When reports began circulating over the past few weeks that a much-anticipated rematch between EliteXC lightweight champion K.J. Noons and Nick Diaz could place on October 4th on CBS, Diaz’s camp quickly stated that there was a strong possibility that Noons' camp may not accept the fight if it was offered.
It turns out that they were right.
According to MMA Weekly, EliteXC VP Jared Shaw has revealed that Noons’ management camp refuses to return any of EliteXC’s phone calls in an attempt to set up his next title defense. Even more unfortunate for the organization is Noons’ rumored to be more interested in a return to boxing rather than continuing his winning ways in MMA.
"Nick Diaz is the number one contender and K.J. Noons should step up and be the champion that we think he is and take this fight,” Shaw said. “Nick Diaz will take this fight any place, anywhere. (Noons' management) won't even return our calls. I don't understand it. This fight on CBS is maximum exposure and the opportunity for maximum sponsorship dollars, way more than he could make on Showtime. At this point, I question his management."
Mike Swick. Photo property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Despite UFC President Dana White stating that Mike Swick would be returning to action at UFC 90 on October 25th, Swick has stated that he will not be fully recovered from elbow surgery undergone last month.
White made the announcement at a pre-fight press conference for UFC 90 at the Woodfield Mall in Chicago on Monday. However Swick, who currently trains out of San Jose’s American Kickboxing Academy, hopes that he will be able to fight again at some point later in the year.
“I am healing from surgery and will not be 100% for a few more weeks,” Swick said in a recent posts on The Underground. “I’m fighting in December at latest, maybe November if I heal fast enough. I’m not even sure why Dana announced it. I just talked to Joe Silva [UFC matchmaker] a week ago and it was assumed that it was December. Probably just a mix-up.”
After winning five out of six fights at middleweight, Swick made the conscious decision to drop down to the welterweight division at the end of last year. His choice has paid off thus far as Swick has earned consecutive decisions over Josh Burkman and Marcus Davis thus far in '08. However, Swick's last two performances have swayed away from his usual fast and exciting style that made him a fan-favorite.
From Cage Rage 23: Unbelievable in September 2007, here's former UFC champion Vitor Belfort going up against England native James Zikic for the Cage Rage light heavyweight title.
Playboy’s regular readers might have something a little extra to look forward to this month as Dana White is featured in the magazine’s usual monthly interview slot for the September issue.
The UFC’s head-honcho opens up on a bunch of topics, including the future of the UFC, the downfall of boxing, his feud with Tito Ortiz, his thoughts on Mark Cuban and Donald Trump, and a failed multi-year deal with HBO among other things.
The September issue was released this past Friday and is now available on newsstands everywhere as well as online at www.playboydigital.com. Selected quotes from the interview are after the jump, courtesy of Playboy themselves.
