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Sounds like they already have a new organization in mind, Coker hinted at the possibility in a media scrum prior to the fights.
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Based on their interviews last night, what's next....
-Coker has a deal with Zuffa that both sides will apparently honor. He'll go to Vegas in a couple weeks to sit down and talk with them to figure out what it is they'll want him to do. He said he intends to support the SF guys as they move on to the UFC and he'll get back in shape with training. It was weird because it sounded like he was intimating to Helwani that he may get back in the game down the road, but he wouldn't say anything more.
-Shamrock says he'll be an announcer for GLORY kickboxing and they should be doing a deal with CBS Sports (if not, then another network). It seems like he'll still be in the Showtime family depending on how long it takes the network to get an MMA property. He also wants to get more work done on his film, based on his own biography. Helwani asked him the obvious question about a potential relationship with Zuffa, but he shot it down.
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Invicta was the favorite to land the Showtime spot as of last week. Meh.
I would like to see WSOF sneak in there, but the money marks behind that might have already been scared off by the loss they took on the first show.Comment
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SF Challenger guy beats down UFC MW title contender
Liquidrob's Top 10 Fighters Rankings
The 10 Fighters Who Changed The Game
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I read GLORY might be coming to Spike and will be sharing fighters with BellatorLiquidrob's Top 10 Fighters Rankings
The 10 Fighters Who Changed The Game
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Marquardt didn't even look like the same fighter that won the SF title a little while back. I wonder if he thought it was just a merit less title then why give a fuck?Comment
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Worst case scenario for Barnett is Bellator. He does pro wrestling in Japan part time, and im sure TNA would take him in a deal like King Mo got if it came to that.
Its been a few years since the beef with Dana, and obviously there is some money potential with him, so if were UFC i'd bring him in. I'd assume if they dont that Bellator will be all over him (which may prompt UFC to sign him just to block it).Comment
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More on Barnett from Meltzer. A lot has happened in the last few days.
The key name not on the list (of Strikeforce talent being brought to UFC) was Barnett. Barnett and Dana White had bitter feelings dating back to 2002 when Barnett beat Randy Couture to win the UFC heavyweight title, and then held the promotion up asking for $1 million to return and defend the title. As it turned out, Barnett failed a steroid test in the fight with Couture and was stripped of the title, and blamed UFC for the failed test. Barnett had always buried UFC when he was in Pride and Strikeforce, but after Strikeforce was bought, he changed his tune.
There were also issues that took place over the past year. Anything can happen. Dana White was non-committal about Barnett when asked, but others in the organization certainly pegged the odds of not being great that they would take him. For one, Barnett was earning $250,000 per fight with Strikeforce (you can see why they had to sell signing contracts like that, it was the cost of the heavyweight tournament, Fedor mainly, but others as well, with no way to recoup it because Showtime didn’t pay them enough to cover the costs). His contract expired with this show, and there is no matching rights clause or period where he can only negotiate with them. He is a complete free agent at this point.
Barnett would probably be one of the better heavyweights in UFC. If the top tier is Junior Dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, Cormier, Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, he’d be right behind them. Whether he’s worth that money not in the top five is a question, but they paid Mirko Cro Cop a lot more than that when he was past his prime.
Interestingly, Bjorn Rebney said that they have no interest in Barnett. This has to be Barnett’s reputation scaring them, because just as talent and nothing else, Barnett would figure to be a great fit. He would likely win the heavyweight title and give them an American heavyweight who knows how to entertain and talk, and legitimately is top ten in the world. Plus, for all the talk of wanting a Bellator/TNA joint promotional deal, Barnett is the single greatest fit possible. Again, as a pro wrestler, he’d be a top-tier talker right now. He’s been pro wrestling since 2003 and has worked main events in Japan for much of that time. When he’s in with quality guys, Barnett has the ability to have great matches. And at least a few years ago, Hulk Hogan liked Barnett when they were both working for New Japan. It’s almost an amazing fit for him on Spike TV as a network star, yet, it’s probably not going to happen.Comment
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guy on the UG found Barnett's profile on UFC.com
It's not listed in the roster page, you have to search for it by name.
Not indicative of anything, but I guess interesting that it's been updated for the most part.
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Meltzer posted in a thread again RE: Barnett
They have reasons for not wanting Barnett. There is the fear that Barnett will win the title and then hold them up for huge money and not come back. When you have a rep for doing that, promoters steer clear of putting you in a situation where you can win the world title.
But Barnett is great fit for what TNA and Bellator want to do. TNA will probably be gun shy because they hyped Mo too fast and Bellator is probably afraid he's become their big star and then be hard to deal with.Comment
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