This Week in Combat Sports July 30, 2010:

Shambala Sports Radio

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Shogun wants to fight in ‘December or January’

Sonnen continues verbal assault on Anderson Silva

Shark Fights 13 Fight Card Released

Baroni out, Dan Miller in to face John Salter at UFC 118

Anderson Silva wants to retire as a Middleweight

Pacquiao quotes Buffer in House speech

Daniel Cormier heads to Australian XMMA show

The White Ranger, Jason David Frank, to turn pro

Ryan Couture Signs with Strikeforce

UFC on Versus 2: Jones vs Matyushenko

UFC on Versus 2: Munoz vs Okami

UFC on Versus 2: Griffin vs Gomi

Email your comments and questions to twicbs@gmail.com. Or post you comments here. See you next week.

Bellator just announced a bout between UFC and Pride vet Yves Edwards and Bellator vet Luis Palomino.  This will also give bragging rights in Florida.  Edwards trains at American Top Team and Palomino trains at MMA Masters.

Edwards is 37-16-1 and has a total of 30 stoppages in his career.  He has notable recent wins over UFC veteran Derrick Noble and WEC vet Kyle Jensen and is one of only three pros to have defeated former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson.

Palomino won a clear-cut unanimous decision victory over ATT up-and-comer Jose Figueroa at Bellator 21 on June 10th and has notched 7 of his 13 pro victories via KO or TKO. He also owns career wins versus Strikeforce and EliteXC vet Nick Gonzalez and Bellator, Strikeforce and Sengoku mainstay Jorge Masvidal.

Edwards and Palomino join a stacked Bellator 24 card that also features:

Bellator Middleweight Champ Hector Lombard will face Herbert ‘Whisper’ Goodman.

Opening round bout in the women’s tournament between Megumi Fugii and Angela Magana.

Opening round bout in the women’s tournament between Lynn ‘Lights Out’ Alvarez and Jessica Aguilar.

And finally, an opening round bout in the heavyweight tournament between UFC vet Eddie Sanchez and Brit Neil ‘Goliath’ Grove.

Bellator 24 will be on August 12th.

It was just a matter of time before Ryan Couture, son of Randy Couture, followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the ranks of those athletes willing to put life and limb on the line inside a cage.  Ryan Couture has signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce and will make his MMA pro debut on August 13th at Strikeforce Challengers 10 in Phoenix.

The 27-year-old Couture, a member of the Las Vegas, Nev., based Xtreme Couture fight team, will face Lucas Stark of Chandler, Ariz.

Couture compiled an amateur record of 5-1-1 competing as a lightweight with all five wins coming by way of submission.  Being a member of Xtreme Couture, (helps when dad is the owner) he has had access to a who’s who of MMA royalty as training partners and coaches, which, coupled with a solid amateur career, has given him the background and confidence to take his fight career to the next level.

Couture spent his high school years in suburban Seattle.  With his father being a former wrestling coach at Oklahoma State University, Couture naturally developed into a talented high school wrestler.

Following high school, Couture enrolled in Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA where he graduated in 2004 with a mathematics degree. He worked at a local bank until he realized his desire to work in the family business punching opponents in the head.

Couture began his MMA training in 2006, working to mature into a well-rounded fighter, adding Muay Thai and submission game to his repertoire.  In January 2008, he moved to Las Vegas to train with his father.

In his final amateur bout on March 26, Couture fought to a draw against Sean Bollinger for the Tuff-N-UFF 155-pound title fight at The Orleans in Las Vegas.

From obscurity to the big stage, Jose Vega gets shot at stardom

Until Bellator 22, no one outside of Missouri knew who Jose Vega was.  This past June at Bellator 22, Vega took the MMA world by storm knocking out Jarrod Card in the first round.  The bout between Vega and Card was a televised ‘Local Feature Fight’ and Vega took full advantage of the opportunity.

