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“There’s no way, with hindsight, I would’ve ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, ‘Hey, look, let’s get together and play on 1 team,’” Jordan said after playing in a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada. The interview aired on the NBC telecast of the event. “But that’s… things are different. I can’t say that’s a bad thing. It’s an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.”

Since making the choice to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers during an hour-long TV special, which aired on ESPN on July 8, James has heard from a large faction of critics. Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert was fined $100,000 by the NBA for writing a scathing letter ridiculing James for leaving Cleveland.

While Jordan was more understanding than most others, fellow Hall of Famer Charles Barkley had more harsh comments for James.

“He’ll never be Jordan,” Barkley told 790 the Ticket in Miami earlier in the week. “This clearly takes him out of the conversation. He can win as much as he wants to.”

“There would have been something honorable about staying in Cleveland and trying to win it as ‘The Man’… LeBron, if he would’ve stayed in Cleveland, and if he could’ve got a championship there, it would have been over the top for his legacy, just 1 in Cleveland. No matter how many he wins in Miami, it clearly is Dwyane Wade’s team.”

Source via ESPN

Meanwhile the debate about Michael Jordan’s comments continued on ESPN, which one goes pretty crazy. Check it out:

Agree with…somebody’s comments?

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2 days after Mayweather let the deadline to sign a contract to fight Pacquioa on November 13 pass, he was at a charity basketball game in Miami telling reporters why he’s not thinking about his much-anticipated super fight with the revered boxing champ.

“I’m not interested in rushing to do anything,” Mayweather told the Associated Press after coaching a basketball team at the charity function hosted by Dwyane Wade and Alonzo Mourning.

“I’m not really thinking about boxing right now,” Mayweather said. “I’m just relaxing. I fought about 60 days ago, so I’m just enjoying myself, enjoying life, enjoying my family and enjoying my vacation.”

Previous attempts to make the clash happen between the boxers regarded as the 2 best pound-for-pound have fallen short due to issues over drug testing. The 2 fighters could not agree on the terms of the drug testing. Mayweather wanted random testing leading up to fight night. Pacquiao wanted the testing to be cut off at a certain point leading up to the fight. Because an accord could not be reached both fighters took on (and beat) fill-in opponents this past spring.

Now with the deadline passed, Pacquiao is looking for an opponent to fight on November 13. It could be junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, whom he’s already defeated, or former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito, according to ESPN.com.

Meanwhile, Mayweather doesn’t have much planned for the coming months.

“Like I said, I’m just supporting my family and relaxing,” Mayweather said. “That’s what I’m doing right now.”

Source via K!dult

Hmm…this is kind of getting ridiculous now in all honesty. Listen to Snoop Dogg and fight already! Why does Mayweather is starting to give people the idea that he’s afraid. Surely not the case, right?

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It was reported a short while ago that people in Cleveland were burning LeBron’s jersey, oh dear.

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The 2 all-star ballers announced their intentions to sign multi-year contracts with the Heat to form a potent tandem.

“We’ve wanted to play with each other and we have a golden opportunity to do that,” Bosh told ESPN of his union with Wade. “We’re going to take advantage of it.”

Wade, who has long expressed his desire to return to Miami if the organization would sign an all-star or 2 for him to play with, can now focus on bringing a second NBA title to South Beach.

“Now we can get on the pace of building a championship,” he said.

With LeBron’s decision set to come at 9pm tonight on ESPN, Wade and many Heat fans alike are hoping more good news is on the way. While the 3 players have previously spoken about forming a marquee trifecta, Wade said there’s no pressure on LeBron to commit to playing with 2 of his Olympic teammates.

“We all make our own decisions at the end of the day,” Wade said. “Of course, we would love for LeBron to join Miami — who wouldn’t? But at the same time, LeBron is going to make his own decision.”

Financially, the Heat will potentially pay Wade $125 million over 6 years, while Bosh receives $96 million. Though that doesn’t leave them with much cash to sign LeBron, they’ll still be watching the drama unfold tonight.

