Houston Chronicle reports next UFC stadium show could be at Reliant

Dana White pointed out accurately that Toronto's UFC 129 at Rogers Centre was a special case.

The UFC won't be putting on mega-events at a stadium every quarter. It has to be perfect match. That's why we were a little surprised to see the future Houston event in October mentioned as a candidate for a stadium show.

Sources tell Brawl Sports that if Brock Lesnar wins his bout against Junior dos Santos at UFC 131 next month, the company will give serious consideration to running the UFC event at Reliant Stadium and not the previously-reported Toyota Center. If dos Santos wins, they'll almost certainly run Toyota Center. The winner of that UFC 131 bout will face Cain Velasquez in a bout that will almost certainly take place in Houston.

Jeremy Botter throws a little cold water on the idea by mentioning two important notes:

1. Filling a stadium the size of Reliant won't be easy. While Lesnar has historically been the best pay per view draw on the planet, he's not a very good live draw. They'll need more than just a heavyweight title fight to fill that card.

2. There's just one small problem: the Texans have a game scheduled against Oakland the next day. While I've seen the UFC brass tear down an arena in just a matter of hours, I can't imagine they'd be able to get an entire stadium ready for a football game the next day at noon. It simply isn't possible, not with the amount of bleachers and video screens they would be bringing into the stadium for a custom setup.

Botter thinks an NFL lockout is all but a certainty and says the Oct. 8 date at Reliant Stadium could open up. I'd be shocked if the NFL lockout reaches October, but you never know. I'd also be a little surprised if Lesnar beats dos Santos. He's got a lot of ground to make up in the stand-up game. If Lesnar didn't like getting hit by Cain Velasquez, imagine his reaction to the power and speed of JDS.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Houston-Chronicle-reports-next-UFC-stadium-show-?urn=mma-wp2045

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Gus Johnson Signs With Fox but Stays With Showtime

by Michael David SmithLast week it was revealed that Gus Johnson's contract with CBS had expired, and on Tuesday morning it was reported that Johnson has accepted a job at Fox. But that doesn't mean he's done as the voice of mixed martial arts on Showtime, the sister network of CBS.

Sources told MMAFighting.com that Johnson's contract with CBS was for basketball and football, and that his deal to call fights (both MMA and boxing) for Showtime was a separate contract. That contract is still in effect, and Johnson will call Saturday night's Andre Ward-Arthur Abraham boxing match for Showtime. Although Showtime hasn't yet announced who will broadcast its next MMA show (a June 18 Strikeforce card), Johnson is expected to call that event as well.

Theoretically, it's even possible that Johnson could be back on the CBS airwaves if CBS ever aired another Strikeforce fight: When Johnson called EliteXC and Strikeforce fights on CBS in the past, that was part of his Showtime deal. It's probably a long shot that we'd see Johnson back on CBS, however.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/10/gus-johnson-signs-with-fox-but-stays-with-showtime/

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Zuffa announces unprecedented accident insurance coverage for more than 350 fighters on UFC and Strikeforce rosters

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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With Zuffa, LLC in control of the vast majority of top MMA fighters the world over after the purchase of Strikeforce in March, the fate of those fighters rests in the hands of those in charge. With no fighters union or association to collectively look out for the interests of these combatants, there is a fear in some parts that this "monopoly" of talent and booking rights could lead to a negative environment, with the leading MMA organization not having any incentive or need to necessarily take care of the fighters above and beyond what they already do.

But the UFC is being proactive nonetheless, and have made a huge statement this week with the announcement of a new insurance coverage plan that will cover all fighters they have under contract not only in the cage, but outside of it as well.

Nearly 350 independent contractors under the UFC and Strikeforce brands will now all be eligible for customized accident insurance coverage. The new policy is being underwritten by Houston Casualty Insurance Company, and will complement the UFC's current policies for in-cage injuries suffered during actual fights. The policy will cover accidental injuries suffered in training, as well as non-training injuries such as automobile accidents.

According to today's press release, "The new policy adds 24-hour worldwide medical life insurance and dental coverage, as well as emergency medical evacuation."

In addition, Zuffa will pay 100% of the premiums for all fighters, and are dedicating staff to handling and filing all claims.

"Our athletes are some of the very best in the world and we've committed significant financial resources to provide them with insurance that complements the gold standard we have set for event-related coverage," UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said. "We're pleased to provide coverage that enables our athletes to seek and receive treatment for injuries sustained while preparing for bouts."

"As this sport continues to grow, we have been working hard to secure additional insurance coverage so that our athletes can perform at the highest levels," UFC President Dana White said. "We're proud to give our athletes access to this type of insurance."

Penick's Analysis: This is the type of thing that many have wanted to see out of the organization, even though it's not something they had to do. They have always covered injuries that happen in the cage, and have at times paid for surgeries for fighters that have required them for training injuries, but a lot of fighters have had to travel to foreign countries or have had to seek care by less than desirable means because of the overwhelming costs associated with such medical care. For the UFC to put the money into taking care of every fighter they have under contract like this is one of the best things this company has ever done. Honestly, even with all they've done to bring the sport to where it is so far, this is one of the greatest moves they have made for the good of the sport.

