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The big MMA news of the day was the formation of M-1 Global, LLC, which will be presided over by long-time MMA promoter/manager/etc. Monty Cox (who just happened to have a recent huge major falling-out with IFL). Of course, it was officially announced that Fedor Emelianenko had signed a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal with the company. They said more fighters would be signed within a few days, and given that Monty manages over 60 fighters, there may be a few significant names. Ben Rothwell, perhaps the biggest star in IFL, is already heavily rumored. They said Fedor would fight in February in the US, and that they're working on a TV deal. That, of course, is the key to all of this. They also said, without saying his name directly, that they'd offered Randy Couture $1 million more than UFC had offered him to fight, plus a $1 million win bonus for a fight with Fedor. Much more to come in the next few days.The big wrestling-related news of the day is that WWE is refusing to hand over drug testing and other documents to the families of Chris and Nancy Benoit. The families want the documentation for discovery purposes in the estate battle, and WWE says it will simply open up the company to future lawsuits. This is going to get very ugly.
Rich Franklin underwent surgery I believe today for yet another broken nose. His manager also claimed today that contrary to rumors he would not be retiring.
Raw tonight has Shawn Michaels & Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton & Mr. Kennedy, and Beth Phoenix vs. Candace Michelle for the Women's Title in what will apparently be a best-of-three-falls match. What?
For members intrigued by the Cow Palace happenings, don't forget to check out today's special bonus Figure Four Daily where we speak to Keith Lipinski, who was right in the thick of things all weekend, for nearly an hour on the subject.
Exact numbers for last week saw Ultimate Fighter do a 1.06 for its first run, and TNA was down to an 0.95.
Trevor Prangley, Jorge Santiago, Yuki Sasaki and Falaniko “Niko” Vitale are the four guys signed for the November 16th Strikeforce one-night tournament at the HP Pavilion.
Mike Sawyer and Oliver Copp, frequent guests on Figure Four Daily, have a new radio show up here talking all the latest in MMA.
The end of Randy Couture's relationship with UFC headlines the new, nearly 28,000-word Figure Four Weekly newsletter! We've got the full story of what went down, how he alerted UFC, the fascinating way in which he did it, and what his issues with the company were. We'll discuss how much he made and what others were paid, where there might have been miscommunication, why the company didn't get Fedor, what Randy's major Fedor-related demands were, and how Dana responded both initially and after hearing some of the things Randy had to say. We've got quotes from both Dana and Randy about the situation and about Fedor and other related issues. We'll talk about who Fedor signed with, what this group is all about, how long they've been around, plans for the future, who may have purchased them, what the plans are for the UFC Heavyweight Title and who is in line for the belt, and, perhaps most importantly, whether Randy vs. Fedor will ever take place. We'll discuss the legal ramifications involved, Randy's contract and what it says, what he believes and what UFC believes, what this means for the future of UFC, and tons more. It's the biggest MMA story in the year and we've got in-depth coverage. Also, a big story on the potential merger of ECW and Smackdown, including why it's coming about, why ECW is underperforming and how bad, the directive Vince McMahon sent, who is in charge of ECW and who may be in charge of the combined brand, how this affects the entire USA/Universal/WWE relationship, how Raw fits into all of this, how WWE's decline in PPV fits into all of this, and much more. This story has the potential to be huge. Our third major headline story is a full run down and analysis of TNA's version of WrestleMania -- Bound for Glory 2007. Results of all the matches, star ratings, what worked and what didn't work, backstage notes, injuries, the whole nine yards. Other major stories include what happened with Booker T and WWE and why they parted ways, what Booker's demands were before re-signing, the carefully worded WWE announcement, why Teddy Hart got fired, what this means for the future of the Hart Foundation, plans for this past week with Harry that ended up being changed, more on concussions including a baffling statement by WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt, update on Rock's film, wrestler gets letter from Congress, Raw ratings of late and thoughts on why things are so bad, two people quit WWE for the stupidest reason imaginable, the entire story behind both of their tenures, why Robert Gibson got released, Iron Sheik update, Cyber Sunday update, thoughts on Batista's book and the new Benoit book, including notes from a review not yet published, California taxing pro-wrestling, TNA ratings, Dixie Carter interview notes, TNA on the road with house shows, Karen Angle's thoughts on getting in the ring, UFC line-up and thoughts for this weekend, Liddell vs. Silva update, Matt Hughes on what would have happened if they wouldn't let him hand out Bibles, UFC ratings, more drug test failures, big fight added to December Fight Night, Dana White talks comparisons to Vince McMahon, new MMA company starting in Japan to fill the void left by PRIDE, what their plans are, whether they have a TV deal, the overall state of combat sports in Japan and what has happened over the past two years to really hurt it, Mark Cuban runs first show, Frank Shamrock axed from company, Ken Shamrock considers fight with Frank, Pro Elite teaming with Contender creator to start new show, Tank vs. Kimbo update, awesome interview with Nick Diaz, tournaments return to MMA, John Graziano update, Jonny Fairplay legal update, a new wrestling movie starring Nicholas Cage, tons of lucha news and notes including the full story on how Blue Demon Jr. nearly lost his mask, ROH notes, Vince reviews some Mid-Atlantic from 1978, and I have full reviews of every major TV show including Raw, Smackdown, TNA, Ultimate Fighter, and TONS more! Of course, as a member you also get full access to ALL new and archived radio shows dating back to 2005, plus all the new and archived (320-plus issues) Figure Four Weekly newsletters dating back to 2001. To sign up, please click here, or PayPal users can use the Quick Buy link at the top of this page to be online within 60 seconds. Rates start at just $7.99 per month (27 cents a DAY), so it's a steal. Thanks for your support!
Our latest FREE radio show, the October 9 Bryan & Vinny Show, can be downloaded here.
My newest Fight Network column is here with a look at the doom of ECW. If you like the columns, they're about 1/25th the length of each issue of Figure Four Weekly, and we've got 300 back issues archived from 2002-today, all available 24/7 with an online membership to this site. See below for more info and ordering details.
Irv Muchnick responds to controversy about Benoit books
John Philapavage has a suggestion on MMA scoring
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