Randy Back in the UFC

Wow. I kinda feel bad for Nog and Mir. Not too bad though. I'm glad we'll be able to see Randy fight again, whatever the promotion.

Couture Back in UFC Fold
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Sherdog.com Staff
Six-time UFC champion Randy Couture (Pictures) will return to the Octagon this November, ending an 11-month legal battle with the promotion he’s called his home for the last 11 years.

As part of a new three-fight contract with Zuffa LLC, parent company to the UFC, Couture (16-8) will face Brock Lesnar (Pictures) (2-1) at UFC 91 on Nov. 15 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will be waged over five rounds for Couture’s heavyweight championship title.

“As you all know, we’ve had problems with Randy over the last few months, but we’ve got them all worked out now. Randy has always been our heavyweight champion,” said UFC President Dana White.

A previously announced bout between UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) and Frank Mir (Pictures) scheduled for December will determine the next contender for the UFC heavyweight crown, said White. White described the scenario as a “heavyweight tournament.”

Under the new agreement, the UFC will also attempt to lock down a bout between Couture and No. 1 ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) in 2009. The highly anticipated bout has been heralded as the fight of the decade.

We’re gonna do everything we can to make that fight happen,” said White. "Emelianenko’s under another contract right now to another promotion and if he becomes available or something works out with that other promotion -- obviously everybody knows how crazy we are about protecting our contracts. Well, we would never do that to somebody else."

It is believed Emelianenko recently signed an exclusive U.S. contract with the rival promotion Affliction Entertainment. It is not known how many fights Emelianenko has committed to. White said he would not be open to a co-promotion effort with the rival organization.

“I think a lot of compromises were made on both sides,” said Couture, “but we’re both ready to try and move forward. We’ve cleared the air and we’re both in different places than we were a year ago. Spending the last year in legal fights is not some place that I've had a very good time.”

Couture’s abrupt departure from the UFC last October dealt a significant blow to the world’s most visible MMA promotion. Zuffa’s inability to land Pride heavyweight champion Emelianenko played a prominent role in the Couture’s decision to walk away, as did the fighter’s discontent with his pay and treatment by the Las Vegas-based company.

With his resignation, Couture left behind two contracted bouts, his UFC heavyweight crown, and a separate employment contract for on-air commentary services.

The 45-year-old Couture’s return to the UFC signals the end of arbitration proceedings over the fighter’s promotional contract that were underway in Las Vegas. A separate lawsuit filed last January against Couture for breach of his employment contract has also been squashed.

Couture called his return to the UFC “a step in the right direction” to getting a bout with Emelianenko down the line.

A three-time All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, Couture won four national championships in Greco-Roman wrestling and made four attempts at qualifying for the Olympics. He made his MMA debut at UFC 13 on May 13, 1997, where, at age 33, he won its heavyweight tournament.

Over the course of the next decade, Couture emerged as one of the most decorated mixed martial artists in history. The UFC’s only six-time champion, he captured the heavyweight belt three times, the light heavyweight title twice, and an interim light heavyweight title as well. Couture was the first fighter to win UFC championships in two weight classes.

His run through the promotion included a memorable trilogy with light heavyweight rival Chuck Liddell (Pictures), the only opponent to beat Couture twice. Following his third bout with Liddell in February 2006, Couture announced his first retirement. Couture returned in March 2007 to topple 6-foot-8 giant Tim Sylvia (Pictures) for the UFC heavyweight crown.

Couture has not stepped back into the Octagon since his third-round pummeling of Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures) at UFC 74 in August 2007.

"I'm certainly under time constraints too. I'm 45. I can't sit around in court rooms for very long. I want to fight."

See the original article at Sherdog.com by clicking here!

Gus

So I'm sitting in a windowless building here on base at Keesler, and so far I'm pretty unimpressed. I know, I sound like I don't know what I'm talking about with regard to hurricanes, but there's a good reason for that: I don't. Right now I'm just bored and have nothing better to talk about. Fortunately, a friend of mine here has wireless Internet access and I can do things like pollute the web with my uneducated thoughts on thunderstorms with names. Heh.

