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April 28, 2012

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April 27, 2012

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Due process? More like overdue process, amirite?

Nick Diaz was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) after testing positive for marijuana metabolites following his five round unanimous decision loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 143, which was held on Feb. 4, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The former Strikeforce middleweight champion has a prescription for medical marijuana after being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which is legal in both Nevada and his home state of California.

He was going to use that as part of his defense at his hearing in front of the NSAC, too, if they had ever actually scheduled him one. The reason one wasn’t scheduled? The State Attorney General requested a copy of Diaz’s medical card prior to locking down a date.

No card was produced. Instead, Diaz’s legal team, led by Ross Goodman, spent their time drawing up a lawsuit for violations of statutory law and Diaz’s Constitutional rights to Due Process.

Diaz’s suit centers on three allegations, two of which relate to statutory complaints for which he seeks injunctive relief — namely, to have the temporary suspension lifted and to not be required to go any further punitive proceedings. The other allegation focuses on Diaz’s due process rights, the NSAC’s violation of which entitles Diaz to both injunctive and declaratory relief, according to the lawsuit.

Diaz is arguing the NSAC is in violation of two statutory codes. First, statutory code NRS 233B, requires the commission to determine the outcome through proceedings related to the order of a summary suspension within 45 days of the date of the suspension.

Diaz and his lawyers argue this term has passed without any date set for a hearing. “Diaz’s license has, in effect, been suspended indefinitely,” says the lawsuit, “in the absence of any adverse findings having been made against him by the NSAC.”

…

Diaz’s complaint also cites breach of statute NRS 467.117, which requires that a “temporary suspension may be made only where the action is necessary to protect the public welfare”. In other words, Diaz’s temporary suspension is unlawful because no basis has been established that demonstrates suspending Diaz was done as a matter of preserving public health.

Citing the alleged violation of these two statutes by the NSAC, Diaz’s complaint asks the court to enjoin NSAC from proceeding with any further punitive proceedings because “the NSAC has lost statutory jurisdiction to proceed with the complaint.”

For those of you not well versed in legal mumbo jumbo, the gist of the situation is this: Diaz was suspended unlawfully in the first place but even then, the NSAC was required to give him a hearing within 45 days of said suspension. They failed to do so and because of that, the entire case should be dismissed and Diaz should be allowed to go back to work immediately.

Now, this would set one hell of a precedent if Diaz is successful, which he could very well be considering his case is solid. We knew hiring Ross Goodman meant the Stockton slugger wasn’t playing around but these folks really mean business. Or, at least, they just want to let Diaz get back to his business, which is battling it out inside the Octagon for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and its fans.

To that end, Diaz has thrown any and all retirement talk out the window. Not only that, he’s now ready to rematch Carlos Condit for the right to fight UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre once he’s healthy.

“On February 7th, 2012, the UFC’s President publicly announced that Mr. Condit agreed to an immediate rematch against me. It is my understanding that the winner of that rematch will be offered a contest against Georges St-Pierre, the current UFC welterweight champion. The summary suspension against me, made without any consideration of the merits of the Complaint, is the only reason I am aware of that a rematch against Mr Condit has not been scheduled. If the summary suspension is set aside, I would be prepared to compete against Mr. Condit or against any other opponent deemed suitable immediately.”

It wouldn’t be a day in the life of Nick Diaz if there wasn’t some measure of insanity, right?

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UFC 148 tickets for sale soon for ‘Silva vs Sonnen 2′ at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on July 7

Tickets for UFC 148: “Silva vs. Sonnen 2,” which was recently made official for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., July 7, 2012, will go on sale to the general public on Fri., May 4, 2012, at 1 p.m. ET.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Club members and UFC Newsletter subscribers, naturally, will be able to scoop up tickets prior to them being available for public consumption thanks to two separate special presales.

UFC 148 features a main event rematch between Anderson Silvva vs. Chael Sonnen, as well as another bitter rivalry (a trilogy, no less) between Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber, in the co-featured fight of the night.

