Feburary 2nd News Update

-Anthony Johnson returns to the UFC against Phil Davis- MMA Junkie

-Junior Dos Santos Switches Camps – Bloody Elbow

-Joseph Benavidez vs. Tim Elliott has been added to the 4/26 UFC 172 show in Baltimore.

-Eric Molina interview with the Brownsville Herald 

-Joe Lauzon answers a few questions on Reddit

Q: Joe, how much money does it cost you to prepare for a fight? If a fighter makes 15k for a fight in the UFC are they breaking even? Are they making minimum wage?

JL: Lots of variables. Sometimes coaches get paid on a percentage, some are flat fees. Flights vary quite a bit in price… when I fly to Vegas its like $350 per flight, for Japan it was over $1400 per flight. I always take care of my coaches with flights (not giving them shitty/cheap flghts), etc. 15K for a fight does not leave much money by the time you pay coaches, flights, medicals, taxes, etc.

Yikes, $1400 for a flight to Japan?! Shouldn’t UFC be fronting the bill for these overseas shows.

Julianna Pena’s coach releases statement:

Julianna is the heart and soul of our team and absolutely nothing was more devastating than carrying her to my car last week.

Years ago, the girl got hit by a drunk driver walking on the sidewalk and broke bones in her face and got up and called me. She got her arm broken in a fight and finished the round fighting back with one arm and begged me not to stop the fight on the stool. But seeing her laying on the mat last week and not getting up, I knew it was serious. She always gets up. Julianna even called Dana on the way to the hospital to say she might be out, but I sent a tweet from the hospital saying she was out even before the results because I was scared if she only had an ACL tear she was gonna still fight no matter what. like shes done before. She is the toughest person I’ve ever met.

The accident was plain and simple. It was a training accident that happened with her normal 145lb training partner for years. There wasn’t any horseplay or assault. I guarantee the guy would be in the same condition as her if there was.

The problem I have with all this is that my gym and her training partner got put on blast with no facts. Female athletes’ knees are very prone to injury. I have two professionals in my gym, Alyse Honnold and Elizabeth Phillips, both have had knee surgeries BEFORE they even joined my gym. Mike Chiesa needed knee surgery after his brutal 5 fights on TUF and Julianna’s knee blew up after her Shayna (Baszler) fight but she kept going. Most of the girls on TUF were injured or limped through and Julianna barely made it to the finale herself. Seeing Cat (Zingano) go down with a knee injury and Kelvin’s knee blow after the rigors of TUF, I feel for all of them because people don’t know the pressure there is to stay winning and keep Dana and the fans happy.

It is so difficult to keep a young, hungry, and driven athlete like Julianna from injuries. Especially having four fights in a row and right back to camp for another. She has been in camp since March 1 before TUF. No girl has had a schedule like that ever in any combat sport. Never did her training partners or workouts ever change. But anytime an injury happens in your gym its terrible and I’m 100% to blame.

My pros are hardworking blue collar guys and girls. Our team spark, centerpiece, and someone I love just went down and we are all so devastated beyond words. Looking over and not seeing Julianna on her spot on the mat that she’s always at for the last five years is something I can’t accept. In hindsight we should’ve never taken the fight and let Julianna rest, but it feels like we aren’t a big enough gym to say no. I’ve watched (Sam) Sicilia throw punches with a broken hand, Chiesa fight three weeks after surgery, and I just can’t let this happen anymore. This sport has taken the life out of me.

-And another another story regarding this situation:

– Teammate Michael Chiesa on the stories of what happened to Julianna Pena: “Pena was never ‘attacked’ by some guy. She was training with a 135er that she trains with on a regular basis. He wasn’t talking shit to her for wearing a TUF shirt, and if he was, it was light-hearted gym humor. They were rolling and he went for a move that he’s hit on her a thousand times before and it just happened. Nobody is to blame, it was a training accident. Just like Dominick Cruz. Everyone knows how hard she is to train with ’cause she’s so damn tough. She only has one female partner that can somewhat challenge her. Even on the show, she was training with guys on her team and, correct me if I’m wrong, they made a point to say how tough she is. She’s Cyborg-esque, I guess you could say, minus the PEDs. We’re a very close knit team here in Spokane, she was training with someone that she’s gone all the way to Canada to corner. She’s held this guy’s child, they are very close. This guy wasn’t some attacker or whatever the hell she said. This whole thing is tearing our team apart.”

-Two men were stabbed at the UFC show on Saturday night in Newark, NJ.  They were stabbed before 8 p.m., meaning it was during the Fight Pass fights.  Both were treated at Newark University hospital and their injuries weren’t life threatening.  Security recovered the knife and arrested 36-year-old Angel Pereira of Lancaster, PA, who was charged with several counts of aggravated assault and two weapons offenses.  f4wonline.com

-Mcallen’s Randy Fuentes will be showcased traveling to San Antonio next Monday as he will be featured on Fox Sports against San Antonio’s Kendo Castenada at the Cowboy Dance Hall.

-The results of the 10/19 Jessica Eye vs. Sarah Kaufman fight, that Eye won, was changed to a no contest sue to Eye failing a drug test. Eye wasn’t suspended but fined $1,875 and put on probation. Eye is still able to fight on the 2/22 show.

-UFC announced today a  Donald Cerrone vs. Edson Barboza main card fight for the next FOX show which is 4/12 from Orlando.

-Dana White on CM Punk: “He quit? Really? No, he hasn’t said a word to me. He hasn’t reached out to me. I was with him all night in Chicago, he never said a word about it. He just showed up. We talked about a lot of things, fighting was not one of them. I like him, he’s a great guy. It’s a little late to get into the game, but who knows if he can fight? I don’t know. We’ll see what happens, but I like him a lot. He’s a nice guy.”

-Leonard Garcia defends his LEGACY title at LEGACY29