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From MMATorch.com UK Scene - Park By: Chris Park, MMATorch UK Specialist
UFC 120 will showcase three of the best British fighters to ever step foot inside the Octagon. John “The Hitman” Hathaway takes on former WEC Champion Mike Pyle, while British poster boy Michael “The Count” Bisping defends the English pride against Judo master Yoshihiro Akiyama and Dan Hardy meets Carlos Condit. In the co-main event of the evening, Condit will be the guest of honour when he welcomes “The Outlaw” back to into action for the first time since his Welterweight title challenge against Georges St. Pierre ended in defeat at UFC 111 in March. Going into his fight with GSP, Hardy had quite the reputation as far as trash talking and getting under an opponent’s skin were concerned. Hardy, however, didn’t follow the same blue-print that drove Marcus Davis to the brink, and instead was very respectful of his opponent. Barely two weeks since Hardy was announced to be fighting Condit in London, the war-of-words has already begun. “I am surprised he asked for the fight," Hardy said in a video interview at BJPenn.com. "I don't think it's a good fight for him. I think he's in a tough situation in his career right now. He's not exactly on a great winning spree in the UFC at the moment. “I think I'm just a bad fight for him. I think everywhere the fight goes, I'm just going to be able to overpower him and beat him up. By the time the fight starts, it will be too late for him; he shouldn't have called me out. “I see that screwed up face he does, like he just swallowed a wasp. All p****d off and angry... He knows what's coming. Prepare yourself. Start sending out some job applications to see what's out there. Because by the time October 17 comes around, you might need to find a new job.” ==== PAY-PER-VIEW: In a recent interview UFC President Dana white expressed his frustrations with his organisation's standing in the UK market. BloodyElbow.com quoted White this week stating the following: “You get into these countries and you have to go in there and cultivate the market. Look at how long we've been in the U.K. and how much money and effort and energy we put into there, and we're not on pay-per-view yet. It's driving us crazy.” While these comments were surprising, what was an even bigger surprise was White then vented his frustrations via his Twitter account: “UK fans, you guys have to start hammering Sky Sports with emails or calls. Trust me we have been working on getting s**t on there for 8 years.” There is no question that Sky Sports is the leading sports network in the country, with extensive coverage of all sports – with the exception of MMA. Sky Sports is also the only network that could give the UFC a fighting chance of having success on PPV; however, it would still be a battle to gain enough buys to deem it a success here, and would no doubt stifle the progression rate that the UFC has had and continues to move at in the UK. England is simply not a PPV country, with WWE being the only regular show on offer. Boxing has moderate success with world champions such as David Haye and Amir Kahn, but it was Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe, with their devoted army of fans, who were the exception to the rule; but they were exactly that - the exception. It would be quite simply a disastrous move for the UFC to try to charge UK fans £15 a time, for a show that would take place at 3am, roughly once a month. The progression rate of the UFC would severely slow down. ESPN UK is the absolute perfect place in the market for the UFC to place itself with a reasonable monthly cost and extensive coverage that includes shows such as MMA Live, Primetime, Unleashed, Wired, All Access as well as classic episodes of The Ultimate Fighter. This is the perfect platform for the UFC to continue to grow in the United Kingdom. ==== THE RETURN OF THE RENEGADE: Dean “The Renegade” Amasinger will make his long awaited return on October 23 when he takes on Jamaine Facey in what could end up being a number one contender fight for the UCMMA Welterweight title. Amasinger is making his comeback from a broken arm he suffered in his title fight with Alberto Mina back in February. Amasinger broke the arm blocking a head-kick in round one. Unbelievably, in true Rough House fashion, Dean Amasinger battled on until the third round but was eventually unable to use the arm to defend himself any longer. I caught up with “The Renegade” this morning who told me, “I've got a fight on October 23 at UCMMA against Jamaine Facey. I’m really looking forward to getting back in there and putting on a performance.” The expression often used is “iron sharpens iron,” and with most members of the team in camp for a fight; Amasinger told me about life at the Rough House. “Training is going well and everyone is back in the gym," Amasinger said. "[Dan Hardy is] back from the US getting ready for [Carlos] Condit, Ross [Pearson] has started coming down for sparring for his fight in September and Nick [Osipczak] and [Andre Winner] are both looking great before their fights in Boston.” With most members of the team all competing within a 7-week span, there will be a wealth of training partners for Amasinger to call upon as he prepares for his return on October 23. Firstly UCMMA will return to Troxy on September 18 for “Showdown” which will see Light-Heavyweight Nick Chapman making his debut. For further information visit www.ucmma.com or from the UK call 0208 302 0768 for ticket options. ==== OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF: -Michael “The Count” Bisping this week threw fuel on the fire known as Chael Sonnen, by making Twitter comments about the American both during and after Sonnen’s fight with Anderson Silva. After a few brief jibes Bisping hinted that Sonnen could be the next man he faces after Yoshihiro Akiyama. In response; Chael Sonnen spoke out during his appearance last week on MMA Live. When asked who he believes he will face while Silva is in recovery, Sonnen told John Anik: “Well you know I'll tell ya if Michael Bisping ever addresses me in public again - I'll bury him where he stands.” === -Paul “Semtex” Daley vs. Jorge Masvidal is officially set for Shark Fights 13, September 11 in Texas. The fight will be Daley’s second since his UFC exit and may end up being his last before commencing, what has been reported as, a six-fight deal with Strikeforce. This, however, was not the only report that Daley was at the centre of as this week the Montreal Athletic Commission handed Daley a 30-day suspension for his sucker punch on Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 in May. Daley, clearly keen to move forward with his career, said the following on his official website: “Thanks for the attention, good and bad. But I think the matter should be laid to rest, fact is the commission has made the decision, in court - and it's final. I have apologised for the incident sincerely. Next for me is Shark Fights, Sept 11th in Texas, USA.” === -South African born British Heavyweight Neil Grove enjoyed a successful Bellator debut as he defeated fellow former UFC fighter Eddie Sanchez via TKO barley 90 seconds into the first round. === -In another example of the UFC’s breakthrough into the UK market, British store Argos have unveiled an all-new UFC range in this season’s catalogue. There was no place for Michael Bisping for once, as an action shot of Dan Hardy ran alongside the range that included UFC training gloves, UFC Thai pads and UFC ling focus punch mitts. ==== It was another busy week involving UK fighters with Dan Hardy bringing back the mental warfare that has brought him much success in the past. I am pleased for Paul Daley that he can now draw a line under everything that has happened since UFC 113, and at last Dean Amasinger will make his comeback on October 23 with full coverage of that fight, and its build up, on MMATorch. Tomorrow night Brad “One Punch” will have a nation behind him when he takes on Scott Jorgensen at WEC 51. Pickett will be fighting in what has been rumoured to be for the number one contender spot, with the winner facing either Dominic Cruz or Joseph Benavidez for a shot at the 135 lb. title. Join me next week for another round up of the UK Scene. ==== Chris Park is the MMATorch UK Specialist and guest columnist at ESPN.co.uk. Please email any comments or questions to Chris at; mmatorchuk@gmail.com or look us up at http://www.facebook.com/mmatorchuk2 our new MMATorch Facebook home for UK Fans! © Copyright by MMATorch.com |