Fighters won't have to go out on their own to get medical coverage, which is surely an extremely expensive endeavor given their line of work. This will also mean that fighters won't necessarily have to try to fight through injuries or hide injuries in training. Fighters that needed the money from their fights in the past have disregarded injuries because of that fact, or because they didn't have the money to take care of what needed to be taken care of. Being covered by the UFC's new insurance plan will allow them to take care of those things when it is needed. There are not enough good things to say about this move, and we'll have more on this as the week goes on and more information is given on the plan. But this initial announcement is exciting news for the fighters, and it's simply an excellent move on Zuffa's part.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9284.shtml

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Jay Hieron exits Bellator 43 as top contender to Ben Askren?s title

After struggling for the past few years to solidify an opportunity at promotional gold, talented welterweight Jay Hieron has finally procured his position as top contender and will see championship action in the near future due to a hard-fought Split Decision over fellow Season 4 Tournament finalist Rick Hawn tonight at Bellator 43. The two [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/05/07/bellator-43-live-results/

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Video: Final fight picks and first Rogers Centre pics

It's five hours before the pay-per-view begins for UFC 129, but only two before the first fights on Facebook. Here's a cool video shot by MMA Nation. Below is a video with Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole giving his plays for the three big fights. Check out the odds below. There's even proposition bets available for the two title fights.

UFC 129 betting odds (Courtesy Lagasse's Stadium Las Vegas):

Best plays in BOLD

Jake Shields (+350) vs. *Georges St. Pierre (-500) - UFC Welterweight title

Mark Hominick (+375) vs. *Jose Aldo (-550) - UFC Featherweight title

Prop bets
Shields wins: Rd1 25/1; Rd2 20/1; Rd3 22/1; Rd4 20/1; Rd5 30/1; Dec. 7/1

GSP wins: Rd1 6/1; Rd2 5/1; Rd3 5/1; Rd4 9/2; Rd5 8/1; Dec. 6/5; Draw 25/1

Hominick wins: Rd1 25/1; Rd2 22/1; Rd3 22/1; Rd4 25/1; Rd5 30/1; Dec 8/1

Aldo wins: Rd1 9/2; Rd2 7/2; Rd3 3/1; Rd4 4/1; Rd5 6/1; Dec 2/1; Draw 25/1

RANDY COUTURE (+300) vs. Lyoto Machida (-400) - Light heavyweight

Mark Bocek (+110) vs. BEN HENDERSON (-140) - Lightweight

Rory MacDonald (-115) vs. Nate Diaz (-115) - Welterweight

Sean Pierson (+160) vs. Jake Ellenberger (-190) - Welterweight

Daniel Roberts (+120) vs. Claude Patrick (-150) - Welterweight

Charlie Valencia (+140) vs. Ivan Menjivar (-170) - Bantamweight

Ryan Jensen (-110) vs. JASON MACDONALD (-120) - Middleweight

Kyle Watson (+120) vs. John Makdessi (-150) - Welterweight

Pablo Garza (+140) vs. Yves Jabouin (-170) - Featherweight

VLADIMIR MATYUSHENKO (Even) vs. Jason Brilz (-130) - Light heavyweight

*champion

You can watch UFC 129 on PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-Final-fight-picks-and-first-Rogers-Centre?urn=mma-wp1753

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Royce Gracie Talks Gracie Influence on UFC and MMA Growth - Royce Gracie

UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie talks about the influence of he and his family have had on the UFC and MMA in general heading into UFC 129 in Toronto. Get more MMA and UFC news at the World's top MMA News website http://www.mmaweekly.com.

Source: http://mmalice.com/royce-gracie/royce-gracie-talks-gracie-influence-on-ufc-and-mma-growth-video_e47428f95.html

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Video analysis: Jake Shields has to fight without Cesar Gracie at his side

Georges St-Pierre is on a Patriots-like run right now. To take down the 2007 Pats you had to out-think Bill Belichick and his coaching staff, it's pretty similar to the sort of game planning and execution needed against GSP.

The UFC welterweight has won an amazing 30 straight rounds. That's sick. The man trying to derail this freight train is Jake Shields along with his mentor Cesar Gracie. One problem, Gracie isn't in Canada for the fight. His Brazilian visa doesn't allow him to cross the border to reach Toronto.

Yahoo! Sports' MMA expert Kevin Iole joined us to talk about the Pats versus Indianapolis of MMA. Without Gracie, can Team Shields take out GSP, backed by Greg Jackson, Firas Zahabi and John Danaher?

Shields' team questions GSP's heart.

"I think GSP is a phenomenal athlete. I think you gotta make it a war with him and I think you see what's inside of his soul," said Gracie.

Josh Gross from ESPN.com appeared with me on ESPN1100 in Las Vegas and downplayed Gracie's absence.

"That's not a big deal," Gross said (6:25 mark). There's been lots of times he's not traveled with his fighters or been in their corner. This is not something totally out of the blue for the Cesar Gracie camp."

Is Shields in trouble without Gracie there? Probably not, his head trainer Tariq Azim does most of the heavy lifting. What do you think? Will it matter?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-analysis-Jake-Shields-has-to-fight-withou?urn=mma-wp1625

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