New Tyre Regulations for Brno

A tweak to the tyre regulations comes into force this weekend, introduced remarkably quickly during the course of the season. The reg. change is to allow the use of a ‘bonus’ or ‘emergency’ option tyre of a softer specification. Prior regulations allowed for eight front tyres of two compounds, and ten rears of two compounds. [...]

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With Hand in Cast for Two Months, Daniel Cormier Faces 'Worst-Case Scenario'

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Daniel CormierDaniel Cormier knew his right hand was broken almost as soon as it connected with Antonio Silva's head, but it took a while for the pain to set in.

"It was just the adrenaline," he told MMA Fighting this week. "I was on such a high."

Maybe that explains why Cormier kept hitting Silva with his broken hand throughout the first round of their Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinal bout, and why he thinks it was lucky for him that the fight ended in the first round.

As Cormier explained, "If we'd have fought 15 minutes, I'd have kept throwing that thing all 15 minutes."


It was only when the Strikeforce heavyweight and former Olympic wrestler woke up on Sunday morning that the pain really set in. Then he knew it was almost certainly broken, and a trip to the doctor back home confirmed his suspicion.

On Friday, Cormier's hand goes into a cast for the next six to eight weeks. During that time he plans to work on improving his kicks and his cardio, he said, but even when the cast comes off he doesn't know how long it will be before he's able to "start punching" and get back into full training and sparring mode.

It's a difficult situation, since he doesn't want to rush it and end up re-injuring himself. Then again, he knows Strikeforce wants to wrap up the Grand Prix in the first quarter of 2012, which means he needs to be ready to fight fellow finalist Josh Barnett by then or else risk being replaced.

"This is terrible for me, man," Cormier said. "This is worst-case scenario. With when they want the fight to happen, and me being the kind of guy who wants to deliver those type of fights, to have an injury like this. The thing that makes it so difficult is, I think Josh is so good. I need to have a ten-week training camp to prepare for that fight, so this is worst-case scenario for me."

As Cormier sat at the post-fight press conference last Saturday night, listening to Strikeforce's Scott Coker saying that the organization "would consider another fight" if Cormier wasn't available in time for the finals, he wasn't terribly shocked, he said.

"I guess I was thinking that the show has to go on. I really do want to be a part of it. It means a lot to me, knowing I got this opportunity, and I saw that [Grand Prix] belt and I instantly wanted that belt. I want to be one of the champions in Strikeforce, because that's where I started. It's where I had my first fight. ...But I can't act that surprised, because I got my opportunity [to join the Grand Prix] for the same exact reason."

The last time Cormier had an injury this serious was when he broke his arm wrestling in 2002. That healed faster than doctors expected, he said, so he's "just hoping I have something in me that makes me heal fast so I can start training, and get the type of training camp I need to fight Josh."

Cormier's big concern is not just that he won't be ready in time, he said. While Strikeforce hasn't announced a date for the Grand Prix finals yet, he should be out his cast by mid-November and could be ready to start sparring at least by early 2012, if not sooner. But will that leave him enough time to get a full training camp in before he fights Barnett? And if not, what then?

"Everybody always tells me that I made big improvements from fight to fight to fight," Cormier said. "Well, if I'm injured for two months, what if I don't make that much of an improvement from my last fight to the fight with Josh? That's why I say it's worst-case. This is the fight where I have to make the most improvement just to be where I need to be to beat the guy."

As Cormier sees it, "I have to win this fight."

And yet, with his right hand in a cast for the next six to eight weeks, there isn't a whole lot he can do at the moment to move himself closer to that goal. Maybe the best he can do now is wait and hope.

 

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Evan Dunham interview: A few big wins and he?s right back in the mix

The last year hasn't gone as planned for Evan Dunham, but that doesn't mean he's out of the mix in the UFC's lightweight division. As we've seen all year long someone outside the top five get get themselves in the title mix with two big wins. Ben Henderson is the prime example. Bendo just knocked Jim Miller and Mark Bocek to put his name in the hat for the top prize.

Dunham, a 29-year-old who trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, was in Henderson's spot 12 months ago. The Oregon native was on the verge of some big things last September then lost a tight decision against Sean Sherk. Dana White said Dunham was "[expletive] robbed."

The promotion tried to make it up to Dunham by giving him a Kenny Florian fight, but KenFlo had to back out because of injuries. That meant Dunham had to step with Melvin Guillard. Dunham lost that fight at UFC Fight for the Troops 2, admitting that he fought with a bad game plan.

Now he's out to rebuild his reputation. It starts in September against "Ultimate Fighter 13" alum Shamar Bailey at Ultimate Fight Night 25.

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?Big? John McCarthy talks about officiating, MMA history and his new book

MMA referee John McCarthy never expected to write a book about his life, but he also never expected that his own story would be woven in so closely with the sport of MMA.

