Hague Released by UFC; Plans Sabbatical from MMA

After only one fight during his most recent run with the UFC, Canadian heavyweight Tim Hague (Pictured) has been cut by the promotion.

Hague announced the news Wednesday on his Facebook page.

“After getting released from the UFC again today, I'm gonna take a little break away from MMA [to] let the brain heal from my concussion and get the passion/fire back,” Hague wrote. “[I'm] even toying with the idea of trying a cut to 205 [pounds]. I will be back though. I'm only 27, and I will make it back to the UFC.”

A five-time UFC veteran, Hague has now undergone three separate releases from the promotion. “The Thrashing Machine” received his first walking papers after a controversial majority decision loss to Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 109. After stepping in on short notice to replace Chad Corvin at UFC 113 against Joey Beltran, Hague was defeated and once again cut by the organization.

Following his second release, Hague put together back-to-back wins over Zak Jensen and Travis Wiuff in July and August before again receiving the call up to the big show for a UFC “Fight for the Troops 2” clash with former NFL talent Matt Mitrione. Hague suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Mitrione, who used superior footwork and hand speed to put away the former King of the Cage Canada heavyweight champion in under three minutes.

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UFC Plans 2 Events Per Year in NY

UFC® CHAIRMAN AND CEO LORENZO FERTITTA AND UFC PRESIDENT DANA WHITE COMMIT TO MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, PLAN AT LEAST TWO ANNUAL UFC EVENTS IN NEW YORK ONCE SPORT IS REGULATED IN THE STATE
New Economic Impact Study Finds Regulating Mixed Martial Arts in Empire State Would Bring Hundreds of Jobs, More Than $20 Million Annually New York, N.Y.– UFC® Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and President Dana White today unveiled plans to bring at least two UFC events to New York within the first year the sport is regulated in the state, including one to be held at Madison Square Garden. Joined at a press conference at the world’s most famous arena by UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, and Scott O’Neil, President of Madison Square Garden, White expressed his desire to finally bring UFC to the Empire State. Watch the press conference

“It’s time to bring the fastest growing sport in the world to New York and Madison Square Garden,” White said. “We already know that New York is filled with UFC fans who want to see live UFC events in their home state. With the economic benefits that UFC would bring to New York, it’s time for UFC to do Madison Square Garden.”

“We are thrilled that Dana and the UFC are so committed to New York,” O’Neil said. “UFC and its passionate fans have a home here at the Garden and we look forward to welcoming them as soon as possible. We have no doubt that UFC will rival some of the most historic sporting events ever held at the Garden.”

In addition to announcing plans to hold two annual UFC events in New York, UFC officials released the findings of a new economic study today.

“We’ve done similar economic studies in major cities such as Boston, Las Vegas and Philadelphia and each showed the substantial positive impact hosting a UFC event has on the local economy,” Fertitta said. “This study shows that by regulating MMA, New York can reap the economic benefits statewide.”
The study found that holding two UFC events in the state (one at Madison Square Garden and one in Buffalo) will create roughly $16 million in new spending. Additionally, the study found smaller MMA operators will likely hold events that would bring an additional $4 million. In total, $20 million of annual new spending and hundreds of new jobs will be created in the local economy by regulating MMA.

Many UFC fans travel from surrounding states, stay for extended periods (at least one night at a hotel), and often arrive hours early for fights, which boosts merchandise and concession sales. New York-based MMA gyms and related industries are also expected to see an increase in revenue from the regulation of the sport. Likewise, local businesses will benefit greatly from MMA bouts, particularly outside of New York City where the economic influx is proportionally greater. This trend follows that of surrounding states which currently regulate MMA fights.

“By bringing UFC events to New York, the state will see a positive financial impact,” White said. “The arenas will get to host major UFC events and local hotels, restaurants, and other businesses will attract new customers. They’ll look forward to the times we bring UFC to New York.”

“I grew up in New Jersey, so fighting in New York City at Madison Square Garden has always been a dream,” Edgar said. “Some of the greatest sports events ever have been held at MSG and it would be an honor to fight in New York. I know the fans here are hungry for it.”

The full economic impact study is available at http://www.mmafacts.com/econstudy.

Legislation to allow the New York State Athletic Commission to regulate MMA was included in the Executive Budget, passed the State Senate, and passed the New York Assembly Tourism Committee and Codes Committee for the second year in a row. Currently 44 other U.S. states regulate MMA, including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, where UFC will host an event at the Prudential Center in Newark on March 19.

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If He Hurts Shalorus Like Varner Did, Palaszewski Plans to Pounce

Bart Palaszewski (right) | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Bart Palaszewski expects touted wrestler Kamal Shalorus to disregard his roots and slug it out with him Thursday in their lightweight bout at WEC 53.

“From what I’ve seen, he gets out there and swings and doesn’t utilize his wrestling at all,” Palaszewski said Monday during a “Savage Dog Show” interview on the Sherdog Radio Network. “As long as we keep on our feet, I think I’ll be good.”