Solid match ups such as Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le, Michael Bisping vs. Tim Boetsch and Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz, among others, are also expected to highlight the most stacked pay-per-view (PPV) main card of the year so far.

Here is the UFC 148 tickets sales schedule (all times ET):

UFC Fight Club presale: Weds., May 2 at 1 p.m.
UFC Newsletter presale: Thurs., May 3 at 1 p.m.
General tickets sale: Fri., May 4 at 1 p.m.
UFC 148 tickets can be purchased through StubHub.com (Note: StubHub often has seats available even if the event is “sold out”). It will also be available to watch on pay-per-view (PPV) at 10 p.m. ET on fight night.

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NFL Draft 2012 results: Chandler Jones is New England Patriots first round pick

Many experts thought Syracuse University defensive end Chandler Jones wouldn’t make it out of the first round and those who did were right.

That’s because the brother of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Arthur Jones was selected by the New England Patriots with pick number 21 in the first round at tonight’s (April 26, 2012) National Football League (NFL) Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York, New York.

The Patriots, who made it all the way to Super Bowl 46 this past February before losing to the New York Giants in heartbreaking fashion, coveted Jones tremendously, so much so that the team traded up to the number 21 pick to ensure it would able to draft him before another squad ripped him off the board.

Jones, a member of America’s most successful athletic family, according to the UFC, shot up draft boards in the months since last season ended. And while he was originally projected as a third round pick, Mike Mayock of NFL.com had him going as earlier as number 19 to the Chicago Bears.

When the Bears went with Boise State linebacker Shea McClellin, it paved the way for New England to get on the phone and make a quick deal to move up to nab Jones. And considering how successful that franchise has been over the last decade, it’s a pretty damn good spot to land.

Expect to hear plenty more on Chandler Jones in the near future.

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UFC Quick Quote: Josh Koscheck vs Johny Hendricks is not going to be a ‘boring’ wrestling match

“I think his fight is actually going to go everywhere you know? Were both complete fighters you know what I’m saying? We both like to hit people in the face and I believe it is going to be a little bit of everywhere because the later you go in the rounds, the easier it is to get the takedowns and stuff like that. So I think you’re going to see that. You are not going to see just another boring wrestling match. I think it’s going to be a fun one for everybody to watch and I can’t wait.”

– Two of the most accomplished collegiate wrestlers in mixed martial arts (MMA) today will do battle on May 5, 2012, at UFC on Fox 3 when former NCAA Division 1 champion and four-time All American Josh Koscheck will go toe-to-toe with another amateur wrestling champion in Johny Hendricks. Both have parlayed their college wrestling days into successful MMA careers. Hendricks, who is 7-1 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), is currently riding a three-fight win streak and coming off of a 12-second knockout over Koscheck’s friend and training partner Jon Fitch at UFC 141 last January. Koscheck, on the other hand, has won two in a row and has competed a whopping 20 times inside the Octagon and challenged for the promotion’s Welterweight title, coming up short against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 124 a year-and-a-half ago. Though their core lies in wrestling, don’t expect a “boring” wrestling match because as Hendricks stated at today’s UFC on FOX 3 conference call, the fight will go everywhere. The two 170-pound fighters are not strangers to finishing fights with “Kos” having 10 finishes under his belt and Hendricks coming in with eight. If their wrestling cancels each other out, expect an all-around battle, at least if “Big Rig” has his say in the matter.

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Invicta FC preview and predictions for ‘Coenen vs Ruyssen’ on April 28 in Kansas City

Invicta Fighting Championships will make its promotional debut this Saturday night (April 28, 2012) at Municipal Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.

The entire all-female mixed martial arts (MMA) event will be streamed for free live from the Invicta FC home page on fight night, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Headlining the main event will be a terrific rematch between former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen and French ground specialist Romy Ruyssen at 145 pounds. Also on the card, former Bellator tournament participants Jessica Penne and Lisa Ellis-Ward will duke it out at 105 pounds, which is their more natural and competitive weight class.

