck is not going to reveal his ethnicity in his victory speech.
• Sean Sherk and Tyson Griffin are not going to employ any wrestling in their lightweight battle. Psych!
• Matt Horwich is not going to invoke Satan is his pre-fight warm-up.
• The corner men of Hermes Franca and Marcus Aurelio will not shout any instructions in Portuguese. Psych!

A Review of MTV's True Life: "I am a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter"

Last night MTV's True Life documentary series featured an episode called "I am a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter", which had an amateur from Colorado named Ian Stone fighting in a local event, Muay Thai champ Kit Cope fighting in Atlantic City against some scrub, and UFC lightweight star Frankie Edgar taking on Gray Maynard. Some thoughts:

• Stone is a good example of what's wrong with MMA kids today. I mean, he cooked that lone egg he was eating for dinner. Rocky Balboa would've eaten it raw.
• It was good to see Cope and girlfriend Aubrey together again after she'd stood by his side on that True Life: "I am a Muay Thai Fighter" from a few years ago. The sport needs more interpersonal drama like that. Maybe they can hang out with that couple from True Life: "I am an Douchebag from Staten Island".
• The producers did an excellent job of showing that the venue was almost completely empty for Cope's fight at the World Fighting Championship in Atlantic City. They should have at least added in spectators via CGI, right?
• Edgar conducted an interview over the phone while driving. Whenever a fighter tells me he's driving during our phone interview, I worry that he'll get distracted and crash. No reporter wants to be the one to tell Dana White, "Um, yeah, so I was asking him about rumored pay cuts, and... boom! Sorry, man."

Forida State Boxing Commission Exonerates EliteXC, Clearing Way for Company's Sale to CBS

The Florida State Boxing Commission has concluded that no wrongdoing occurred in the Kimbo Slice/Seth Petruzelli bout from EliteXC's ill-fated October 4th card. Allegations of fight-fixing arose after Petruzelli claimed in a post-event radio interview that he was paid extra to keep the fight standing, with the resulting uproar over "Standgate" prompting the FSBC's investigation. "Dis is wicked news," said EliteXC figurehead Jared Shaw. "Now naffink stands in da way hof CBS buyin' us. Booyakasha!"

The MMA Journalist Guide to Scoring Free Stuff from Promoters

Zach Arnold over at FightOpinion has an interesting discussion going on the topic of promoters paying off the media (link: http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/22/dana-whites-admission-that-will-likely-not-get-much-attention-but-really-should/). Basically, he blasts the UFC for having various journalists in their pocket, and he blasts journalists for being there in the first place. Having been in this business for a while, I can honestly say that the practice of buying off reporters, bloggers, editors, publishers, etc. is about as commonplace as staph in a jiu-jitsu academy (i.e., it's freakin' everywhere). Want a personal example? When Zuffa first took over, Dana White liked my glowing UFC 34 write-up so much, he told my boss that my hotel would be paid for whenever I covered UFC events. (Incidentally, my boss told Dana to go scratch; he didn't want anyone having that kind of control over who writes what.) The truth is, promoters often buy up a block of hotel rooms for staff and fighters, and members of the media will get what's left over. Add to that equation the backstage food spreads at shows (the UFC's used to be huge but was pared down over time, BodogFIGHT's was epic, the IFL's just consisted of stacks of pizzas), and you have a lot of people getting free stuff. Does it affect the story at the end of the day? I can't speak for anyone else, but I can say that it's never colored what I write. If I think an event sucks, no amount of lodging or grub is going to change that - and that's the truth. Now excuse me while I go sell these ROC and UCL t-shirts on eBay.

TUF 8 Analysis: Episode 6

Last night brought us the sixth episode of the TUF 8 season, and we were treated to Junie Browning finally putting his money where his mouth is, coach Mir being a douche, and... wait for it... wait for it... STANKIE!

• Team Noguiera boxing coach Stankie is the best thing to ever happen to SpikeTV. Shouting "Fight, fight, kill, kill!" was just the tip of the iceberg. I just know he was out in the parking lot afterwards smashing windshields with a tire iron, and I have it on good authority that when the Team Mir van was shuttling the fighters back to the TUF house, Stankie tried to run it off the road with his beat-up 1974 Dodge Charger.
• Browning may never know how close to death he came for spitting on that black belt. Word is that Anderson Silva was mad as hell, and to release some of his anger, went over to one of the hanging bags and kicked it. The bag burst into flames.
• Based on his striking and wrestling ability, there's no question Roli Delgado is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.
• Although he snagged the split decision, Browning did not impress with that performance. If he ever fights Phillipe Nover, Nover is going to take his head clean off.

Patrick Cote: "Wait, I'm Fighting Who?"

Patrick Cote was finally told yesterday that his UFC 90 opponent is none other than middleweight champ Anderson Silva, a fact that was kept from the Canadian slugger since he signed the generic bout agreement months ago. Cote was reportedly kept in the dark by his management team because no one in their right mind would want to get in the cage with the man who destroyed former champ Rich Franklin twice and made short work of Pride champ Dan Henderson. Standing behind the podium at a press conference when he heard the news, Cote at first seemed shocked, then became dismayed. "Wait, I'm fighting who?" he said before throwing his UFC cap to the ground and storming off the stage. "Yeah, we didn't tell him who he was fighting," said Muay Thai trainer Mark DellaGrotte. DellaGrotte worked with Cote on possible strategies for the UFC 90 bout, including the "go fetal and cry" maneuver and the "tap out really, really fast" technique, and though DellaGrotte was successful in keeping the opponent's identity a secret, he feels strongly about Cote's chances. "If he does what we practiced, he may make it out of the cage alive. Unconscious, but alive." UFC 90 airs Saturday night on pay-per-view, and in addition to the Silva/Cote bout, it features a welterweight match-up between Thiago Alves and Josh Koscheck.