Rua should be ready by November, wants Liddell
by JOHN BUHL, InsideFighting.com
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The fight between Shogun and Liddell was scheduled as the UFC 85 headliner on June 7 in London, but a ruptured ACL in his left knee forced Rua to withdraw from the bout last month.
Rua had surgery on the same left knee following his loss to Forrest Griffin on September at UFC 76.
Liddell also pulled out of the event last week due to a hamstring injury.
After establishing himself as arguably the top 205-pound fighter in the world during his stint with PRIDE Fighting Championships from 2003 to 2007 — where he defeated the likes of current UFC champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Ricardo Arona — Shogun (16-3) made his UFC debut as a heavy favorite against Griffin. But Griffin surprised the mixed martial arts world, gradually wearing down Rua before submitting him with a rear naked choke just 15 seconds before the end of the final round.
Not long after his win over Jake O'Brien at UFC 82 — the final fight on his UFC contract — an Internet report revealed that Arlovski may fight on the inaugural July 19 MMA card promoted by the clothing company Affliction.
The article also said that top middleweight Matt Lindland confirmed his participation in the event.
Putting Arlovski's fight with O'Brien on the undercard only fueled speculation that he and the UFC would inevitably part ways. However, Arlovski's manager Leo Khorlinsky told InsideFighting that the UFC was the only organization Arlovski could negotiate with through May 1.
Khorlinsky declined to comment any further, other than to say that Arlovski and the UFC had a positive and respectful relationship.
With an impressive 4-0 record in the WEC, including submission victories over top contenders John Alessio and Brock Larson, Condit has essentially cleared out the division. But Condit said that fighters in the promotion's 185-pound division would be dropping to welterweight to possibly challenge for the title down the road.
Condit is also one of the few top-10 170-pound fighters that hasn't faced UFC welterweight titleholder Georges St. Pierre, and the WEC is owned by UFC parent company Zuffa.
Asked about a hypothetical superfight with St. Pierre, Condit said,"That would be awesome. It would be an honor to fight him."
But he's not going anywhere anytime soon. Condit said that he recently signed a contract extension with the WEC, saying, "I'm really happy to be fighting for the WEC. They've been great to me and it's a great organization, so that's all I'm focused on."
Franca explained that he and the UFC went their separate ways because he hoped to fight for an organization that would offer more flexibility, adding that he also preferred to have the option to fight in Japan, Europe and elsewhere.
Although he's currently waiting for an offer, Franca said he hopes the current MMA market, including the fledging Affliction show, Adrenaline, and others, would result in a fight deal in the near future. Franca admitted that the UWC — which featured UFC veterans Pete Spratt, Aaron Riley, and others — could be an option.
In addition to changing fight promotions, Franca also recently left his fight team The Armory to open a new school in Florida. Explaining the move, Franca said that running The Armory and its affiliates left too little time for his own training, and he wanted to open a smaller facility that would be more conducive to his training schedule.
Franca last fought in July 2007 against Sean Sherk at UFC 73, where he lost a unanimous decision in the five-round title bout. Both fighters later tested positive for steroids. After the fight Franca was contrite, explaining that he took the banned substance to train through an injury he suffered in the final weeks of training.
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