Other stand out female combatants competing at the event are former Strikeforce title challenger Liz Carmouche, knockout artist Kaitlin Young and Olympic wrestler Randi Miller.

Check out our Invicta Fighting Championships preview and predictions after the jump:

145 lbs.: Marloes Coenen (19-5) vs. Romy Ruyssen (5-1)

This main event is very interesting as Coenen and Ruyssen have actually squared off before. It was a very entertaining back-and-forth bout where Coenen handed Ruyssen the only loss of her career back in 2008. Ruyssen has responded tremendously since that defeat, winning four straight all via first round submission and at just 22 years old, she’s one of the best young prospects in the women’s game today.

Coenen, of course, went on to challenge Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos for the Strikeforce 145 pound title and after failing, she dropped to 135 to capture the championship from then-undefeated Sarah Kaufman. “The Golden Girl of Golden Glory” defended her strap once but would lose her title to Miesha Tate this past summer. She was then released from Strikeforce during a managerial dispute and has now signed with with Invicta.

Coenen will have a strong striking edge in this bout, but to utilize it, she’ll have to keep the bout standing. While she’s worked on her wrestling significantly since her last loss to Tate, it’s still most likely the weakest part of her game and she’s been taken down repeatedly in the past, including her bout against Ruyssen.

Expect to see Coenen try to keep her distance and work some kicks and straight punches at the beginning of each round. If the fight goes to the ground, it’ll be Ruyssen on top almost certainly. Coenen is very adept on the canvas as well so Ruyssen can’t toy around inside her guard, but instead keep her elbows tight and drop short strikes to stay active and at least win rounds, if not go for the submission if the opportunity presents itself.

Final prediction: Marloes Coenen via TKO in round two

105 lbs.: Jessica Penne (8-1) vs. Lisa Ellis-Ward (14-7)

Both Jessica Penne and Lisa Ellis-Ward were participants in the Bellator season three women’s 115 pound tournament. Penne was simply too small for his quarterfinal opponent, Zoila Frausto (now Gurgel) and while Ward would defeat Aisling Daly in the quarterfinals, she would be outmatched by Megumi Fujii in the semis.

Since that loss, Penne has not been the most active, only fighting one more time in 2010, earning a first round submission, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been working. Penne puts in a large amount of time at Reign Training Center with Mark Munoz and the boys so she’s one of the gold standards for toughness.

Ward-Ellis got married and has only fought once since the Fujii loss, dropping an entertaining unanimous decision to Jessica Aguilar this past November. I expect Penne to try to utilize her length in the stand-up, where she’s developed some respectable technique while Ward will try to get into the pocket and land short punches with her boxing.

On the ground, both women are talented, with Ellis-Ward likely having a wrestling edge but I’ll give the submission advantage to Penne. If this fight gets stopped, it will likely be a Penne submission or TKO.

Final Prediction: Jessica Penne via submission in round three

135 lbs.: Liz Carmouche (5-2) vs. Ashleigh Curry (1-0)

Liz Carmouche is an absolute gamer. She stepped up on short notice to challenge Marloes Coenen for the Strikeforce 135 pound title despite only having fought professionally for a year….and she nearly captured the crown. “Girl-Rilla” had trouble dealing with elite opponent Sarah Kaufman in her next fight, but she’s taking a breather this time around.

Ashleigh Curry is dangerous, no doubt, with her boxing experience, but it’s not nearly as much so as Carmouche is used to. Curry does have knockout power and some solid striking skills, but as long as Carmouche fights smart, the ex-marine should have no problem taking her down and pounding her into oblivion.

Final Prediction: Liz Carmouche via TKO in round one

135 lbs.: Kaitlin Young (6-5) vs. Leslie Smith (5-2)

Both of these ladies are very exciting strikers. Kaitlin Young may be best remembered for her highlight reel knockout of Miesha Tate back in 2007. Don’t let her 6-5 record fool you, Young has stepped in there against some of the best and most dangerous women in the world. Her losses are to the likes of Gina Carano, Shana Nelson and Julie Kedzie all in a row. She’s recently bounced back with two straight knockouts.