Despite his international-level resume in wrestling, Shalorus has shown a penchant for fighting on the feet. The strategy hasn’t given him a loss yet: He’s 2-0-1 in the WEC with a draw against Jamie Varner. Accordingly, Palaszewski thinks Shalorus will stick with his usual game plan.

“He’s going to be coming forward, I think,” Palaszewski said. “Supposedly he’s been working his boxing, but you know, with wide punches and just going crazy and trying to hit me with something. I’ve seen it. He’s not going to show me anything I haven’t seen before. That’s the thing. I’m a much more technical and much more seasoned fighter and a standup fighter. We’re definitely going to clash and, I’m sure, hit each other. He’s going to be pushing forward, and I’m going to be moving around and peppering him with shots.”

Palaszewski has roughly five times the experience of Shalorus in MMA. He’s also won three straight in the WEC. Another win would likely guarantee the UFC picks him up when it merges with the WEC after Thursday’s event.

“If I lose, but I put on a good show and they think I’m worthy and they take me, that’d be great,” Palaszewski said. “But … I’m not going to put on the extra pressure and maybe choke in the cage because I was putting the pressure on. I’m just going to get out there and have fun.”

Palaszewski would consider a toe-to-toe war with Shalorus fun, but he’s also prepared for takedowns.

“I want to stand and bang, but if it hits the ground, I’m not going to be shy and just hold on to him,” Palaszewski said. “I’m going to shoot for a submission.”

Of course Palaszewski will be trying to stuff any shots Shalorus takes. On the feet, he wants to push his Iranian-born opponent to that same place Varner took him in June. Varner appeared to have Shalorus hurt but didn’t put him away.

“He got clipped a few times from Varner, but Varner never jumped on him,” Palaszewski said. “I think that was the downfall of Jamie. I know he could have finished him, but he chose to kind of pick his shots. Instead of jumping on him when he got him hurt, he kind of backed off.”

Palaszewski has a different plan.

“Jamie got him hurt, but I don’t know if he didn’t want to jump on him because he didn’t want to get taken down,” he said. “I’m not really worried about it. If I get him hurt, I’m going to jump on him. If I don’t put him away there and end up on my back, I’m not going to cry over spilled milk. I’m just going to keep working for a submission.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 13:35) with Palaszewski.

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Now Fighting Full-Time, Bettega Plans to Capitalize

Fernando Bettega: Jeff Sherwood | Sherdog.com

When predicting the fates of two training partners who are competing on the Strikeforce “Henderson vs. Babalu II” card, Fabricio Werdum speaks with all the confidence of a man who recently toppled the presumed-unbeatable Fedor Emelianenko.

“[There is] 100-percent [chance] of two victories for Kings MMA. Two victories, for Fernando and ‘Babalu,’” said the heavyweight grappling champion.

“100 percent,” he reiterates. “I know because I train every day together with both.”

“Babalu,” as most mixed martial arts fans know, is Renato Sobral, a longtime UFC veteran with a lengthy resume of victories who is facing Dan Henderson in Saturday’s main event.

Bettega will take on Phillips
(above) Dec. 4. The fight will
stream live on Sherdog.com.“Fernando” is Fernando Bettega, a name which probably rings unfamiliar to all but the most dedicated of MMA devotees.

A native of Curitiba, Brazil, Bettega has been training in California in preparation for his undercard bout against American Kickboxing Academy product Wayne Phillips. Both Bettega and Phillips were featured as part of the Sherdog MMA Fighter Exchange program, where Bettega was paired with Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza for two weeks of training.

How has Bettega inspired such confidence in Werdum?

While the Brazilian lacks a signature victory -- just one of the six opponents he has defeated currently owns a winning record -- Bettega has been mentored by some of the most respected names in the sport today.

Bettega owns a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Cristiano Marcello and is a Chute Boxe muay Thay black belt under Rafael Cordeiro, credentials that bring to mind names such as Anderson Silva and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

In his homeland, however, Bettega was never able to focus exclusively on fighting. Demands on his time included studying (he owns a business degree) and working as a helicopter pilot. Such endeavors made it difficult for Bettega to reach his full potential.

“Now, I live just for fighting,” Bettega says. “It's not easy, but I'm better now.”

The Fighter Exchange program served as a microcosm of the type of quality experience that can be gained on U.S. soil. The day-to-day work with Souza -- as gifted a grappler as there is today -- proved invaluable for Bettega.

“I enjoyed [the training] a lot. I learned some things,” Bettega said of his time with “Jacare.” “He's so strong in the guard, and in the takedowns too.”

Bettega's time at AKA, Gilbert Melendez's El Nino Training Center and the M-1 Global facility only reinforced the notion that the U.S. has surpassed Brazil as a training hub.

“I saw the people training. It's more professional,” Bettega said. “I learned a lot from everybody...all the teams. ...I learn a lot with the professional guys here. Brazil, too, but here I can train like a professional.”

Now, I live just for
fighting. It's not easy,
but I'm better now. Serving as one of the opening acts on a major Strikeforce card is easily the grandest stage of Bettega's career. It’s a chance which Werdum says his teammate will not waste.

