Frank Trigg and Takanori Gomi scheduled for 'Senguko 4'

Middleweight fighter Frank Trigg (16-6) has agreed to fight in August for World Victory Road.

The upcoming bout means the former UFC fighter and ex-ICON Sport middleweight title-holder will return to action for the first time since a December 2007 first-round submission victory over Edwin Dewees. He has accepted the bout but an opponent has yet to be named.

Trigg, 36, has won three of his past four fights. His only loss was a fourth-round knockout defeat to Robbie Lawler for the ICON title in March 2007. In addition to Dewees, Trigg also defeated Jason "Mayhem" Miller and Kazuo Misaki during the recent span.

In addition to Trigg, WVR recently announced that highly ranked lightweight Takanori Gomi (28-3) has been booked for the Sengoku 4 card, which takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Gomi is expected to headline the event, though his opponent has not been determined.

IFL in Deep Trouble

I don't want to sound like someone who can foresee the future but I've been predicting the IFL's demise for about 6 months now. However it didn't take much skill in predicting it's demise considering the product absolutely sucked. In fact, anyone with 1/8 of a brain who has watched the IFL on tv could have predicted it's demise.

The International Fight League on Tuesday announced that it has canceled its planned August 15 event at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., signaling what seems to be the inevitable conclusion to the imploding fight promotion.

In a prepared statement, the IFL said that it continues to explore options for maximizing shareholder value in the publicly traded company, but if the IFL is unable to leverage any of those options, the company may seek protection from its creditors through a court proceeding, otherwise known as bankruptcy.

The prepared statement also indicated that the IFL will “continue to downsize its staff to reduce costs,” which is the corporately correct way of saying they will be laying off more of their employees.

The downsizing, according to Larkin, does not include any fighters on their roster, but he did mention contractual obligations with the coaches in the league, and other employees that could be casualties of the changes.

“We are exploring our contractual relationships with our coaches. We’re looking at that, but we certainly are not cutting coaches,” said Larkin. “We’re trying to minimize with the heads that have to roll because everybody’s been in this together for a while and everybody has a great deal of respect and affection for each other, but if we don’t take some radical steps there won’t be a company.”

The promotion has gone through several changes and facelifts over the past year to try and rescue it from its turbulent beginnings, but such attempts have not gained traction and everyone is left to wonder if an upturn will ever come.

The IFL was doomed when they had 2 hours of prime time broadcasting that they did absolutely nothing with. They had a golden opportunity on the MY Network and destroyed it by continually showing the same 10 fights over and over again. Not to mention, they were all replays and no one ever even knew when the fights took place. They tried to show standings of the IFL teams but they were inconsistent every telecast. One week the Condors record would be 3-2 and the next week they would be 1-1. There was absolutely no way to follow the season because no one knew when the so called season's took place.

The last thing they did, which was the kiss of death, was to promote the violence and savagery of the sport. They also portrayed the fighters as heartless guys who liked to give beatings and not the fact that the fighters were extremely technical and well rounded individuals. They didn't lose ratings because of the fighters, in fact they had some pretty good talent. But they promoted nothing but violence, the very thing that got the UFC kicked off of pay per view in the late 90's. That's just plain stupid and some very rich people are losing a few bucks because of it.

But again, it's not like you couldn't see that one coming.

What Did We Learn from UFC 85?

First and foremost, referree Dan Miragliotta sucks ass at reffing. He's the same guy who stopped the fight giving Kimbo Slice an unwarranted win. Brandon Vera was definitely not hurt when the fight was stopped but could have been hurt soon. I know it's about protecting the fighters but let them fight.

We also learned that Michael Bisping fighting at 185 is a smart choice for him. He's looked completely invincible over his last 2 fights at his current weight. It's a bit premature but he looks like he should be in contention for a shot at Anderson Silva, provided Dana White doesn't make him fight Silva's bouncer, Rich Franklin. At this point, there is nobody in the division who can hang with Silva so they don't have much of a choice but to thrust Bisping up there. I'm certain a rematch with Yushin Okami is in the cards for Silva but the division is in shambles.

Matt Hughes is owed a great deal of thanks due to his ass whooping he took for the UFC in the nights main event. Thiago Alves didn't even come close to making weight citing an ankle injury that prevented him from training properly the last few days. Hughes took the fight at a catch weight of 174 and was clearly outmuscled. It's no secret that the fighters put on as much as 15-20 pounds after weigh ins by rehydrating but there was a clear size advantage for Alves. He wasn't nearly that big when he knocked out Karo Parisyan a few months ago.

How in the hell don't you make weight for a main event? Did this guy take the Travis Lutter method of training? It's an insult to the organization and for some reason it got downplayed. He begged in the middle of the cage for a title shot saying he's been good but you never know how the fight would have played out if he had sucked down those last 4 pounds.

That being said, it also looks like Matt Hughes' best days are clearly behind him. He was a dominant champion in a time when there were no fighters in the division. The guys he beat a few years ago wouldn't even be mid carders in today's division.

Look at the guys he faced to inflate his record. Carlos Newton twice, Frank Trigg twice, Marcello Aguiar and Gil Castillo (who the hell are they?), Sean Sherk, Joe Riggs (who also didn't make weight). He beat Royce Gracie because there just weren't any opponents in his division. His only notable wins were GSP in a fight he was losing and BJ Penn in a fight he was getting dominated in until Penn suffered a rib unjury and gassed.

However, he is definitely fighting Matt Serra next which should make a great fight. Serra should be fighting at 155 and Hughes is past his prime. Thoughts anyone?