Anyway, I thought I'd make some sort of record of the fact that I've lived through a hurricane. If I post nothing further on the matter, then you know it was no big deal.. either that or it killed me, heh. Bye now.

Rumors On Randy

I hope this doesn't end up turning out like the Chuch vs. Wandy fight where it took so long and people were looking forward to it so much that they lost their excitement. Well, once it came down to it, I guess I was excited as I could be for the Chuch Wandy fight. Anyway, here's some news I found. Enjoy.

Sources: Couture vs. Emelianenko targeted for early 2009
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Aug 30, 2008 at 5:30 pm ET
The long-rumored heavyweight superfight between UFC champion Randy Couture (16-8 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and WAMMA champion Fedor Emelianenko (28-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is currently being discussed for an as-yet-unspecified date in January or February of 2009.

Sources inside Couture's Xtreme Couture camp today informed MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) of the ongoing negotiations between the UFC and both fighters.

The fight is far from a done deal. Many of the same issues that prevented Emelianenko from signing with the UFC during previous negotiations must still be ironed out. But it appears that the UFC and representatives for both Couture and Emelianenko are working toward bringing the two legends together for a long-awaited bout.

Additionally, the same sources are reporting that Couture is currently "actively training for a fight."

Couture has remained in shape throughout his self-imposed 12-month layoff, but his workouts are now reportedly being geared toward an apparent upcoming bout.

Adding to previous speculation that Couture's return may be on Nov. 15 at UFC 91 against Brock Lesnar, Xtreme Couture is also reportedly making travel arrangements to bring in several "larger heavyweights" as sparring partners for Couture.

Sources indicate the Emelianenko bout is contingent upon Couture defeating Lesnar in November.

MMA Rated first reported the possibility of Emelianenko as Couture's second opponent after Lesnar. That report also stated that the UFC hopes to make an announcement regarding a new contract with Couture as early as Tuesday.

See the original post on MMAJunkie by clicking here!

You Know How I Got These Scars?

Holy crap, I saw The Dark Knight last night and it is easily one of my favorite movies ever. The first Christian Bale Batman was awesome, but this one is absolutely fantastic. I'm really looking forward to the next one, but good luck finding someone who can recreate the Joker. Anyway, if you haven't already seen this movie, go see it as soon as possible.

The Past Few Months

Hello everyone! I have returned to my blog. However, I've made several attempts at making a blog post that will keep all 2 of my readers up to date on what has been going on in my life and have failed each time. The truth is, I'm not really interested in describing everything that I've done since the end of May since it would take 236546234 hours to accomplish. Moreover, everyone who would be interested already knows. So, I'm going to give the e-world a pictorial blog post of life since joining the Air Force, and from then on go about blogging randomly as I see fit as I did in the past. Enjoy!































The rest of these are after BMT and include when Pantene and Cliff came down to visit. We took a trip to New Orleans, where we met our buddy Waffle, who is also in some of these pictures. Also, about half way through my first tech school, Carol came down to visit. We figured out a way for her to stay and until just recently was with me (she is going home to pack up our stuff to move to my next tech school, which is in Wichita Falls, TX).

Thanks to Facebook for all these pictures! Thank you for shopping at Planet Janicik.

Video: In The Gym with Brian McLaughlin

Video: In The Gym with Brian McLaughlin

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Last Night In Riverdale For A While

So this is going to be my last night in Riverdale for quite some time. Everyone's been great to me helping me get ready to go. I'm finding it most difficult this last day; not because I'm reluctant or having second thoughts. I'm just going to have a hard time dealing with time away from everyone.

Meh, this is the crappy part about leaving. I'm doing the right thing for myself and my future and all that good stuff. I'm going to be in an environment that most people talk about as though it was one of the most trying and difficult times of their lives, but I think I'll thrive. I've always thought of myself as performing my best under pressure. I guess I'll find out if that's actually true in the month and a half to follow.

So for everyone who was at the party on Friday: thanks for coming out. The weather was shitty and I woke up covered in mud and mustard (mmmm, hotdogs), but I had a good time. Brian got video and I don't know when I'll get to see it but I hope it's as funny as Robb's.

Cliff, who put on the party, I owe a lot too. He's been a real point of support for me in the past, and he's my best friend. He's made it quite clear that he's not too happy about me leaving, but is glad I've found something that I'm looking forward to.

