UFC COO Ike Lawrence Epstein Talks MMA

UFC

There was another installment of the Columbia University Sports Management Program's class on MMA in New York last night, and the guest lecturer was a doozy. UFC Chief Operating Officer Ike Lawrence Epstein took a turn with the conch shell, and with New York-based lobbyists David Weinraub and Steve Greenberg on hand, the pearls of wisdom were seemingly endless.

The class began with a sizzle reel, then came a Power Point presentation packed with all kinds of great info. After that came a lengthy question-and-answer session.

Some of the more salient points of the knowledge dropped by Epstein, Weinraub and Greenberg included:

Resolution Delayed in Zuffa vs. New York Lawsuit

NEW YORK

The Office of the Attorney General has asked for - and gotten - an extension on the deadlines for all the motions and responses that were supposed to be flying around around now in regards to the ongoing lawsuit Zuffa filed against the State. If you'll recall, Judge Kimba Wood recently put her foot down on all that stuff, making a resolution to the case seem imminent. Alas, that has changed.

As per MMAPayout:

In a letter to the Court on June 25, 2014, the New York Attorney General requested an extension of time as one of its lead attorneys on the case was leaving the office on July 3rd. In addition, New York indicated that key non-party witnesses were out of the office and could not be contacted. It appears that these witnesses would provide declarations that would support New York’s Motion for Summary Judgment which, if the Court granted, would effectively end the lawsuit. New York also argues that Zuffa’s Complaint is long and two weeks to respond to Zuffa’s Response to its moving papers would not be enough time.

MMAPayout has the document embedded so you can read the sob story if you want, but honestly, lawyers are people too and things happen that require a little flexibility. Besides, so what if the dates are pushed back a month or two? NEW YORK STATE IS STILL GOING TO LOSE.

Fists of Fury Poster

NEW YORK

Friday Night Fights Primer: Henry Lee vs. NJ Mac

NEW YORK

Apparently NJ Mac is slated to take part in the eight-man tournament at this week's Friday Night Fights installment. Who is NJ Mac? Watch the video below and find out.

Words of Wisdom From "Sambo" Steve

NEW YORK

New York-based coach Stephen Koepfer, a.k.a. "Sambo Steve", has been around the block. But that mileage means he's lost interest in MMA on the grand scale. Lower level MMA though - like what goes on in the amateurs - is a different story. Here's an excerpt from a recent Facebook post:

Video: ACC Champ Gerald Javier Playing Coach

NEW YORK

Gerald Javier may be the best "little" fighter in New York, but the Aggressive Combat Championship title holder is also a coach it seems. Here he is putting a female student through her paces via focus mitts, courtesy of 750 Square Feet.

Friday Night Fights Primer: Prairie Ruglio vs. Tiffany Cass

NEW YORK

If you're looking for something to do on Friday, you can't go wrong with Friday Night Fights, whose latest installment of Muay Thai goodness should include an eight-man tournament, funky Thai music and a brand of beer you've never heard of. Anyway, here's a video of a recent FNF bout to get you motivated.

East Coast MMA Show Poster

NEW YORK

Ode to BJ Penn

UFC

Fun fact: I saw BJ Penn's first seven MMA fights live and in person. That's right, his UFC debut - back at UFC 31 in 2001 at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City - was the first time he'd fought in the cage. Prior to that, he was "just" some highly-touted Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu phenom with a ton of hype behind him.

The hype was justified, obviously. He put away a scrub named Joey Gilbert that night at UFC 31, got voted by online fans to be the co-main event for UFC 32 (yeah, that was a thing), and went on to crush Din Thomas and Caol Uno before going the distance against champ Jens Pulver.

Aggressive Combat Championship 7 Primer: Angel Rodriguez

NEW YORK

The next big show in New York City is Aggressive Combat Championship's seventh installment, which is set for Saturday night at York College in Queens. Yes, there will be a full card of amateur MMA action, but always nestled in there are a slew of Muay Thai bouts. Here's a video hyping one of them, courtesy of 750 Square Feet.

Observations From My Couch: UFC 175

UFC

• Rob Font walked into that fight with George Roop a Times New Roman, but when he nailed that KO, he was totally Courier New in bold, italics and underlined.
• Urijah Faber is so good in non-championship fights. So damn good.
• I have no Russell Doane taking the decision in that Marcus Brimage fight. He did enough.
• If Uriah Hall's bone was jutting out of his toe, how in the hell did the doctor allow the bout to continue?

Friday Night Fights Poster

NEW YORK

Another Letter From an Assemblyman

NEW YORK

My campaign to become pen pals with every New York State Assemblyman has met with limited success. Which makes the replies they do send make me feel very special. Here's another letter from one of them.

A Bunch of MMA Stuff Happening This Weekend

WSOF/UFC

There's pretty much nothing going on locally in terms of combat sports this weekend, which is just as well, because today and tomorrow are jam-packed full of fights that make for some serious must-see TV. First, on the NBCSports channel the afternoon, there's the latest installment of the World Series of Fighting. Normally, WSOF is best watched via DVR on fast-forward, but this one is headlined by everyone's favorite one-armed fighter - Nick Newell - so you know you have to tune in for that.

Jonathan Velez: NYC's Best Unsigned Amateur Talent

NEW YORK

He reps Garcia Gung Fu, is just as dangerous at submissions as he is with strikes, has been fighting in the Underground Combat League for years, and last weekend won a UCL belt after knocking the promoter out. I'm talking about Jonathan Velez, who at this very moment is the best fighter not attached to any of the "big" amateur promotions in New York City.

Cage Wars 26 Poster

NEW YORK

Babalu vs. DeBlass at MMA World Expo

NEW YORK

Throwback Thursday: Frankie Edgar's UCL Fight, Courtesy of MMAJunkie

AWESOME

In honor of Frankie Edgar's rematch against B.J. Penn at the TUF 19 Finale on Sunday night, MMAJunkie's Ben Fowlkes has done a story on Edgar's first foray into limited-rules fighting. Yup, I'm talking about the former UFC champ's Underground Combat League bout back in 2005.

A Letter from a New York State Assemblywoman

NEW YORK

Sometimes I write to politicians. Sometimes they write back.

Dear Mr. Genia:

Thank you for your letter regarding mixed martial arts (MMA). I am always pleased to receive feedback from my constituents.

Throwback Thursday: Phillipe Nover's TUF Party in Brooklyn

NEW YORK

In the fall of 2008, Brooklyn-based Ring of Combat champ Phillipe Nover was earning some serious praise for his performance on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter. And on the eve of the episode featuring his first fight on the show, Nover threw a little shindig out at the sports complex at Floyd Bennett Field (at what is now called the Aviator). The hometown hero went on to make it to the finals and ultimately lost to Efrain Escudero, but on that night in Kings County, he was fighting royalty.

Here's a look back at that party.