Elias Cepeda over at InsideFighting.com is reporting that Kenny Florian will replace Spencer Fisher against Din Thomas for the main event at UFC Fight Night 11 on September 19.
“Yeah, I am. I just signed a contract today. We got word that he [Spencer Fisher] may be out with staph. That’s a fight I want. I think Din is one of best fighters in the world. He’s got a great name and has been one of the guys I’ve been looking up to. To be the best you’ve got to beat the best and that’s what Din is†said Florian.
Florian last fought at UFC 73 and defeated Alvin Robinson by TKO in the first round. Originally planning his next match for November, Florian has instead decided to take the main even fight against Din Thomas in Las Vegas.
Actually the schedule was to fight in November. I just got back from Afghanistan and it came as a surprise to me. This will be my third fight in five months. Most fighters do that in a year. But I’m hungry right now. I’m a fighter. I wanted to fight. I talked with my camp and they all agreed I could do it. I’m in a situation where I’m healthy and can do that.
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Great article out today regarding the whole “Fedor vs. UFC” fiasco…
both sides have some things to discuss, but in the end, I think the UFC boys are being idiots once again.
http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=8530
i kinda want to see Din win this next fight and start his run at the title. maybe we will get to see the rematch of BJ Penn vs. Din Thomas. i dont know if Thomas could beat BJ but i think he could avoid getting knocked out this time.
@Amir
i dont think the UFC is being unreasonable. would you go out and buy a Viper and then let you buddy drag race with it once in a while? i wouldnt that would be crazy so why would the UFC spend all kinds of cash on something and then just let someone else run the risk of breaking it. i know we are talking about people so its a little bit different but remember the UFC is business that is selling a product for us to buy so they can make money. right or wrong thats how it is in business, all they care about is if the fighters are healthy and putting on good shows. i think Fedor needs to just take the million dollar pay days for for the next 3 or 4 fights and when they want to put a belt on him or they already have put a belt on him then he can make some crazy demands. just my thoughts.
I have to disagree here. First of all, I think that not having Fedor in the UFC is like having Michael Jordan playing in the CBA. The UFC heavyweight title will not have any legitimacy until the undisputed #1 heavyweight fighter in the world competes in it. Secondly, if anyone knows or has seen Russian Sambo, these guys are fully padded and there is nowhere near as much full contact as any of his Pride fights.
How many fighters under UFC contract ALREADY pull out of fights due to injuries on almost a regular basis? many. It is simply an unfortunate part of the sport that EVERYONE, including management has to deal with. Finally, let’s not forget that Fedor fought so many of his fights in Pride with injuries not to mention broken hands, the man is a true warrior and will not ***** out of any fight, especially when he is being paid enough money. I think it’s a clear indication of power hungry, controlling Zuffa!!!
I like Din, hes a good technical fighter and hes a crafty guy with some good speed. Though he wasnt blessed with the ability to inflict or receive power shots. I do think this will be a good test for Kennys bjj skills, because i see this fight hitting the mat. All the pressure is on Kenny in this fight, to prevent Din from getting into a dominant position and pounding on him. We have all heard about the bjj exploits of Kenflo, he will really have to prove it in this fight. Kenny would get alot of respect in my book for this win.
About the Fedor thing, nice article by the way Amir.. I have a good example for you guys. When we got 24 hour leave from the army, we were strictly forbidden to ride motorcycles. The idea being that theyre responsible for us and they dont want us to get injured. If anyone sees you, your azzz is getting court martiale! Although i think there is a distinct difference in this case. In the army they OWN your azzz for as long as your enlisted, in the case of fighters, your being paid to do a job, they dont OWN you. I can see the arguments from both sides, but for a guy of Fedors calibre, I dont see why he should be held down like that. Its not a matter of money, its a matter of freedom. Also i felt it in rather bad taste that Dana said crazy russians, cmon bro, atleast try and be a little more professional or diplomatic.
So im gonna have to agree with Amir and Fedor on this one, give the man what he wants! Hes the best fighter in the world right now! its not like hes Brandon Vera or something, I think Fedor deserves a little more respect than that.
Next thing you know, the UFC will start saying hes not allowed to ride motorcycles hehe..
LOL its funny you say motorcycles, you know motorcycle=Mir. Frank Mir could have been a great champ and a hall of famer but now look where hes at. and because of the Mir thing we had to deal with sleepy giant Tim Sylvia headlining the heavy weight class.
i agree with fedor to from what i read about russian sambo its not nearly as dangerous as this ,but what if the ufc is scarred of someone beating fedor?
@BV,
good post thanks for agreeing with me for a change…lol.