[Note: I reserve the right to have shitty grammar in this post. Deal with it.]

All afternoon yesterday and all day today Carol and I have been spending time together. It's been a terrific time of emotional ups ("You're going to kick ass!") and downs ("I don't want you to leave!") and I'm going to miss her the most. Being away from her is going to be the hardest part of BMT.

Of course the rest of my family can't go without mention. Thanks to Heather for organizing the family shin-dig for me. It was great to see the family and party one more time before I'm off for who knows how long. Thanks to Mom, of whom Cliff is a near carbon-copy, for balancing out the way that Cliff feels. I know you're going to miss me too, but I appreciate all the sentiment of pride and respect and hope that you've expressed to me for this time while I waited to go away. Thanks to Dad and Deb who have been the text book definition of support in my decision, and for the promised dinner at Chang's to come tomorrow!

I can't end this in any other way than I love my wife, and I'm going to miss her tremendously. I'm going to write you every chance I get, and I can't wait to get your mailings. I can't wait until I can come home and scoop you up and away to wherever life is going to take us. A year from now we're going to be somewhere completely different. Life is going to be one huge adventure from here on out. We're travellers, we go places, on planes. We go together. We've gone through some tough times and we've got some tough times ahead. Once this is over, we're going to have one hell of a life together. You're my everything. I promise you there's a giant pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I love you. I'll miss you. I'll see you soon.

Negotiating With Terrorists

I don't think there's anything wrong with what the President said, which you can read below. The reason the liberals are going nuts about this is so that they can imply that that they agree with his statements without coming out and saying that they agree with the big bad Bush man. Also, Obama is going to do whatever he has to to get more press. I hope McCain ignores this woman who's led Congress to historically low approval ratings...

Oh yeah, read the article here too.

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Pelosi: Bush comments 'beneath the dignity of the office'


Democratic House leaders are calling out President Bush for a speech in Israel in which he seemed to suggest that Sen. Barack Obama wants the United States to "negotiate with terrorists."

In his speech, Bush said: “Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along."

The White House insists that Bush was "referring to a wide range of people, not any single person." But Obama's campaign says it appeared to be a swipe at him, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that Bush's remarks were "beneath the dignity of the office of the president and unworthy of our representation" at the celebration of Israel's 60th anniversary.

Referring to Sen. John McCain, Pelosi said: "I would hope that any serious person that aspires to lead the country, would disassociate themselves from those comments.”

As Pelosi was speaking, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel issued a statement in which he said: "The tradition has always been that when a U.S. president is overseas, partisan politics stops at the water's edge. President Bush has now taken that principle and turned it on its head: for this White House, partisan politics now begins at the water’s edge, no matter the seriousness and gravity of the occasion. Does the president have no shame?”




By Daniel W. Reilly 11:26 AM

Public Cell Phone Use

Everyone has a cell phone, get used to it. They are great ways for people to stay in touch, and continue doing business while they are out of office. I have no problem with people who'd ask that cell phone users keep their voices down; I've noticed that MANY people seem to think it necessary to raise their voice considerable while they are on the phone.

The right call is this:

1. Complainers - Would you complain if two people were sitting next to each other having a conversation at a reasonable volume? If the answer is yes, then you're... I try not to use vulgarity on this blog, as my family sometimes reads it. If the answer is no, then there is no way you should expect that people shouldn't use their cell phones at a reasonable volume. I repeat, "at a reasonable volume."

2. Cell phone users - Keep your obnoxious voices down. You don't need to speak into the phone any louder than you need to speak for the person immediately next to you to hear. Think about the distance between your mouth and the phone's receiver and the distance between your mouth and the ear of the person next to you. It doesn't make sense to increase the volume when the the listener (or listening device) is closer. You pay good money for your phone, and you have every right to use it - until it annoys others, or more importantly me. I don't care and I don't want to hear about how much you hate your boss, how terrible the Yankees played, or how cute your latest purchase is... unless, in some cases, there is a Victoria's Secret bag sitting on your lap. Yet again, on second thought, that conversation could be one of the worst kinds to be overhearing... ::shudder::

Austrian city asking for polite cellphone use
By Eric Sylvers

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
MILAN: 'We'll send it Monday," the man said into his cellphone, making no attempt to hide his conversation from a dozen or so people who could clearly hear him above the hum of the No. 3 tram here.