“Fernando has a big surprise to show everybody, because [he] waited a lot of time before, but now he has the big opportunity,” said Werdum, who has known Bettega for approximately four years. “Now, he has the opportunity in Strikeforce to show the world Fernando is a very good fighter.”

Bettega himself recognizes the magnitude of his showdown with Phillips.

“It's very important for me. I trained every day. I put [all] my thoughts in the fight. All my life now, I just [focus] on my eating, my training, my rest,” he said.

“My family and my wife support me in everything for the fight. Everybody knows it's one big step for me. I need it to [put on] a great show for everybody.”

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Goulet Discusses Retirement, Future Plans

Jonathan Goulet: Freddie DeFreitas | Sherdog.com

Heading into the cage in Montreal last Saturday night, Jonathan Goulet knew that the fight in front of him could be his last. He really didn’t think it would be -- in fact, he deeply wished it wouldn’t -- but in the end, it was.

Inside the Centre Pierre-Charbonneau, at Ringside MMA’s “Payback,” Goulet met fellow Canadian Chris Clements in a bout for the promotion’s vacant welterweight title. The first round went well for Goulet, who scored multiple takedowns and even threatened with a rear-naked choke toward the end of the period. Then, a minute into the second round, came a sequence of events which was all too familiar to Goulet’s career.

“I just made a mistake and I received a hit behind the head, but that wasn’t the fault of Chris,” Goulet told Sherdog.com on Monday. “I just turned my head on the wrong side and I got hit, and I fell, face-first, onto the canvas.”

A hard one-two combination from Clements had left Goulet unconscious on the mat, where he remained for a few tense minutes before coming to his senses. Despite having been punched out in nine of his 12 professional losses, Goulet called the knockout the worst he’d ever suffered.

Six months earlier and just a few miles away, Goulet fought fellow veteran Marcus Davis on the undercard of UFC 113. After starting strong in that bout as well, the French Canadian was floored by an uppercut and finished by Davis in the second round. It was then that the 31-year-old Victoriaville native first began to ponder his retirement from MMA.

“The Davis fight wasn’t bad like my last fight, but I got knocked down, and me and my girlfriend talked about it. I decided if I got knocked down again, that was going to be the end of my career,” said Goulet. “So, I just hung up my gloves. I didn’t think about doing this or that -- that was the end.”

“I was wishing to win for four or five more years. I wanted to retire at 35,” he added.

Nicknamed “The Road Warrior” for his early-career tendency to make long-distance, short-notice solo trips to fight around Canada, Goulet leaves the sport with a record of 23 wins, 12 losses and one no contest. A nine-time veteran of the UFC, Goulet made his Zuffa debut in October 2005, where he won a gory battle against Jay Hieron via doctor stoppage. Goulet -- a legitimately talented fighter whose chin belied his great technical skills -- holds notable career wins over the likes of John Alessio, Kuniyoshi Hironaka, Shonie Carter and Travis Galbraith.

Unlike so many prizefighters who don’t know when to quit, Goulet is acutely conscious of the dangers of taking one too many concussive blows. Following his May loss to Davis, Goulet underwent laser eye surgery which gave him 20/20 vision for the first time in his life. As such, Goulet has decided to get out while the getting is still good.

“I made the decision not only because of my girlfriend. I also have a daughter. I’m still young. I still have time to be something, to do something so that I can feed them. I can still do something to be able to pay my rent,” Goulet explained. “I’m able to work. I have my legs, my arms. Nothing is broken on me, and even if I got hit really badly, I still have a brain. I’m not a veggie or someone in the hospital.”

Having worked as a carpenter and a bouncer before turning to fighting, Goulet has a few options to fall back on, but says he’d like to try his hand on the small screen first.

“I’d like to work on the sports shows on French TV in Quebec. It will be easier for me because of my English. I will try as hard as I can to get a job in that, but if I can’t, I’ll get a job in construction,” said Goulet. “I like to build houses, but I still have some dreams. I’m a man of passion, so I need to try. If I can’t, I will tell myself at 55, ‘I tried.’”

Financial matters aside, with no fighting in his life, Goulet’s competitive fires will still require stoking. Goulet hopes to fill the void by returning to traditional Brazilian jiu-jitsu training with Bruno Fernandes and the team at Gracie Barra Montreal.

“I haven’t trained in the gi for so many years. I’m still a blue belt, but I’m pretty sure that without the gi on, I’m more than a blue belt. I just wanna graduate in jiu-jitsu and try to have a black belt,” Goulet said. “It will take years, but at the same time, I will be able to compete. I’m a sportsman. I need the adrenaline rush from competition, and I think, for me, jiu-jitsu competition will be great. It wouldn’t be risky like MMA.”

While countless fighters have prematurely announced their withdrawl from the sport, Goulet appears resolute in his decision that this is the end of the road.

“It’s enough getting hit for me. It’s really enough. I think even if I get my black belt, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t come back , because we only have one brain. I have new eyes, but I can’t have a new brain.”

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