Photo by Sherdog.com
Is Machida ready
for a title shot?
• The UFC launched its fight-week hype for UFC 96 this Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. A “Countdown” special on Spike TV premiered Thursday, and focused on the Quinton Jackson vs. Keith Jardine and Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane Carwin fights. A press conference was also held Thursday.
Keith Jardine re-iterated in interviews this week that he will not fight training partner and close friend Rashad Evans, even if he emerges from the Jackson fight as a top contender for Evans’ title. UFC President Dana White said told USA Today that the two would have to fight at one point, and then told reporters at Thursday’s press conference that either Jackson or Lyoto Machida would get the next title shot, depending on Saturday’s results. Jardine said in an interview with YahooSports.com that he may move back to heavyweight competition after the fight. He entered the UFC as a heavyweight participant on season two of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
UFC 96 coincides with the company's annual visit to Ohio for “The Arnold Classic” a fitness and bodybuilding expo in Columbus. According to The Wrestling Observer, about 11,000 tickets have been sold as of last week, totalling $1.5 million.
All 18 fighters made weight with little trouble at UFC 96’s official weigh-ins inside the Nationwide Arena.
• The first MMA card in Quebec since a Feb. 6 riot scene caused officials to scrutinize the sport’s regulations went off without a hitch, as the XMMA organization staged its seventh card on Feb. 27 at the Cepsum Ampitheatre in Montreal. War Machine, the UFC veteran formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver, stepped in as a replacement for Phil Baroni and ended the undefeated streak of Guillaume "El Toro" Delorenzi via first-round rear-naked choke in the main event.
There were no apparent changes to the standard rules of MMA fighting, which officials in Quebec had said would come as a result of the riot at a Titans Fighting (formerly Strikebox) event, where a set of convoluted rules led to an all-standup show ending with a ground-and-pound flurry. The Quebec Boxing Commission has declined to specify which, if any, rule changes came as a result, which at one point put in jeopardy the UFC 97 card on April 18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. That show has already sold $4 million worth of tickets, according to The Wrestling Observer.
• Kirill Sidelnikov, one of Fedor Emelianenko's main training partners, allegedly tested positive for the steroid Stanozolol in a test taken at his Jan. 24 fight against Paul Buentello at Affliction "Day of Reckoning" in Anaheim, Calif. "Baby Fedor" is suspended and can’t apply for a license renewal until January 2010. His management issued a statement blaming a nasal spray for causing the positive test, although a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency rep told Sherdog.com that could not be possible.