Source via K!dult

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It wasn’t done with ease though. The first round in fact saw Brock defending himself from Shane Carwin’s flurry of punches, just after rocking Lesnar with a big uppercut. It really didn’t seem to go well for the champion, but despite constant forearms, punches, and even a knee a to the chin which sent Lesnar down, Carwin could not finish it and was for the first time experiencing what round 2 was like. Which kinda saw him still breathing hard, looking fatigued from his insane fury of punches.
From that point, Brock could capitalise, he looked in fact a more better fighter than usual, even though again, it was through taking Carwin to the ground and launch his hippo-weight upon him, Lesnar would then land a couple of punches to the head and move into half guard, to then mount, to then locking on the arm-triangle choke. And though Shane Carwin moved it back to side control and looked in a safe position, Lesnar proved too much strength for the gassed out wrestler, thus forcing him to tap.
With that, Brock Lesnars MMA record moves up 5-1, while Shane Carwin suffers his first loss in the UFC, with his record now 12-1.

It was a good and very impressive night as well for Chris Leben, who in just 14 days after his last fight against Aaron Simpson, picked up another victory against Yoshihiro Akiyama. I guess Chris resisted the charm and sway of Sexyama himself…
First round saw effective movements happening from Akiyama, using Judo throws and then Judoka skills on ground, attempting an armbar at one point just after Leben tried one himself. He then near enough tried landing a triangle but both mean looked very slick so far in defending themselves. Round 2 saw a great feast of shots with both fighters landing clean hits to their chin. It seemed Leben was hurt the most from it and took to the ground, leaving Akiyama believing he could finish this off via TKO. Despite both hands down and looking out of it for awhile, Leben was more looking good as he’s taking. Eventually, Chris got to his feet, and whilst taking shots from Akiyama, Chris Leben got a couple of hard hits his own at the end of the round which left Akiyama hurt.
With both fighters fatigued, third round had to see off a winner, both fighters went for it and took it to the ground with Akiyama first attempting a submission, only for Leben to then punch his way out and attempt an armbar, which led a tense moment for the Judoka to escape from after. Both men eventually having a little scrap on the ground, but Leben was smart in his tactics and defense, trapping Akiyama’s leg to keep it in close guard, and clearly making himself the fresher fighter. Eventually Chris Leben goes for broke with one minute remaining, landing elbows before changing positions, leaving the black belt no choice but to tap out with 20 seconds left on the clock.
With this impressive victory, Chris Leben is now 21-6, Yoshihiro Akiyama is now 13-2-0, 2 NC.

Krzysztof Soszynski against Stephan Bonnar was considered an instant classic match-up. It was a must-win fighter for the season 1 TUF fighter Stephen after his last three fights had been all losses, including one again the Polish experiment himself (Soszynski) in UFC 110, with the fight ending due to cuts on Stephen. Instantly the fight felt like where it left off the last time they met. Soszynski unloaded with both fists to the face, knocking Bonnar off balance and giving Soszynski the slight edge. Managing to get back to his senses, Bonnar himself then unleashed a fury of punches of his own, also a hard knee and eventually a takedown on the Polish experiment. The American Psycho (Bonnar) kept the pressure on, the Soszynski also landing some punches, one which gave a cut above the left eye of Bonnars’.
It didn’t stop Stephen this time though, and round 2 started with him adding more pressure and landing a hard right hand. With a right knee to the head, Bonnar drops Soszynski to the mat and kept in control a chance to be victory via TKO. Eventually, despite the Polish experiment defending well, Bonnar was having none of it, moving to the back and landing some left hand punches, which left the referee Mario Yamasaki no choice but to halt the bout.
Bonnar gained the victory, and the humour (“I like winning ugly, and boy do I look ugly right now”) and his record is now 15-7. Krzysztof Soszynski is now 20-11-1.

In the other fights, Chris Lytle against Matt Brown ended with Brown now losing to Lytle 3 times, after submitting from a hybrid triangle/armbar maneuver in the second round. The fight started with Brown gunning in and throwing some kicks to the body whilst Lytle threw a counter punch of his own. Brown was in fact in more control as he almost caught his opponent in a finishing choke once the fight took to the ground. The near-submission served to wake up Lytle, who began landing with more effective blows once he rose from the canvas.
Round 2 saw Brown and Lytle traded punches for much of the opening minute of round two, pausing only when Chris “Lights Out” Lytle took the bout to the mat. There, Lytle closed out matters with a hybrid triangle/armbar, and got the winning result, forcing Brown to tap out at 2:02 of the second round.
With the win, Lytle is now 39-17-4; Brown falls to 13-9.

Another fight, another win, and another statement for lightweight contender George Sotiropoulos, who followed up his February victory over Joe Stevenson with an equally impressive three round unanimous decision over Kurt Pellegrino in the main card opener.

Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Sotiropoulos.

The fighters met at the center of the Octagon and immediately began throwing punches at the bell, with Soitropoulos clearly landing the crisper blows. 1:20 into the bout, he dropped Pellegrino with a left hand and moved in for the kill, but Pellegrino cleared his head and got back to his feet. The Australian standout continued to dictate the action for the next minute, but his aggressive attack allowed Pellegrino to score a brief takedown. Immediately springing back up, Sotiropoulos began measuring his attack, which suited Pellegrino fine as he was able to get in more counters. The bout soon went back to the mat, and Sotriopoulos looked to lock in a submission. Pellegrino fought loose and ended the round in his opponent’s guard.

After some brief standup to begin the second frame, Sotiropoulos got the single leg takedown and again tried to work his submission game. Pellegrino stayed active from the bottom position, but Sotiropoulos did the same, delivering punches and elbows while controlling the location of the bout, whether it was on the mat or against the fence. With less than 40 seconds left, Pellegrino finally broke free, but wasn’t able to turn the tide before the bell.

After two minutes of striking kicked off the final round, Pellegrino appeared to play possum as he got Sotiropoulos to move in, leaving him susceptible to the takedown. Pellegrino used the opportunity to land ground strikes and try to find an opening to turn things around, but Sotiropoulos was cool from the bottom position as he tried to catch Pellegrino, and after a stalemate, the two fighters rose with less than a minute left, and though the New Jersey native dropped Sotiropoulos with a right knee to the head just before the bell, there would be no miracle finish in this one, as Sotiropoulos remained unbeaten in the Octagon.

With the win, Sotiropoulos improves to 13-2; Pellegrino falls to 21-5.

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Here’s the main card:

- Matt Brown (171) vs. Chris Lytle (170)
- Kurt Pellegrino (155) vs. George Sotiropoulos (156)
- Krzysztof Soszynski (205) vs. Stephan Bonnar (205)
- Chris Leben (186) vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (185)
- Shane Carwin (265 – UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion) vs. Brock Lesnar (265 – UFC Heavyweight Champion)

So its the pay per view event which sees Brock Lesnar returning to the octagon to defend his title against the insane Shane Carwin, who is undefeated 12-0 and finishing his fights in the first round. Amazing athletes, both are, my honest prediction is that if Shane has got good ground defense and can keep it standing, he’s got this. Otherwise, Brock is gonna sit on him and take it via TKO. Lesnar hasn’t really said/done much trash talk really, he plays himself off as the villain 24/7 now (still keeping his WWE traits I see) so interesting to see if he’s either nervous, or just looking ahead. Obviously if Shane wins, Lesnar will no doubt play the “I was ill” card and get a rematch in an instant possibly, even though whoever wins, I hope Cain Velasquez gets his shot. Final choice, I will go with Shane Carwin on this, but it won’t end in round 1…

Yoshihiro Akiyama (or, Sexyama to those who just can’t resist, man or woman) was originally penned against Wanderlei Silva until he picked up an injury which pulled him out and nearly this fight, until Chris Leben stepped in, which is kind of crazy seeing as he only fought a couple of weeks back during the TUF event. Chris Leben however has never looked so toned and built, the guy is in great shape and with his impressive victory last against Aaron Simpson, he just seems ready to give some more.
However, Akiyama is 1. Sexyama, and 2. Also in great shape for a middleweight. For a man who thought he was to face Wanderlei, he must have trained hard, and maybe danced a little, and sang, but mainly get his condition to a point where he can withstand all 3 rounds. He’s a great fighter equally, but all in all I see this going down to the judges, and a split decision to Akiyama but again, being proven wrong and seeing Chris Leben would be an impressive moment.

Here are my final predictions:

Krzysztof Soszynski over Stephen Bonnar
George Sotiropoulos over Kurt Pellegrino (if George controls it the way he did against Joe Stevenson, and avoid Pellegrino’s BJJ skills, he’ll do ace and should deserve a title shot afterwards)
Matt Brown vs. Chris Lytle

Apologies for a more rushed predictions for those that read and like…reading the way I possibly talk crap to you all. But nonetheless if you’re a fan, leave us your thoughts on the PPV – excited to see Brock Lesnar back?

