MMA Marketplace: GSP’s ugly UFC 129 Affliction shirt

Georges St-Pierre is a good-looking man. I say this not only from my own judgment, but because my friends who know nothing about MMA often ask about "that hot French-Canadian fighter." Objectively, he is nice to look at.

Perhaps this is why he thinks he can get away with having a ridiculously ugly shirt for his bout with Jake Shields.

Do I need to break down the ugliness? OK. The griffin with the mottled background and the too-small maple leaves combine with the actually cool GSP logo to say, "Too much." The best (worst?) part of this Affliction shirt of ugliness? It's reversible. No, really. You get two awful shirts in one, which is good because it costs $57.99. Buy it here, if you really, really want to.

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Dana White UFC 129 scrum: The prez talks Fedor-Hendo, Diaz and Cain/Jones injuries

The UFC officially opened for business today in Toronto with the final prefight press conference. After a 50-minute presser, Dana White stuck around to lend clarity to some of the bigger stories around MMA.

- Jon Jones' hand injury will probably keep him out six months. Earlier today, the Jones Camp answered allegations of ducking the fight against Rashad Evans.

- White confirmed that Nick Diaz's Strikeforce contract allows him to box, but that doesn't necessarily mean he will. White plans on meeting with him after UFC 129 to figure things out.

- During the press conference, Jake Shields confirmed that his trainer Cesar Gracie is not in Toronto this week. Visa issues prevented Gracie from entering the country (43:30 mark).

- White said Royce Gracie is pressing him to face Matt Hughes at UFC in Rio in August. He's very hesitant to make the fight. Gracie was present at the presser and White said he was going to meet with the legend shortly.

- According to MMAjunkie, Jason Miller was recently signed by the UFC because as White said, "he was banned from fighting on Showtime and CBS." Matchmaker Joe Silva wanted him, so they signed the MMA veteran. This from USA Today:

"Mayhem, he's banished from CBS for life. In my opinion, he was a guy that was put into a position -- first of all, we control what happens inside that Octagon; the fighters do not. In our organization, you don't see melees break out in huge fights. And you see what happens when somebody does cross the line and does stuff like that," White said.

"I think Mayhem was put in a bad position. And I don't know -- I haven't talked to Mayhem about this; this is just what I believe, in conversations I've had with Joe Silva."

- White said Strikeforce is working on a fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson. He has zero involvement in the negotiations. UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta has taken the lead on trying to put that match together.

- White said he's disappointed with the ratings for Season 13 of "The Ultimate Fighter," but blames the time slot. White isn't happy that Spike bumped TUF up to 9 p.m. ET and put "Coal" at 10. He said TUF is battling some big-time programming on television in that time slot.

- He expects Cain Velasquez back in October. He could've returned earlier but suffered a setback in his recovery from a shoulder injury. Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos square off in June with the winner expected to battle Velasquez in the fall for the UFC heavyweight title.

- White is confident that the UFC 129 setup is better than the recent mega-fights featuring Manny Pacquiao at Cowboys Stadium. He also said the promotion is considering opening more seats to add to the current 55,000 seat configuration (1:07:30 mark).

Some presser info courtesy of Yahoo!'s Kevin Iole and MMAjunkie's John Morgan.

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

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St. Pierre 'Scared' and Shields 'Sick of Him' as Matchup for No. 1 Nears

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TORONTO -- For Jake Shields, the interest in fighting Georges St. Pierre came many years ago, before he ever signed his name to a UFC contract, before many people who now classify themselves as MMA fans knew who he was. Shields was already a veteran of the sport, and had quietly amassed a long win streak that resulted in an EliteXC welterweight championship. He won that fight in just 63 seconds, and moments afterward, voiced a hope of one day facing GSP, who was then already the UFC champ.

Wherever St. Pierre was that night, his sixth sense might have been tingling. The Canadian star had for a long time watched and admired Shields from afar, and considered the possibility that they might one day meet. By then they were both champs, but the day he truly realized Shields was elite was in the spring of 2006, when Shields beat both Yushin Okami and Carlos Condit on the same night.

