Mr. Beelzebub
06-03-2003, 12:47 PM
UFC President Dana White was recently on Live Audio Wrestling out of Canada, and as usual had a lot of news-worthy comments to make. Here's a brief rundown:
-Dana White said he would like to send the winner of Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell to fight the PRIDE Middleweight champion Vanderlei Silva. He said a lot would have to be negotiated, like U.S. or Japan and ring or octagon, but he would like to work that out.
-White also mentioned interest in bringing Jose "Pele" Landis to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He did say that there has been some trouble getting Pele in America, but if he can work that out, definitely expect Pele in the UFC. He mentioned this during talk of plans for the UFC Middleweight title now that Murilo Bustamante is gone.
-White touched on the Shannon Briggs situation, pretty much said what we've heard the past few weeks. He said he negotiated with Briggs for a while, but nothing was complete. He said he would love to have Briggs in UFC, and the door is open whenever he feels he's ready.
-Dana mentioned B.J. Penn is taking off four or five months to work on his game and come back a more well-rounded fighter. He is expected to work in Holland and in California with Chuck Liddell. White said Penn, Caol Uno, Duane Ludwig, and Genki Sudo are all in the Lightweight title mix. He did mention interest in setting up a Bang Ludwig/Genki Sudo rematch whenever Sudo recovers from eye surgery he recently underwent. He mentioned September as a possible date for the rematch.
-Vernon "Tiger" White vs. Ian Freeman will be a televised fight despite Tra Telligman and Pedro Rizzo still being likely for a preliminary spot. White mentioned if the fights are short, he'll try and fit Yves Edwards vs. Eddie Ruiz on the show.
-Ricco Rodriguez is still under contract with UFC, but will be out for a while due to knee surgery he recently had. White said Rodriguez won't be jumping right into a rematch with new UFC Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, but would easily get a rematch if he could win a fight against a credible Heavyweight.
-Tim Sylvia vs. Gan McGee was the plan for Sylvia's first title defense, but apparently negotiations didn't go as planned with McGee. There is no currently planned fight for Sylvia, but one should be announced for UFC 44.
-Dana White said he would like to send the winner of Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell to fight the PRIDE Middleweight champion Vanderlei Silva. He said a lot would have to be negotiated, like U.S. or Japan and ring or octagon, but he would like to work that out.
-White also mentioned interest in bringing Jose "Pele" Landis to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He did say that there has been some trouble getting Pele in America, but if he can work that out, definitely expect Pele in the UFC. He mentioned this during talk of plans for the UFC Middleweight title now that Murilo Bustamante is gone.
-White touched on the Shannon Briggs situation, pretty much said what we've heard the past few weeks. He said he negotiated with Briggs for a while, but nothing was complete. He said he would love to have Briggs in UFC, and the door is open whenever he feels he's ready.
-Dana mentioned B.J. Penn is taking off four or five months to work on his game and come back a more well-rounded fighter. He is expected to work in Holland and in California with Chuck Liddell. White said Penn, Caol Uno, Duane Ludwig, and Genki Sudo are all in the Lightweight title mix. He did mention interest in setting up a Bang Ludwig/Genki Sudo rematch whenever Sudo recovers from eye surgery he recently underwent. He mentioned September as a possible date for the rematch.
-Vernon "Tiger" White vs. Ian Freeman will be a televised fight despite Tra Telligman and Pedro Rizzo still being likely for a preliminary spot. White mentioned if the fights are short, he'll try and fit Yves Edwards vs. Eddie Ruiz on the show.
-Ricco Rodriguez is still under contract with UFC, but will be out for a while due to knee surgery he recently had. White said Rodriguez won't be jumping right into a rematch with new UFC Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, but would easily get a rematch if he could win a fight against a credible Heavyweight.
-Tim Sylvia vs. Gan McGee was the plan for Sylvia's first title defense, but apparently negotiations didn't go as planned with McGee. There is no currently planned fight for Sylvia, but one should be announced for UFC 44.