Rossi?s opinion of the Lorenzo negotiations

This quote comes from the Spanish language website elmundodeportivo.es. The message and the sentiment are clear: “You aren’t worth what I get paid Jorge”. From elmundodeportive.es, translation by Fans.Moto.GP (Thanks!): What Jorge is looking for seems presumptuous to me: Arrive at Yamaha, and in his second year ask that he be given the same treatment [...]

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Confederate P120 Fighter Crashes After Breaking Through Plate Glass Window on the ?White Collar? TV Show Set

I suppose if you have a $77,500 motorcycle doing a stunt through a plate glass window, you’re willing to 1) see that motorcycle get some nicks and dings, and 2) rack up a sizable repair bill if something goes horribly, horribly, horribly wrong. Such was the case on the set for the TV show White Collar, where a Confederate P120 Fighter was involved in a stunt where it breaks through a large window, and jumps ...

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The He Said, She Said, But No One is Really Saying Anything about the Virginia International Raceway Snafu

AMA Pro Racing and the Virginia International Raceway have been having a war of the press releases the past few days, as it was announced that AMA road racing will not be taking place at the fabled mid-Atlantic track later next month. With AMA Pro Racing first announcing on Monday that the event scheduled for August 12th-14th was cancelled, the sentence immediately following that statement must have struck a nerve with VIR, as it read: ...

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Dan Henderson Hopes to Defend Strikeforce Belt, Eventually Meet UFC Champion

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Dan Henderson has a knack for big performances at contract time: In 2007, he knocked out Wanderlei Silva at Pride 33, becoming a two-division champion and positioning himself to get a lucrative deal when the UFC purchased Pride. Two years ago, he knocked out Michael Bisping at UFC 100, scoring the biggest highlight on the UFC's biggest stage and positioning himself to get a lucrative deal when Strikeforce decided to bid for his services.

And now Henderson is preparing to fight Fedor Emelianenko in the final fight of his Strikeforce contract -- a fight that could position Henderson to negotiate a new deal with Strikeforce's new parent company Zuffa, owners of the UFC. But while a win over Emelianenko could launch Henderson directly into a UFC pay-per-view main event, Henderson says his preference is to stick with Strikeforce.

"I hope not," Henderson said when asked by MMAFighting.com whether the fight with Emelianenko would be his last in Strikeforce. "It's the last one on my contract (but) I like Strikeforce, and I do like fighting on Showtime. ... I don't have any plans of leaving. I don't want to leave."

As Henderson sees it, a return to the UFC is possible after his July 30 fight with Emelianenko -- but not immediately after. Instead, Henderson wants to defend the Strikeforce light heavyweight title, firmly establish himself as the top 205-pounder outside the UFC, and then take on the UFC light heavyweight champion.
[Jon Jones] would be fun for me because he's so unorthodox. But it's something that probably needs to be built up after I defend the belt once or twice.
-- Dan Henderson

"I'd like to defend that belt and then possibly have a match with whoever's the UFC champ," Henderson said. "I think that's where the potential to both make a lot more money and have a lot more fans watch both Strikeforce and the UFC."

Henderson says he's already hearing from fans who want to see him fight UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, but Henderson believes the best way to market that fight is for him to beat Emelianenko and beat a Strikeforce light heavyweight or two first.

"As soon as Zuffa bought Strikeforce, Jon Jones fought right after that and everybody was blowing up my Twitter about fighting Jon Jones," Henderson said. "That would be fun for me because he's so unorthodox. But it's something that probably needs to be built up after I defend the belt once or twice."

That's music to the ears of Scott Coker, who still oversees Strikeforce even after the promotion was sold to the UFC. Coker says he likes the idea of UFC vs. Strikeforce battles, but he doesn't want to diminish the importance of Strikeforce belts by having every champion bolt for the UFC. Instead, Coker wants to see champion vs. champion fights only after the two promotions' champions have separated themselves from the rest of their divisions.

"He's our light heavyweight champion, so we'll have more fights for him," Coker said of Henderson. "Strikeforce has a good light heavyweight division. King Mo is going to come back at some point, Roger Gracie is rising, Gegard (Mousasi) is still in the mix, Mike Kyle -- people underestimate Mike Kyle."

Still, Coker knows a fight between Henderson and any of those contenders would be a far cry from a fight between Henderson and Jon Jones -- or whoever owns the UFC light heavyweight belt. And Coker says he wants to see the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion face the UFC light heavyweight champion eventually.