UFC 85 Recap

After failing to make weight for his first-ever UFC main event, Thiago Alves (15-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) redeemed himself by defeating one of the most dominant welterweight fighters in MMA history -- while launching himself into the thick of the division's title picture.

After a close first round, Alves dominated the second, tagging former longtime champ Matt Hughes (42-7 MMA, 15-4 UFC) with a flying knee to the body and a clean punch to the head to force the stoppage 62 seconds into the second round.

The fight capped off Saturday's "UFC 85: Bedlam" event, which took place at the 02 Arena in London, England. The main card aired live on pay per view.

After the stoppage, Alves apologized to the organization for failing to make weight a day earlier. The American Top Team fighter weighed 174 pounds, forcing Hughes to accept the bout at the catchweight.

"I had sprained an ankle before the fight, so I couldn't run or train or do much," Alves said.

With the victory -- the biggest of the 24-year-old's career -- Alves has now won six straight fights. With Hughes, Karo Parisyan, Chris Lytle and other notables left in his wake, he now has one thing on his mind.

"Mr. Dana White, I've been a good boy," Alves said. "I never choose my opponents. ... Please give me a title shot."

White, sitting ringside, simply smiled.

As for Hughes, he had no excuses for the loss.

"Man, he's a good fighter," Hughes said. "He got me. No doubt about it."

In the night's unofficial co-main event, Michael Bisping (16-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) dominated Jason Day (17-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) from the opening bell until the referee's stoppage three minutes and 42 seconds later.

Perhaps in the best shape of his four-year career, Bisping posted his second straight victory since dropping from light heavyweight to middleweight.

After an early trip-takedown, Bisping battered his Canadian opponent with power shots from above. Day had no answer as the British fighter continually rained down blows from the standing position and then in full mount. Bisping even ignored a few obvious submission openings to continue the heavy-handed assault.

With Day offering no defense as the frequency of shots intensified, the referee came to his rescue soon after.

Bisping earned his second-straight first-round TKO -- and his fifth knockout victory in his past six wins.

In an intriguing welterweight bout, Mike Swick (12-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) got his first definitive victory in nearly two years -- and he snapped Marcus Davis's (14-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) 12-fight, three-year winning streak in the process.

Swick used the clinch to set up takedowns and phenomenal ground control. And although he never had Davis in serious trouble, the formula won Swick all three rounds. A third-round point deduction for grabbing the fence resulted in winning scores of 29-27 for Swick on all three judges' scorecards.

Davis, a former standout boxer in New England, did damage with dirty boxing from the clinch. However, Swick continually forced the fight to the ground, where Davis was smothered and couldn't escape. A few cuts, likely the result of his substantial scar tissue, provided a further obstacle that Davis was forced to combat during the fight.

Swick, a former middleweight contender, made his welterweight debut in January and earned a lackluster majority-decision victory over Josh Burkman. However, he said his victory over Davis solidified his decision to remain in the 170-pound division.

Christened "Quick" after two lightning-quick knockouts to begin his UFC career, Swick now hasn't posted a knockout victory in nearly three years. However, he's complemented his solid striking skills with a proficient ground game -- one that set up his victory over Davis.

In a hugely entertaining middleweight bout that had everything from illegal blows to point deductions to a fight-ending power-driver, Thales Leites (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) out-pointed Nate Marquardt (26-8-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) to pick up a split-decision victory.

Two costly point deductions -- one in the second round for an illegal knee to the face and a questionable one in the third round for an alleged blow to the back of his opponent's head -- cost Marquardt the fight. Two judges gave Leites the fight by scores of 28-27, and the third had it 28-27 for Marquardt.

Seeing how the final two rounds resulted in tying scores (Marquardt won both rounds but had to settle for 9-9 scores because of the point deductions), the fight was ultimately decided in the first round. The winner was Leites, who floored Marquardt midway through the round with a stiff right. However, despite being mounted, Marquardt avoided further damage and even staggered Leites later in the round with a clean uppercut.

Ultimately, though, two judges gave the round to Leites, which set up the victory.

The night's televised main card kicked off in controversial fashion as Fabricio Werdum (11-3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) earned a late-first-round TKO stoppage over Brandon Vera (8-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC).

Vera staggered his opponent with crisp striking midway through the first round, but Werdum weathered the storm, scored a trip-takedown, and then secured the mount position to rain down a barrage of punches. Despite just 20 seconds remaining in the round, referee Dan Miragliotta -- the same official responsible for last week's controversial third-round stoppage in EliteXC's "Kimbo Slice" vs. James Thompson main event -- halted the bout.

Vera immediately sprung to his feet and protested the decision.

In a confusing post-fight exchange with UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan, Werdum and Werdum's translator, Werdum claimed that he thought Vera was asking for the fight to be stopped.

"Are you kidding me?" Vera said. "I'm not going to [expletive] quit. ... There was 15 seconds left in the round. Let me take my ass kicking and get to the next round."

Vera, once one of the heavyweight division's most promising prospects, has now lost his past two fights. Werdum, meanwhile, moves ever so close to the top of a short list of heavyweight contenders.

PRELIMINARY CARD


Martin Kampmann def. Jorge Rivera via submission (guillotine choke) -- Round 1, 2:44
Matt Wiman def. Thiago Tavares via KO (punch) -- Round 2, 1:57
Kevin Burns def. Roan Carneiro via submission (triangle choke) -- Round 2, 2:53
Luiz Cane def. Jason Lambert via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1, 2:07
Paul Taylor def. Jess Liaudin via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Antoni Hardonk def. Eddie Sanchez via TKO (strikes) -- Round 2, 4:15