As the saying goes, it's all about the Benjamins — which, if my handy "Biggie Smalls Street Vernacular Dictionary — Volume 2" is accurate, means it's ultimately all about money. Money is what fighters get when they take the biggest fights, sign the fattest contracts, and build up the most hype for whatever bouts they have scheduled for that week. And hey, that's not a bad thing. Fighting is a job, and the UFC is the top employer in the field, so why not make that wampum while you can? Anyway, all this should clue you in on what today's morning news roundup is about: money.
- UFC welterweight Jon Fitch really wants out of his rumored bout against Brazilian Erick Silva at UFC 153 — or at least, he would much rather have a rematch with Hawaiian fighting legend B.J. Penn. Case in point: the disingenuous-seeming trash-talk Fitch is spewing. I don't think Penn is a coward, most (if not all) of the world doesn't think Penn is a coward, and I seriously doubt Fitch truly thinks Penn is a coward. But Fitch knows a fight with Penn could have a bigger bottom line, so here come the harsh words!
- UFC lightweight contender Nate Diaz is holding a pen, and the tip of that pen is hovering over a new contract that UFC president Dana White has unfurled and flattened on the table. Seems like a no-brainer that he sticks with the UFC, no? I mean, where else is he going to go? The Strikeforce lightweight champ is his buddy, and for him to go to Bellator, he'd have to sit on the shelf for a while.
- The media call for UFC 150 was yesterday and MMAWeekly's got the audio. Personally, media calls are all the same to me — the same spoon-fed hype and storylines, the same questions, the same faux-excitement. They're just something that's done to drive media (and, subsequently, fan) interest, which presumably fuels pay-per-view sales. The only time media calls are interesting is when PRIDE FC champ Fedor Emelianenko and his manager Vadim Finkelstein are on the line and we hear goats and water splashing and all sorts of weird stuff in the background (which actually happened once).
- The folks at the UFC are helping erect a LGBTQ community center in Las Vegas, N.V., which is a pretty altruistic thing to do if you ask me. MMAJunkie's got the quote from UFC executive Reed Harris:
"The UFC supports many worthwhile causes, and the Gay and Lesbian Community Center's goals of supporting human rights and offering programs for health and wellness are important causes that the entire UFC organization supports," Harris told MMAJunkie.com. "We are pleased to be able to show support for an organization that offers health and wellness programs and seeks to better our community."
This little tidbit has nothing to do with money, but it's a good deed that deserves some recognition.
That's all for now. Now, please, just leave me alone.
Anna Kournikova Anna Paquin AnnaLynne McCord Anne Marie Kortright April Scott Arielle Kebbel
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