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NCRadioMan · 08-21-2009, 03:05 PM

More news bits:

Velasquez/Rothwell at 104 Official

http://mmajunkie.com/news/15923/cain...os-angeles.mma

With original opponent Shane Carwin receiving a recent upgrade to title-bout status, heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez (6-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will now face Ben Rothwell (30-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 104.

AOL FanHouse was the first to report the new bout, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has been able to confirm the switch with sources close to the contest.

Featuring a light heavyweight title fight between current champion Lyoto Machida and challenger Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, UFC 104 takes place Oct. 24 in Los Angeles.

The undefeated Velasquez has earned four-straight wins in the UFC, including an impressive performance in June in a one-sided unanimous-decision win over Cheick Kongo. The UFC 99 bout was the first time the American Kickboxing trained fighter has been forced to a decision, having earned his previous five wins by TKO.

An eight-year veteran of the sport, Rothwell was slated to fight Chase Gormley at the recently canceled "Affliction: Trilogy" event. The 27-year-old has won 14 of his past 15 bouts, including two wins over UFC light heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski, as well as wins over notables Ricco Rodriguez, Travis Fulton and Roy Nelson.

Velasquez was originally expected to met Carwin in the evening's co-main event. That fight was scratched in favor of Carwin taking on heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 106 in November.

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Penn vs Sanchez to headline UFC 105 free on Spike TV

http://insidefights.com/2009/08/21/s...dline-ufc-105/

A source within the UFC has confirmed to Inside Fights that BJ Penn will likely defend his lightweight title against Diego Sanchez in the main event of UFC 105.

Penn has claimed that he would never fight in the United Kingdom again after earning what he thought was an unacceptable purse for his fight against Joe Stevenson. The internal belief is that the free television show will likely pull in millions of viewers, and that kind of viewer base can help turn Penn and Sanchez into even bigger stars, which will translate into bigger pay per view buyrates for both fighters down the road.

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This sucks!

DirecTV to Drop Versus (WEC)

This story has flown under the radar (except on hockey blogs), but yes, Versus and DirecTV are having a spat. The existing deal between DirecTV and Versus expires after August 31st and the parties are presently unable to reach an agreement on financial terms to continue the partnership:

Versus, formerly Outdoor Life Network, was rebranded in 2006 and is the home of the National Hockey League as well as collegiate sports from the Pac-10, Big 12, Mountain West and Ivy League conferences, the Tour de France bicycle race, Davis Cup Tennis, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cage fighting (WEC), the Indy Racing League and Professional Boxing.

The network is available in about 75 million homes and is wholly-owned by Comcast. It is unclear how many subscribers the network has on DirecTV, which has about 24.2 million subscribers overall.

In a statement, DirecTV said that the dispute centers on carriage fees. According to SNL Kagan, Versus was getting about 18 cents per subscriber per month in carriage fees from cable operators in 2009.

"In our contract discussions, Comcast has demanded a deal for Versus that is not comparable to other providers and is pushing for a significant rate hike that does not reflect current market terms or the value of its programming," DirecTV said in a prepared statement. "We will continue to try and negotiate a fair deal, but we intend to hold the line on our programming costs and protect our customers against these unfair demands that are both discriminatory and wholly unrealistic given current market rates. If we do not reach an agreement, the network will come down on Sept. 1 following the expiration of our contract with Versus."

DirecTV has a different take: continue here http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/8/21...rop-versus-wec

08-21-2009, 03:05 PM	#716
NCRadioMan Chutney Lovebusciut Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Chutney Location: On the shores of Loch Shiel Posts: 4,281 Trading: (66)	Re: Official MMA Thread More news bits: Velasquez/Rothwell at 104 Official http://mmajunkie.com/news/15923/cain...os-angeles.mma With original opponent Shane Carwin receiving a recent upgrade to title-bout status, heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez (6-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will now face Ben Rothwell (30-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 104. AOL FanHouse was the first to report the new bout, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has been able to confirm the switch with sources close to the contest. Featuring a light heavyweight title fight between current champion Lyoto Machida and challenger Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, UFC 104 takes place Oct. 24 in Los Angeles. The undefeated Velasquez has earned four-straight wins in the UFC, including an impressive performance in June in a one-sided unanimous-decision win over Cheick Kongo. The UFC 99 bout was the first time the American Kickboxing trained fighter has been forced to a decision, having earned his previous five wins by TKO. An eight-year veteran of the sport, Rothwell was slated to fight Chase Gormley at the recently canceled "Affliction: Trilogy" event. The 27-year-old has won 14 of his past 15 bouts, including two wins over UFC light heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski, as well as wins over notables Ricco Rodriguez, Travis Fulton and Roy Nelson. Velasquez was originally expected to met Carwin in the evening's co-main event. That fight was scratched in favor of Carwin taking on heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 106 in November. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Penn vs Sanchez to headline UFC 105 free on Spike TV http://insidefights.com/2009/08/21/s...dline-ufc-105/ A source within the UFC has confirmed to Inside Fights that BJ Penn will likely defend his lightweight title against Diego Sanchez in the main event of UFC 105. Penn has claimed that he would never fight in the United Kingdom again after earning what he thought was an unacceptable purse for his fight against Joe Stevenson. The internal belief is that the free television show will likely pull in millions of viewers, and that kind of viewer base can help turn Penn and Sanchez into even bigger stars, which will translate into bigger pay per view buyrates for both fighters down the road. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This sucks! DirecTV to Drop Versus (WEC) This story has flown under the radar (except on hockey blogs), but yes, Versus and DirecTV are having a spat. The existing deal between DirecTV and Versus expires after August 31st and the parties are presently unable to reach an agreement on financial terms to continue the partnership: Versus, formerly Outdoor Life Network, was rebranded in 2006 and is the home of the National Hockey League as well as collegiate sports from the Pac-10, Big 12, Mountain West and Ivy League conferences, the Tour de France bicycle race, Davis Cup Tennis, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cage fighting (WEC), the Indy Racing League and Professional Boxing. The network is available in about 75 million homes and is wholly-owned by Comcast. It is unclear how many subscribers the network has on DirecTV, which has about 24.2 million subscribers overall. In a statement, DirecTV said that the dispute centers on carriage fees. According to SNL Kagan, Versus was getting about 18 cents per subscriber per month in carriage fees from cable operators in 2009. "In our contract discussions, Comcast has demanded a deal for Versus that is not comparable to other providers and is pushing for a significant rate hike that does not reflect current market terms or the value of its programming," DirecTV said in a prepared statement. "We will continue to try and negotiate a fair deal, but we intend to hold the line on our programming costs and protect our customers against these unfair demands that are both discriminatory and wholly unrealistic given current market rates. If we do not reach an agreement, the network will come down on Sept. 1 following the expiration of our contract with Versus." DirecTV has a different take: continue here http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/8/21...rop-versus-wec __________________ The path to loyalty is trust.