Because of his eye popping victory, Vega has been rewarded with a spot in the Bantamweight tournament which will take place in Bellator’s upcoming season 3 tournament series.  Vega will join the likes of Ulysses Gomez, Nik Mamalis and Travis “The Hurricane” Reddinger.

Born in Miami, Vega moved at the age of 10 with his parents and eight siblings to the Kansas City area, where he was schooled in the fight game by his father.

Vega wrestled in high school and for one year in college.  He made his pro MMA debut in 2008 at the age of 22. Until just a few months ago, he had no formal training in martial arts but now trains part-time with Kansas City’s Team Grindhouse while working full-time as a custom cabinetmaker.

News for July 27th, 2010:

Here is the daily link round of what is going on in the world of Combat Sports

UFC ‘Jones vs. Matyushenko’ Prelims Preview

Shark Fights 13 Fight Card Released

Seth Petruzelli calls out Michael Vick

Mentor, Opportunity on Almeida’s Mind in Hughes Bout

Sonnen Continues Attack on Silva’s Popularity, Ability to Promote a Fight

Breen’s Breakdown: Shields’ UFC Debut

HDNET EXTENDS CONTRACT WITH CANADA’S MFC

UFC’s Jon Jones gets first-pitch honors at Friday’s San Diego Padres game

President: Announcement of Shark Fights 13 broadcast plans coming next week

With opponents scarce, Strikeforce’s Daniel Cormier heads to Australian XMMA show

Toney Wanted Lesnar, Turned Down Kimbo, Settled on Couture

Shigeki Osawa vs. Katsuya Toida Ruled No Contest

For Brian Stann, Life Is About More Than Just Victories in the Cage

Girls S-Cup Details Announced

Another Combat Sports Death

Marquez-Diaz II worth your time, money

W. Klitschko, Peter agree to fight terms

Lorenzo to fight Sturm in September

If you have any questions or comments, send your emails to twicbs@gmail.com

Shark Fights 13 is now official.  The promotion just released a full card.  Both main card and prelim fights were released.  But you will see that the main card is not yet complete.  Paul Daley is still looking for an opponent and Shark Fights says that they will announce another high profile bout in the coming days.

Here is the fight line up as it is now:

Official Shark Fights 13 Line Up:

Main Card:

1. Keith Jardine vs. Trevor Prangley (205lbs)

2. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Houston Alexander (205lbs)

3. Paul Daley vs. TBA (170lbs)

4. Joey Villasanor vs. Drew McFredries (185lbs)

5. Another high-profile fight to be announced next week!

Undercard:

6. Ronnie Mann vs. Douglas Evans (145lbs)

7. Brock Larson vs. TBA (170lbs)

8. Aaron Rosa vs. Dave Herman (Heavyweight)

9. Marcus Hicks vs. Karen Darabedyan (155lbs)

10. Pete Spratt vs. Eric Davila (170lbs)

Shark Fights 13 will be at the Amarillo Civic Center Coliseum on September 11th, 2010.  This event will also be on Pay Per View.  Head over to the Shark Fights website for more info.

This week, Shambala Sports Radio willl get crazy with The Lone Star State’s Finest, as Mixed Martial Arts mainstay Heath “The Texas Horse” Herring joins Jay Pagliaro and Tom Volkert as program co-host.

Herring is no stranger to the program, having joined Scott Asnault and Pagliaro in the past as a guest. This time however, he hops right in the catbird’s seat as co-host to give his views and opinions on the madness in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.

Herring is a veteran of 42 professional fights, and has competed in both the United States and Japan. He rose to prominence fighting for the Pride promotion, where he squared off with legends Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko “Cro Cop” Fliipovic, Mark Kerr, Igor Vovchanchyn, Vitor Belfort and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (whom he fought twice under the Pride banner, and once in the Ultimate Fighting Championship).

He also gained notoriety while competing for the UFC, where fought five times for the promotion in 2007-2008, and has faced off against Cheick Kongo, Brock Lesnar; and had a pair of fights in the against the late Evan Tanner in the ’90s.