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With a broken left arm but an unyielding will to win, Rich Franklin scored perhaps the most important victory since he took the middleweight in 2005. How hardcore you need to be to still give and take beatings with a broken arm? Its happened before to Franklin, but he’s given the nickname “Ace” for a reason. Watching the fight, it was pretty good, both fighters landing punches and kicks low and high, one kick by Chuck hard enough to break an arm! The knockout punch was a surprise hit, Chuck seemed to be in little bit more control at the time having Franklin slightly against the cage, though a right arm uppercut to “The Iceman’s” jaw laid the professional out cold.
Though my prediction was right, it is never an easy thing having to see someone in that sort of balance where they want to prove people wrong, though at the same time has to been seen as a retirement fight. had the fight between Chuck and Tito happened, it may have been a different story, but either way whatever fight he had Chuck Liddell was going in knowing a loss could/would deem retirement, and unfortunately the outcome was indeed a loss.
With the win, Franklin improves to 28-5 with 1 NC; Liddell, who has now lost five of his last six bouts, falls to 21-8.

In the main card fights, Mirko Cro Cop vs Pat Barry went surprisingly through all three rounds, and even ended in an unlikely way, with Mirko Cro Cop submitting his opponent via rear naked choke. It was a memorable heavyweight scrap with “HD” Barry swelling Cro Cops face 40 seconds in the first round, even knocking him down at one point. But the Croatian got right back up and remained in the pocket with Barry picking his shots. The crowd were wild for this won, leaving huge roars. Second round and Cro Cop along with his trademark kicks took it to the ground, briefly even getting mount position and seemingly went for a choke at one point too. In the end a unlikely rear naked choke did happen, something you’d hardly see of Mirko regards to submissions as the stocked powerhouse is more a stand/striking fighter. Good fight in the end.
With the win, Cro Cop improves to 27-7-2 with 1 NC; Barry falls to 5-2.

Regards to Paulo Thiago vs Martin Kampmann, it may not have been the most explosive performance of Martin Kampmann’s career, but it was certainly one of the welterweight contender’s most dominating and impressive ones, as he outpointed Paulo Thiago unanimously over three rounds (30-27 from all three judges). Kampmann’s punches were pinpoint constantly in the first round, visible and crisp, with at one point knocking Thiago down with a right hand. Though Thiago used the mat to even up the scores for himself, “The Hitman” Kampmann was cool throughout the first round. Round 2 was much of the same tactics, Kampmann continued to keep Thiago under control with stiff punches, solid takedown defense, and effective groundwork when the bout did hit the mat. Thiago remained game, working for Kampmann’s arm for a good portion of the round, but it was the Denmark native who finished stronger thanks to some close range knees.
Thiago swung for the fences as the final round began, but Kampmann wasn’t buying, and he was able to get the Brazilian to the ground and against the fence shortly after the miss. After some more dominant ground work, Thiago got back to his feet, but only for a moment, as Kampmann got him back down and looked for the arm triangle. Amazingly, Thiago survived the assault until the bell, but there was no question who the winner was. Kampmann improves to 17-3; Thiago falls to 13-2.

Ben Rothwell vs Gilbert Yvel was not pretty, especially with the second round seeing some dicey moments, but in the end Ben Rothwell picked his first first victory in the UFC via unanimous decision.
Rothwell stunned Yvel at the bell with a right hand and a follow-up barrage that drove ‘The Hurricane’ into the cage. Yvel shook off the blows and the bout soon drifted to the mat, where Rothwell eventually got into side control. After some ground strikes, Yvel scrambled up, but then found himself back down and mounted against the fence. Yvel stayed active and even looked for a heel hook, but Rothwell’s size and strength was proving troublesome as he got pinned. With a minute left, he got to his feet and landed with hard shots on the Wisconsinite, but he was unable to hurt or finish his foe before time ran out on the round.
The fight took straight to the mat in the second round again, Rothwell’s ground and pound continued to pile up the points. Yvel was able to stand just before the midway point, but not for long, as Rothwell took him back down. This time though, Yvel found an escape route and got in the top position, where he began dealing out his own punishment. After some dicey moments, Rothwell escaped and regained top position, ending the round in the mount position.
Yvel shot for a takedown to open the final round, but wound up on his back, with Rothwell in side control. Unfortunately for Yvel, that’s where the rest of the round played out, with Rothwell effective, but not particularly exciting as he methodically sailed to victory.
With the win, Rothwell improves to 31-7; Yvel falls to 36-15-1 with 1 NC.