"It's a good possibility that will happen and it's something I would like to happen as a fan," Coker said. "These are fights that can be big pay-per-views, big business."

The chance to return to the Octagon for a pay-per-view main event is something that greatly appeals to Henderson, and he thinks the sale of Strikeforce to Zuffa could be profitable for him for that reason. But he also acknowledges mixed emotions about that sale, and he says he worries about young fighters who might have a harder time negotiating a good deal for themselves now that the UFC and Strikeforce are part of the same corporate family.

"It does make me nervous," Henderson said. "Originally I thought it wasn't the best thing for a lot of the up-and-coming guys who don't have any drawing power to bargain with."

For now, Henderson says, he's happy to take the biggest fight he can in Strikeforce, against Emelianenko, who despite having lost two straight fights remains the biggest draw Henderson could face. Ultimately, what Henderson wants is to participate in big fights, and that's why he jumped at the chance when told that he could fight Emelianenko.

"It was something that was interesting to me," Henderson said. "That could possibly make everyone a lot of money."

 

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Eduardo Pamplona vs. Tyler Stinson Added to 'Fedor vs. Henderson' Card

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Blackhouse member Eduardo Pamplona will bring his 10-fight win streak to the table when he faces Bellator veteran Tyler Stinson in a welterweight bout at the July 30 Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson event near Chicago.

Pamplona vs. Stinson joins JZ Cavalcante vs. Lyle Beerbohm and Julie Kedzie vs. Alexis Davis as confirmed preliminary bouts in support of the Showtime card.

Pamplona (15-2) is a 35-year-old Brazilian whose last loss dates back to an IFL event in February 2007 against Robbie Lawler. Pamplona made his Strikeforce debut last month, stopping Jerron Peoples in the fist round at Challengers 16.

Stinson (20-7) will be making his Strikeforce debut after bouncing around with Bellator the last 14 months. He's .500 with Bellator, losing to Dan Hornbuckle and Steve Carl, while beating Leonardo Pecanha and Nate James.

Showtime Bouts
Dan Henderson vs. Fedor Emelianenko
Marloes Coenen vs. Miesha Tate
Tim Kennedy vs. Robbie Lawler
Paul Daley vs. Tyron Woodley
Tarec Saffiedine vs. Scott Smith

Preliminary Bouts
JZ Cavalcante vs. Lyle Beerbohm
Eduardo Pamplona vs. Tyler Stinson
Julie Kedzie vs. Alexis Davis

 

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Watch Fight Day with Yahoo! Sports and Heavy

Fight Day, the only live UFC pre-show, will come to you an hour earlier (5 p.m. ET/2 p.m.  PT) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena to break down UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber.  Fight Day will get you prepared for the night's card with expert analysis from Ben Fowlkes of MMAFighting, Matt Brown of HeavyMMA and Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, and they'll be joined on set for live interviews with UFC stars Brian Stann and Jason "Mayhem" Miller.  Throw in a look inside the camp of Dominick Cruz and a candid interview with Urijah Faber and you won't want to miss this.  Join Dave Farra and Megan Olivi July 2 at 5 p.m. Eastern/2pm Pacific right here for Fight Day.

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Tito loves Dana: MMA?s favorite marriage continues, what?s next for Ortiz?

There's nothing better than the special bond between boss and employee. Dana White and Tito Ortiz are proof of that. The UFC president was looking forward to a clean separation, but Tito spoiled the party with his upset of Ryan Bader at UFC 132.

Going back to the postfight press conference at UFC 84, it's simply amazing that the Tito-Dana marriage is going to continue. Remember, that was night Ortiz was nearly denied access to the room. Las Vegas Metro Police were standing by in case some insane unfolded. Tito, girlfriend Jenna Jameson, broke into the room before White arrived. What ensued was a legendary sniping session between boss and employee. Tito probably didn't help his cause by wearing a "mean" t-shirt to the weigh-in.

Ortiz lost two more fights after the Machida defeat, but won with his back against the wall. Judging by the reaction from the fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, Ortiz certainly has to be re-signed, but you have to wonder if there's any shot at a smooth negotiation. Boss and employee buried that hatchet at the UFC 132 postfight press conference.

Tito "begged" for a final fight and was getting paid $450,000 win or lose at UFC 132. Let's hope money isn't a stumbling block. We can't wait to see Ortiz back in the Octagon and more importantly, the next chapter of Tito-Dana emerge before the end of 2011.

Tito won't ever really be in the hunt for the light heavyweight title, so now it's time to make fights that the fans want to see. What do you like?

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