The bottom line is that Dana White has always claimed that his only goal is to bring the best fighters in the world to the UFC. For him to be “scared” in having to dole out a paycheck and even having Fedor lose (unlikely), is absolute nonsense. Dana is an ignorant a–hole by insulting Fedor’s camp, country, etc. Fedor is the face of Russian Sambo and gains all of his notoriety from it. For the UFC brass to completely ignore that is silly, and a horrible business move. The russian population is booming in this entire country and marketing a guy like Fedor is essential. The only problem I see is his language barrier, but then again, there are about a dozen brazilian fighters in the UFC who can barely get an english sentence out either, so this whole situation boggles my mind.
the reason i agree with the no Sambo idea is for the same reason they stated in the article what happens if you have Fedor booked in the biggest match of the year and 3 weeks befor the fight he has to pull out from a pulled hamstring or something stupid like that. would you be pissed if they announced Fedor vs. Couture title vs. title and it going to happen Dec. 15/07 but then on Dec. 1st they say oh sorry Fedor got hurt in a Sambo match and cant fight? that would be a huge let down for the fans and could lose the UFC a few million in p.p.v. and tickets. i think if Fedor wants to go down in history as the greatest mma fighter of all time he needs to just stay focused on that anyways.
Ummm..well I certainly recall many instances where a fighter (GSP) had to pull out on a big fight and it happens all the time and yes people get pissed off but it’s the UFC’s job to make it up to the fans by having an incredible fight card to back it up in case it happens.
Not to get off the subject but what happened to posting the fighter payouts. That is the main reason I started checking MMAHQ on a daily basis.
@Ozzy
Dr.J posts the payouts for UFC events, there hasnt been one for a while.. thats why you havent seen any.
@Ozzy,
You must be referring to the recent WEC show payouts that I didn’t post. I had the numbers the day after the event, I just forgot to post them. By the time I remembered it was a few days later and the payouts had already been posted on a few other sites so I didn’t bother.
I was wondering about the UFC 73 payouts, have they been released yet?
Also, are there any numbers on what the UFC offered to Fedor?
@Ozzy
No word on how much the UFC offered Fedor. The current rumor is that FEG (owners of K-1) offered Fedor a contract worth approx 5 million to fight for the, but that is unsubstantiated at this point.
Here are the payouts for UFC 73:
Anderson Silva ($90,000) def. Nate Marquardt ($24,000)
Kenny Florian ($16,000) def. Alvin Robinson ($3,000)
Tito Ortiz ($210,000) vs. Rashad Evans ($16,000)
Sean Sherk ($28,000) def. Hermes Franca ($14,000)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ($200,000) def. Heath Herring ($70,000)
Stephan Bonnar ($32,000) def. Mike Nickels ($5,000)
Jorge Gurgel ($14,000) def. Diego Saraiva ($3,000)
Chris Lytle ($20,000) def. Jason Gilliam ($3,000)
Frank Edgar ($10,000) def. Mark Bocek ($3,000)
Wow! i just noticed, you guys know Jon Fitch is on a 13 fight win streak? his next fight is UFC 76 vs Diego Sanchez.. that should be a hell of a fight man!
what about this carlos condit the guys a beast man ,i also got my new favorite fighter DOUG “THE RHINO”MARSHALL
#18 - I was expecting Larson to take the belt. Not taking anything away from Condit of course, but Larson seemed like the guy in the division who would take it.
@Amir
you are 100% right about the GSP thing and i was very bummed as was many others when he had to drop the Hughes fight and hold off on the Serra fight. the difference is GSP got injured training for those fights not fighting some where else. im not going to tell you that you dont have a valid point im just saying i understand from a business stand point why the UFC is dragging there feet on this.
haha i hear you richard.. first fighter i ever met was Gary Goodridge, he was riding in the coffee truck with this guy vinnie, mob runs all the catering here (not to mention the construction). I dunno if he was working as some kind of enforcer or something lol. I was like.. HOLY SHTT!! Vin was like, “oh gary? ya hes a beast..” yet he didnt really know about his Pride exploits, he probably just saw him break someones legs or something lol.
steve 24
i thought thata larson would to hes bigger ,but man did carlos show his skills cant wait till they promote him to the ufc
Talking about Gary.. heres a nice clip most of you will remember from UFC ultimate knockouts 1.. No sound, so dont adjust your speakers..
This may well be one of the nastiest beatdowns ive ever seen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UFn-W0IXcM
lol yeah i remember watching that fight live on p.p.v. and me and my Dad were both like “wholy sh*t did you see that!!!” and then we got all pissed because they wouldnt show any replays. Goodridge did good that night, he almost won that tournament untill he ran in to Don Frye and his mustache lol. i really wanted to see a Canadian boy do it.