"The truth is, I was originally talked into it by Loretta [Hunt, the book's co-author]. The reasons she gave me were valid," McCarthy told Cagewriter. "It wasn't so much about me, it was about the history of MMA and the way things actually happened. There's a lot of people out there that are fans of MMA, but have been fans since "The Ultimate Fighter" was on TV. A lot of them think that's where it started, and there's a long history before that. It's not that many years, but it's a long history with the people that have done a lot to put themselves out to try to help the sport."

That story was written into "Let's Get It On," a tome that follows McCarthy's life from a police officer in Los Angeles to one of MMA's best known referees. McCarthy's applause during pre-fight introductions often rivals that of fighters. He is still surprised by the attention.

"I joke and say, 'People recognize me because I have an ugly face and it's burned into their memory.' I'm very appreciative to people who have paid attention to the work I've done and who will give me a moment of applause. That's super-nice. It makes me feel good, but I try to tell all referees that our job is not to be popular. Our job is not to have people like us. Our job is to look out for the safety of a fighter. Sometimes you're going to do things that will make you not popular based on what you have to do for the safety of the fighter."

A well-known referee is unique to combat sports, as officials in other sports try to stay inconspicuous. In MMA, referees are one of three people in the cage, and have to be involved in ending fights. Fading into the background isn't an option, but McCarthy doesn't mind that as long as officials do their job correctly.

"It's very hard to have an official in MMA or boxing to not be noticed. It's not what people notice, but it's how the person conducts the bout, and when they actually decide to bring themselves into the action, and when they don't, that's going to determine how much someone is going to notice the referee in MMA. At times, that's something a referee has no control of, and other times it's something he has no control of. It really is dependent on the fighters."

McCarthy thinks that officiating in MMA is in a good place, but needs to be consistent across the sport.

"Officiating today, as a whole, is much better than it was 10 years ago. The sport has evolved and many of the officials have evolved with it. It still needs to continue to improve and evolve with the sport. The consistency is what we need to have from show to show, so that the fighters, fans, everyone becomes accustomed to it, no matter the show."

McCarthy's jobs of police work and officiating both revolve around keeping order. He says that a sense of right and wrong were clear to him from an early age.

"I was brought up with a serious sense of what is right and what is wrong, and sometimes, what's right goes against the rules, and sometimes what's right is with the rules. Common sense has everything to do with law enforcement, if you're going to be good at it, and it has everything to do with a referee, in any sport. You have to look at something, understand the spirit of the law, and dispense it in a fair fashion."

"Let's Get It On" is available at bookstores everywhere.

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Silent for too long: Bisping is back and ready to make ?Mayhem? pay

Silent for too long: Bisping is back and ready to make ?Mayhem? payPut anyone around Jason "Mayhem" Miller for two months and they may want to whack the middleweight veteran. Throw the highly-volatile Michael Bisping into that situation and all hell is probably going to break loose.

Taping for Season 14 of "The Ultimate Fighter" is done, but now the fun begins between the coaches. The testy Brit said he's ready to shred Mayhem at the TUF 14 Finale.

"[There was] a bit of friction between me and Miller, just a little bit, ups and downs. At the start of the season I thought he was an OK guy. By the end of the season I wanted to kill him. Fortunately, December 3, I'll get that opportunity," Bisping told Ariel Helwani on AOL's "The MMA Hour."

Bisping is annoyed by lots of people, so it's not shocking to hear that the needling host of MTV's "Bully Beatdown" irked him.

"Personally I find [the 'Mayhem' persona] quite annoying. Each to their own, though, I mean a lot of people find me annoying, so you know what I mean, I'll take the rough with the smooth," Bisping said. "He's not a bad guy, but he just rubs me up the wrong way a little bit. As I said, not everyone's gonna like everybody. He certainly doesn't like me, and I don't think I like him particularly."

In the end, Bisping thought he won the majority of the verbal sparring.

"Yeah, I mean he tried to [get under my skin], unfortunately Miller's mouth is bigger than his brain, so he didn't do a very good job of it. He tried to do it a few times, but they were really quite pitiful?I definitely get the upper hand throughout the entire season," Bisping said. "I feel he crossed the line a few times, there were a few instances that he definitely crossed the line, so come December 3rd, I'm looking forward to making him pay for his words and pay for his disrespect."

This is a great opportunity for both fighters especially Bisping. He was quieted for most of 2011 following a spitting incident after his Jorge Rivera fight in February at UFC 127.

The prefight trash talk between the camps got personal. Seconds after Bisping pounded out Rivera, he approached the American's corner and spit in the direction of Matt Phinney. There was no official suspension or disciplinary action taken by the UFC, but Bisping disappeared from the scene for a few months.

When we spoke to him back in June, he was still seething about the whole incident.

Quotes via Cage Potato

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Title belts, illegal kicks and more notes from the Strikeforce press conference

CINCINNATI -- Scott Coker started the Strikeforce post-fight press conference by pointing out that it was filled with unbelievable fights. More notes from the press conference:

-- Main event winner Josh Barnett quickly got to the heart of questions about the Strikeforce heavyweight championship by asking that his Grand Prix final match with Daniel Cormier be for the Strikeforce belt.