Since even before that time, St. Pierre and Shields have been almost inarguably the best welterweights in the world. Dating back to the start of 2005, the champion has won 14 of 15 fights, and the lone loss, to Matt Serra, has been avenged. The challenger has one-upped him though, coming in with 15 consecutive wins. So as far as they are both concerned, UFC 129's main event is a fight that is a long time coming.

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Indy tipping contest scores

In another lean week top scorers, two names shot ahead from the pack to challenge the leaders - @tailzer and @harleymac1. Pulling off an impressive Brit-centric Minella to gain 6 points, @tailzer took second place in the overall standings. Well done sir! @harleymac1 also made impressive gains with his 6 point Minella. Honorable mention goes to [...]

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No Strikeforce fighters to the UFC anytime soon according to Dana White

We're still in "business as usual" mode according to Dana White when it comes to crossover fights between Strikeforce and UFC fighters. So no Nick Diaz versus Georges St. Pierre or Gilbert Melendez against Frank Edgar anytime soon. White spoke with USA Today's Sergio Non:

UT: You seem to be a bit more open to the idea of interpromotional fights if fans want it. Which Strikeforce champ could you see getting first crack at a UFC star?

DW: I'm not in the interpromotional fights now ...

Well, which Strikeforce fighter will we see in UFC?

If guys' contracts expire over there, I can sign them.

But you still wouldn't bring, say, Gilbert Melendez in to fight one of your top guys in UFC?

Not until his contract's up.

White said there is one loophole:

What if his contract allows it? Scott Coker says there's no contractual impediment to having Strikeforce guys fighting in UFC.

I agree, but we have a contract with Showtime. I could see going that way before I could see guys coming this way.

So the possibility exists that the UFC could send its fighters into Strikeforce to take on the champions on Showtime.

That's still a big help to the smaller MMA company. Strikeforce lacks the depth at 155, 170 and 205 to come up with enough quality challengers for its champions in those divisions, so maybe we see guys like Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Clay Guida, Anthony Pettis, Quinton Jackson or even Tito Ortiz squaring off against Strikeforce champions.

At the end of the interview, White also addressed the recent media credentialing snafu at Strikeforce: Diaz-Daley. Non pushed the issue, but White sounds like he's sticking to his guns.

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Sachsenring 2009 MotoGP race analysis

While the weather had produced torrential downpours thoughout the preamble to this GP, it stayed dry for the action in Germany. As the riders lined up on the grid, there was a real feeling of anticipation as Rossi and Lorenzo, so close through practice until that awesome final qualifying lap from Valentino, pulled up next [...]

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Showtime Hits With UFC-Strikeforce Purchase, Misses With In-Cage Action

by Michael David SmithGegard Mousasi and Keith Jardine battled to a draw at Diaz vs. Daley.Saturday night's Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley card was the first major event on Showtime since the UFC purchased Strikeforce, and it was a good opportunity to see how Showtime would handle its MMA broadcasts now that the premium cable channel is in business with a promotion that had previously been a rival.

Overall, I thought Showtime did a solid job of handling the UFC's purchase of Strikeforce. But once it was time for the fighters to step into the cage, the coverage of Saturday night's biggest controversy -- the Gegard Mousasi vs. Keith Jardine draw -- left something to be desired.

Let's start with the good: Showtime handled the UFC's purchase of Strikeforce appropriately by tackling it at the outset. It's a major story that deserved the upfront treatment it got.

 

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Matt Hughes Meets Diego Sanchez This Fall

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Out of action since a 21-second knockout loss at the hands of BJ Penn last November, Matt Hughes will return this fall to face former top lightweight contender Diego Sanchez.

The UFC made the announcement at its official site on Thursday morning, saying verbal agreements were in place for the fight. No official date or location has been announced for the fight.

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