There was a long pause as the man, dressed in a dark suit, balanced his umbrella on his knees while continuing to hold his cellphone to his ear.

"No, I told you I don't remember what they were asking, but it was high," he said. "Monday - don't worry about all that other stuff, we can decide that later."

More followed, just enough to make it difficult to concentrate on a newspaper, and intriguing enough to try to decipher the dialogue.

The scene is played out daily on public transport from Milan to Sydney to Buenos Aires. But Graz, the second-largest city in Austria, has decided to do something about it.

Graz last month issued a plea to its citizens not to use cellphones on public transportation. No fines are being given to transgressors, so Mayor Siegfried Nagl is counting on the civic sense or shame of his constituents to cut down on cellphone noise pollution.

Rather than send out ticket-writing noise police, the city has outfitted trams and buses with stickers that say "please don't use your mobile phone."

The city decided to post the notices after a poll showed that 70 percent of Graz residents thought that noise was a problem, said Thomas Rajakovics, a spokesman for the mayor, who uses the tram every day to take his children to school. Forty-six percent of the 5,000 people polled were in favor of a mobile phone ban on public transport, he said, though 42 percent were against the idea.

"We asked people in a polite way to turn off their ring tone and just use text messaging," he said. "People have begun to use the phone now in a much more polite way, and if they do take a call, they tell the person in a very low voice that they are on a tram and can't talk and will call back."

Not all residents have seen the same improvement. While older people are more careful, teenagers are using their mobile phones just as before, according to Colette Schmidt, a journalist in Graz who said she had heard teenagers ridiculing the mayor and the initiative.

Graz is not the first place to try. Stockholm previously tried to institute such a ban but withdrew it last year. Rajakovics said he was more hopeful of long-term success, adding that Graz would do more to publicize the initiative than Stockholm did.

On Italian trains it is not uncommon for the conductor to use the loudspeaker to ask for restraint in the use of mobile phones, a request that has done little to temper use. Railways in France, Germany, Britain and elsewhere have created phone-free zones on some trains.

But Graz's attempt to get its chatty citizens under control comes as some airlines move in the opposite direction, equipping their planes to allow cellphone use.

"This is working because of the big discussion that has started, but we'll have to see what happens in three months, when people forget about the debate going on now," Rajakovics said. "When 46 percent of people are for something and 42 percent are against it, you won't see many politicians taking a decision on that issue, because they won't have enough people behind them."

In other words, don't expect similar bans to spread across Europe. If a politician is worried about having a clear consensus before enacting a mobile phone ban, he or she might be advised to avoid Italy.

Indeed, when Marco Riurio, 47, was informed that his loud, one-sided conversation on the No. 3 tram would have made him an outlaw of sorts in Graz, he had something to say about it: "That's absolutely ridiculous."

Several other people within earshot appeared to support his view, continuing to chatter away on their cellphones

GSP and His Riddum

Awwwwwww, yeeeeeeaaaaahh.

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Mandy Moore "Crushing Hard" on UFC Fighter Georges St-Pierre
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By Cathy Beers
May 2, 2008



Hollywood meets the Ultimate Fighting Championship. According to Star Magazine behind Mandy Moore's sweet-as-pie facade lies a fight fan and the " License to Wed" star has lots of reasons for taking in fight night. She has a very big crush on UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre, Star Magazine claims.

Mandy Moore "Crushing Hard" on UFC Fighter Georges St-Pierre (Image: Wenn)

According to the report, the singer and actress is crushing so hard on Georges St-Pierre, the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champ, that she often attends the 26-year-old's mixed martial arts bouts. She was in the crowd for UFC 83.


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At one UFC event in Montreal, "she was going crazy as Georges was beating his opponent," says an onlooker. "She was jumping up and down and having a great time." The two met up later - and not for the first time, says the insider.

"Georges was overheard saying that he would love to date her!" Mandy, 24, was last linked to actor-singer Greg Laswell.