Herring has utilized his success in MMA and combined it with his outgoing personality to achieve success on the big screen, credited in roles in several movies, including Never Surrender and Hell’s Chain.

This Thursday night, Herring will bring his well documented background to the Shambala Sports Radio broadcast booth in what is certain to be a night of entertainment.

News for July 27th, 2010:

Here is the daily link round of what is going on in the world of Combat Sports

The Voice vs Mayhem Miller full episode review

Shogun Plans to Fight in ‘December or January’

Sonnen Continues Attack on Silva’s Popularity, Ability to Promote a Fight

Herman Takes Sept. 11 Shark Fights Bout

Silva Out of UFC 117; Brown In Against Boetsch

10 Bouts Booked for WEC 50

DAN MILLER REPLACES BARONI AT UFC 118

BANUELOS VS. GEORGE ADDED TO WEC 51

ELIOT MARSHALL RETURNS AGAINST JOSH HAYNES

LIKE CARWIN, SIMPSON SEARCHING OUT ANSWERS

MATYUSHENKO: PRESSURE MAY BE JONES’ DOWNFALL

Hamman vs. Kingsbury, Mitchell vs. Waldburger set for UFC Fight Night 22

UFC champ Anderson Silva: I now want to retire at middleweight

Anderson Silva to GSP, Shogun: ‘Come Fight Me in My Division’

‘Such Great Heights’ a Must-See for Jon Fitch, MMA Fans

Exec: Pacquiao-Mayweather talks true

Nongqayi-Rosas heats up

The return of Edgar Sosa

Adamek-Grant presser

If you have any questions or comments, send your emails to twicbs@gmail.com

With the war of words in full swing, a bout between Miller and Diaz would seem very likely and very marketable.  Although, having these 2 on a dais together to do a face off for a pre-fight press conference might need some serious amount of security to make sure that the fight doesn’t start early.

Since the videos are on YouTube, I can take the players and show you what is going on and how this little feud has escalated. Side note to both these videos. If you are offended by foul language, you will probably not want to watch the videos. Lots of cursing.

Here is the clip where Mayhem Miller and Joe Rogan talk about the Strikeforce brawl that took place in Nashville, TN on April 17th:

And here is Nick Diaz’s response. Need to add a side note to this video. The original was pulled by who ever administrates Diaz’s YouTube Channel. raoulduke4247 was able to download the video and upload to his or her channel.  The Diaz response may go away because of rights violations by raoulduke4247.  But the rights discussion is for another site at another time… Found another version of the Nick Diaz response.  This time the user name is NickDiaz209.  Not sure if that is really Diaz himself, but I would rather use what I hope is the original than someone squatting someone else’s video.

Now for some quick analysis of this fight if it was to happen. I think Diaz will have the advantage everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, Miller is game and is an awesome fighter. Now it should also be noted that Miller has fought at welterweight in the past. Miller faced GSP in lone UFC appearance losing by unanimous decision. All that being said, unless Miller could take Diaz out of his boxing game could be a bad night for Miller.

The Bellator Heavyweight Tournament for Season 3 is starting to take shape.  UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesner’s training partner Cole Konrad has been matched up with European submission specialist Rogent Lloret.  The first round bout will take place at the Chicago Theater at Bellator 25 on August 19th.

Konrad is a 2 time NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling Champion as well as a Pan American Games Gold Medalist.  Lloret is a Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt with a 9-1-1 overall record and has not lost a fight in over 3 years.  Lloret has also shown some striking prowess by knocking out Miodrag Petkovic by Head Kick.

Other first round bouts on the Bellator 25 card is Damian ‘The Polish Pitbull’ Grabowski will face Scott Barrett and Zoila ‘The Warrior Princess’ Frausto will face Jessica Pene in an opening round bout for the Bellator Women’s Tournament.