Leslie Smith also has the ability to stop fights with her fists. While she doesn’t have the experience of Young, she has stepped into the ring against Brandon Vera’s wife, Kerry Vera in Bellator a few years back. Smith is very durable and has never been stopped.

If the fight stays standing, I think Young should take it for sure. Her kickboxing is terrific and she’s capable of knockout out opponents with knees, head kicks and punches. If she’s put on her back, that’s where her problems arise as she’s prone to getting TKO’d via ground and pound or submitted. I think she can keep it standing though.

Final Prediction: Kaitlin Young via TKO in round two

115 lbs.: Ashley Cummins (2-0) vs. Sofia Bagherdai (4-1)

This is a very interesting bout featuring Cummins, who’s one of the best up-and-coming female fighters at 115 pounds and Bagherdai, a former face of the Fatal Femmes Fighting promotion, who hasn’t fought in three and a half years.

To put Bagherdai’s time away from fighting into perspective, Cummins has had 10 amateur fights (all of which she won) and her two professional fights in the time since Bagherdai last fought professionally. Ring rust is definitely a potential issue here.

Cummins is very well rounded and she’s extremely aggressive. Expect to see her come forward the entire bout whether on the feet or on the ground. She’s got solid transitions and good scrambles so if things aren’t going her way, she can take it the canvas and work ground strikes or for submissions.

Bagherdai should have a striking edge on the feet and potentially a power advantage overall, but she could be in trouble if she’s put on her back. She’s got to work extra hard to either keep this fight standing or somehow get in top position on the ground as she has some pretty effective ground and pound. Cage rust could be a serious factor in her performance tomorrow night.

Final Prediction: Ashley Cummins via decision

So what do you think, Maniacs?

Will you be checking out the debut of Invicta Fighting Championships this Saturday night? If so, who are you most excited about seeing?

Sound off!

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UFC 146 Junior dos Santos vs Frank Mir video trailer (Fan-made)

NickTheFace was hours away from releasing a promo video that would get mixed martial arts (MMA) fans pumped for the upcoming Heavyweight bout between Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem at UFC 146 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 26, 2012.

However, news soon broke that “The Reem” tested positive for elevated testosterone levels. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White took a few days to make a decision, but soon plugged in former division champion Frank Mir to be on the safe side.

It was a wise choice.

The whole Overeem fiasco forced a complete pay-per-view (PPV) main card shuffle, with fighters being paired up with new opponents to keep the all-heavyweight line up intact. Mission accomplished.

This promo fan-made UFC 146 promo builds on the concept of dos Santos admiring Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, his MMA mentor and Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach. “Cigano” had to wince and watch Frank Mir win twice against “Big Nog,” including a gnarly arm-snapping submission late last year at UFC 140.

Now, dos Santos gets the chance to fight Frank Mir for himself and exact revenge for Nogueira.

Check it out:

For more on UFC 146: “Dos Santos vs. Mir” be sure to hit up our complete event archive right here.

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UFC 145 PPV buys estimated at 700,000 for ‘Jones vs Evans’ in Atlanta

Is Jon Jones a star?

If the estimated pay-per-view (PPV) numbers for last weekend’s (April 21, 2012) UFC 145: “Jones vs. Evans” mixed martial arts (MMA) event that went down at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., are any indication, the answer would point to an absolute, “Yes!”

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer reports that the event, which was headlined by the grudge match between Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and his former training partner Rashad Evans, pulled in a very impressive 700,000 PPV buys, up 200,000 from his headliner at UFC 140 opposite Lyoto Machida, solidifying Jones as the UFC’s newest top draw.

With top PPV box office cash cow Brock Lesnar running back to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre riding the pine because of injury, UFC officials are smiling all the way to the bank. And, most likely, breathing a sigh of relief that it may have found a new honey hole.