"Why don't we sweeten the pot? Why not put the belt on the line? The people that he had to step over to get it a real belt."

Coker asked Barnett to slow down, saying, "Let's keep it one step at a time." They expect that the fight will take place in the first quarter of 2012. Cormier's hand was wrapped up and said that he did hurt it, so the timing rests on his health.

-- Rockhold said that his prediction of a 4-0 night by American Kickboxing Academy was not just to hype the fights. Having trained with the fighters who all won, Rockhold said that they were all ready.

"It sucks to get hit by Mo," he said of Lawal.

-- Rockhold's win was in one of the tightest fights of the night. His opponent, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza asked for a rematch. Coker said it's not a bad idea, but Rockhold didn't seem as keen on it.

-- Mo Lawal, who was fighting for the first time in over a year, mentioned earlier in the week that he was unhappy with the buzz surrounding his fights. He pointed out how Strikeforce delivered again.

"I'm glad to be back. Tonight was a great night of fights. I'm speechless because there were so many great fights. Strikeforce, we always put on great fights," he said.

-- Pat Healy said that he wasn't surprised when Maximo Blanco peppered him with illegal kicks to the head. "I don't want to say he's cheap, but he's had a few incidents."

-- Lawal wants to win to fight for the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt, unless it's vacant.

"If Dan has belt, I want it. But if it's vacant, I don't want to fight for no vacant title. Real talk," Lawal said.

Coker was unsure if that can happen because Strikeforce is still negotiating with Henderson.

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Diaz?s disappearance provides some of best GSP we?ve ever heard

Georges St-Pierre has grown a bit weary of the promotional/media game. Yesterday, even if it was only a momentary blip, Nick Diaz bailing from UFC 137 gave us a rare glimpse of the real GSP.

During a live press conference, where he was shocked to find out just minutes before that he wouldn't be fighting Diaz, St-Pierre came across as honest and funny.

There's only so many times you can answer questions about an upcoming fight. On top of that, GSP isn't a trash talker. As a result, he's become a little robotic over the years when it comes to his prefight work. Without time to think about his answers, St. Pierre unleashed some doozies. Check out the video mix of all the GSP answers during the bizarre one-fighter press conference.

If you missed it, Diaz decided to hold a one-man press conference in his car. It was typical Diaz. Nothing makes sense with this super-talented fighter.

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Badr Hari Returns for K-1 World GP Final 16; Overeem, Schilt, Aerts, Saki Absent

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After much speculation due to the troubling financial state of event promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group, the K-1 World Grand Prix has finally returned with the Final 16 to take place on Oct. 29 at the the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Nanjing, China.

Badr Hari, one of kickboxing's most polarizing figures and the last man to defeat 2010 K-1 World GP champion Alistair Overeem, is also making his return following his absence from 2010's GP for a self-imposed break from the sport due to numerous disciplinary problems.

Hari, Hesdy Gerges, Tyrone Spong, Ruslan Karaev, Daniel Ghita, Ben Edwards, Melvin Manhoef, Dzevad Poturak, Sergei Lascenko, Rico Verhoeven and Anderson "Braddock" Silva are the names currently listed for the Final 16, with five more to be announced at a later date.

Although many fans will be delighted that Hari is back in the mix, there are host of missing names from the 2011 Final 16.

Traditionally the final eight from the previous year's K-1 World Grand Prix are granted slots in the Final 16; however Peter Aerts, Semmy Schilt, Kyotaro, Gokhan Saki, Siala-Mou "Mighty Mo" Siliga and eventual champion Alistair Overeem are not among the names listed for Nanjing. Due to his recent signing with the UFC, Overeem will not be defending his title but the other absentees have not yet been explained.

K-1 Event Producer Sadaharu Tanikawa revealed that he has been in talks with Bas Boon and the Golden Glory team which houses Schilt, Overeem and Gokhan Saki among others, but he did not give the reason for their absence. Tanikawa did state however that the Final 16 is being produced in co-operation with It's Showtime promoter Simon Rutz which led to Hari, Spong, Ghita, Gerges and Karaev being included on the card.

Additionally, some of the remaining eight spots in the Final 16 have been traditionally filled by regional tournament champions but this custom has not been adhered to this year as there were no regional tournaments in 2011 due to the financial difficulties with K-1 promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group. In the past there has also been fan voting to fill remaining Final 16 spots but this has also not happened for 2011's tournament.

No broadcast details have been released for the Final 16 in Japan but the event is set to be broadcast to the Nanjing and Jiangsu provinces in China via co-promoter Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation. HDNet representatives were not immediately available for comment regarding broadcast plans in North America.

Event Producer Sadaharu Tanikawa promised that the Final 16 at the 13,000-capacity Nanjin Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium is only the start of K-1's expansion into Asia, also singling out Singapore as possibility for future K-1 events.

Speaking via the internet broadcast, Tanikawa did not address any of the financial issues facing FEG or the transfer of the K-1 trademarks to real estate firm Barbizon.

 

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