Finally from two fighters I didn’t know, ended up being fight of the night; Carlos Condit vs Rory MacDonald took a tense finishing leaving the crowd booing that it had it ended 7 seconds of round three left. It was full of excitement however for the welterweights which left Condit the victor, fans remembering out of that much though the toughness Rory “The Water Boy” MacDonald showed.
It was tough to separate the two welterweights in the opening round, as each had his moments, both standing and on the mat. MacDonald may have earned an edge thanks to his takedowns, but Condit was far from idle in the bottom position, as he tried to bully the youngster with elbows and punches in a hard-fought and fast-paced five minute period.
There was no let up in round two, and just when Condit looked like he was going to put MacDonald in a precarious spot in the second minute, MacDonald reversed position and got in the former WEC champion’s guard. After standing, the two continued to scrap as the crowd erupted into chants of ‘Let’s go Rory’, and while Condit seemed to get the better of the standup throughout the rest of the round, a right kick to the chest by MacDonald sent him to the mat at the bell.
Blood coming from his nose, MacDonald ignored the crimson and the fatigue as round three opened, marching forward while throwing bombs at Condit. Condit, not surprisingly, was cool under pressure, and he was soon able to get the bout to the mat, where he opened up with hard strikes from the top. The resilient MacDonald, with swelling coming up around his right eye, got to his feet, but Condit put him on his back again and opened up as referee Kevin Dornan watched the action closely. MacDonald wouldn’t give in, but Condit was beginning to pull away, and after a barrage of shots, Dornan stepped in and halted the bout at the 4:53 mark.
With the win, Condit improves to 25-5; MacDonald falls to 10-1. Had the fight lasted the last 7 seconds however, MacDonald led 20-18 on two judges’ scorecards, with judge Doc Hamilton seeing the fight even, 19-19, after two rounds.

Another great PPV at the end of the day, four out of five predictions right as well. Not bad RamZ, not bad (yes that is me complimenting myself in third person). Let us know your thoughts as always.

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here’s the main cards with their weigh-in results:

Main Event:
Rich Franklin (205) VS Chuck Liddell (205)

Main Card:
Pat Barry (248) VS Mirko Cro Cop (235)
Gilbert Yvel (243) VS Ben Rothwell (264)
Rory MacDonald (170) VS Carlos Condit (170)
Martin Kampmann (170) VS Paulo Thiago (170)

So my predictions? Main event, I want to say Rich Franklin in all honesty, he’s coming back from a loss via knockout from Vitor Belfort and would want to look for a win in a good scrap. but Chuck’s long break could prove beneficial for him, depending how he used his time, and he too wants to prove doubters wrong that he can still bring the fight in the octagon. I dunno…I think I will stick with “Ace” Franklin to win here, but I wouldn’t mind either that Chuck Liddell proves me wrong.

Pat Barry vs Mirko Cro Cop the other big headliner for this pay per-view, and whilst Pat “HD” Barry is an uprising fighter and heavier in weight, I will stick with my thought and say experience will get this and Mirko can overcome, but only just, this fight could look to go down to the judges.

Last fight I saw of Ben Rothwell was him getting absolutely smashed by my heavyweight favourite Cain Velasquez. Him against Gilbert Yvel, where his last fight saw him fairly dominate, only to end in a loss against Junior Dos Santos via technical knockout, will be an interesting scrap as both want to prove themselves. It looks like punches against kicks in this battle, if they both utilize their techniques its another tough one to call, though I will go with Ben Rothwell for I do see this going to the ground and him using his weight, if that becomes the case, I do see Ben dominate against “The Hurricane” Yvel, though again I wouldn’t be surprised to see Yvel take this and I’m proven wrong, again.

Paulo Thiago vs Martin Kampmann I can see being possibly fight of the night, or atleast submission of the night by Martin and his underrated ground game. Both respectively coming out of wins in their last matches, Paulo Thiago has a strong chin and can possibly hold his own in the ground if it gets taken that way, but I feel Martin Kampmann is fairly more well rounded standing with knockout power good enough to destroy a chin (especially as he would’ve learned against Daley in his loss) and ground work. its a good match up, worth a watch either way.

Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit vs Rory “The Water Boy” McDonald I will be honest, I know neither, I will go with Rory just purely for his nickname – You don’t mess with the water boy, trust me.

The PPV is tonight, in the UK 3am, US 7pm PT/10pm ET. Let us know your thoughts.

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