Check out the complete UFC 145 PPV buy breakdown after the jump:

…the story was strong enough that early estimates of PPV numbers have topped 700,000 buys, by far the largest of Jones’ career. The number was big for UFC, because they had not established a new young star who was a major consistent draw since the rise of Brock Lesnar, now retired, and Georges St. Pierre, out for most of the year. While the draw was in good part due to the storyline, the number was big enough to where it, combined with WrestleMania a few weeks ago, seems to contradict a lot of people’s views of PPV as a dying industry. The big events, like this and WrestleMania, have done better than most expectations going in.

UFC 145 was focused solely on the main event between “Bones” and “Suga,” and that was made ever so clear given the fact that the two combatants were the only two in attendance for the UFC 145 pre-fight press conference.

The promotion also pulled out all the stops when it came to marketing the fight, giving it the “Primetime” treatment, a “Countdown” show, and individualized promos for each fighter.

And it paid off … big time.

Fans wondered why such a huge event was lacking in star power (no disrespect intended to the rest of the nights competitors, of course), but the card was not exactly “stacked” to the UFC’s usual standards such as the case with upcoming events UFC 146 and UFC 148. After all, the co-main event was fast rising welterweight Rory MacDonald taking on a fighter who only had one UFC fight under his belt in Che Mills.

Perhaps it was all part of the plan.

The UFC was testing the waters to see just how much of a draw the 205-pound kingpin can be and he passed with flying colors. Let’s remember Rashad Evans, though, who UFC President Dana White says is one of the most underrated fighters in the world, also played a major role in selling the fight. However, one would be hard pressed to argue that “Bones” wasn’t the biggest factor.

Or would they?

Jeer him or cheer him, Jones is a legit star, perhaps the biggest in the UFC at the moment, and the proof, as they say, is in the buyrates.

Money talks.

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NFL Draft 2012

“With the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.”

We’re now just a few hours away from National Football League (NFL) Commission Roger Goodell speaking those words in front of the podium at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

That’s because the 2012 NFL Draft is finally here and the first round will be broadcast TONIGHT (Thurs., April 26, 2012) starting at 8 p.m. ET on both ESPN and NFL Network.

MMAmania.com will provide live coverage with up to the minute picks of the entire first round after the jump. We know, we know; it’s not mixed martial arts (MMA), which is our usual realm of expertise. But we’re all football fans around these parts and outside of the Super Bowl, there’s hardly a more exciting time to be a fan of the NFL than the annual college draft.

So strap in an enjoy.

2012 NFL Draft first round selections:

1. Indianapolis Colts

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck

2. Washington Redskins

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III

3. Cleveland Browns

Alabama running back Trent Richardson

4. Minnesota Vikings

USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil

5. Jacksonville Jaguars

Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon

6. Dallas Cowboys

LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Alabama safety Mark Barron

8. Miami Dolphins

Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill

9. Carolina Panthers

Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly

10. Buffalo Bills

South Carolina cornerback Stephon Gilmore

11. Kansas City Chiefs

Memphis defensive tackle Dontari Poe

12. Philadelphia Eagles

Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox

13. Arizona Cardinals

Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd

14. St. Louis Rams

LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers

15. Seattle Seahawks

West Virginia linebacker Bruce Irvin

16. New York Jets

North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples

17. Cincinnati Bengals

Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick

18. San Diego Chargers

South Carolina defensive end Melvin Ingram

19. Chicago Bears

Boise State linebacker Shea McClellin

20. Tennessee Titans

Baylor wide receiver Kendall Wright

21. New England Patriots

Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones

22. Cleveland Browns

Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden

23. Detroit Lions

Iowa offensive tackle Riley Reiff

24. Pittsburgh Steelers

Stanford offensive guard David DeCastro

25. New England Patriots

Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower

26. Houston Texans

Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus

27. Cincinnati Bengals

Wisconsin guard Kevin Zeitler

28. Green Bay Packers

USC linebacker Nick Perry

29. Minnesota Vikings

Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith

30. San Francisco 49ers

Illinois wide receiver A.J. Jenkins

31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Boise State running back Doug Martin

32. New York Giants

Virginia Tech running back David Wilson

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