It was not to happen, as Henderson knocked out Fedor at 4:12 of the first round to retain his light heavyweight championship and improve his overall record to 28-8. A quick start by both fighters set the pace and potential finishing punches were being thrown one after the other. Henderson appeared to get the better of the early exchange and “The Last Emperor” countered with some strong right hands, eventually putting the champ down.

The Fedor of yesterday would have been able to finish the job right there and then, but Henderson was able to gain the advantage after surviving from the canvas. “Hendo” was able to get Fedor’s back and reverse the position, throw a barrage of punches before being waved off by referee Herb Dean.

Fedor’s comments after the fight were not sugar-coated and he felt that Dean jumped the gun. Using words like “early” twice made it obvious how he felt, but he may have a point. “I was ready to continue fighting,” Fedor (31-4) said at the post-fight press conference.

It did appear that Dean was cowering over the fighters and made his move hastily, but that is tough to say when you are not the one seeing exactly what the referee is. Dean has been around the sport long enough and his decision should be respected.

Fedor was coy about his future plans, saying things like it is “God’s will” if he fights again and “life goes on.” He has certainly lost more than a step in the past year and should seriously think about hanging ‘em up.

Fedor’s legacy amy be more important than a few wins late in his career. He may be Strikeforce/M-1 Global’s main draw, but that will only go so far as his performances get worse. With Dana White and the UFC pulling the strings, the questions only broaden.

The affiliation with its umbrella company may give Strikeforce some leeway, as their overhead is not as much of a concern as it was when they were footing their own bill. But they still want their own identity, and Fedor has been ‘the man’ in that promotion.

White has always had something for Fedor and may want to see him stick around. But losing is not going to make things better. Sure, Silva and Henderson are big-time fighters, so Fedor has nothing to hang his head about.

Perhaps a few wins against lesser opponents can clear the picture up for all involved.

Last March, Kyle somehow was able to prevail in the Ms. International (Arnold Classic), even though Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia came into Ohio looking absolutely stunning. Judging is not an exact science, but it did appear that Oriquen-Garcia was more defined than Kyle. By winning five of the last six Ms. I shows, Kyle has been a tough competitor to say the least. In 2008, she came in off due to suffering an injury and fell all the way to seventh. Oriquen-Garcia won her fourth Ms. I that year.

Heading into the Ms. Olympia, it appeared that it would be a two-woman race once again. “I’m coming in in really good condition,” Oriquen-Garcia said the day before the contest. “I did my best and I’m ready to win.” As far as peaking in March or now, she commented, “I think now is my time. Iris is a great athlete, but we have totally different lines. Let’s see what the judges are looking for this year.”

Kyle and Oriquen-Garcia stood should-to-shoulder holding hands on the stage awaiting the announcement of the winner. Kyle’s reaction seemed to be one of relief and exuberance when she heard her name called and Oriquen-Garcia appeared disappointed but showed good sportsmanship. She knows how it feels to be champion, as she did in 2005 when she won the O, and will have to wait another year for the opportunity. But at 44, the window of opportunity may be starting to close for her.

Oriquen-Garcia has already stated that she will be competing at the Ms. International in 2011 and Kyle surely will be defending her title, so both women will have a chance to do it all over again.

“Twice we have been scheduled to fight now and twice he has suddenly gotten injured two weeks before the fight! If you’re scared to fight the War Machine, don’t sign on the dotted line,” Machine told Fighters.com (in the only printable portion of the interview: http://www.fighters.com/08/22/war-machine-versus-roger-bowling-cancelled-again-this-time-for-good).

Now Roger is calling out his nemesis, and MMA Big Show President/Promoter Jason Appleton is doing everything in his power to make the fight finally happen. “[speaking of War Machine] I’ll bump his win bonus by a grand, and pay him half his show money in advance. No excuses,” says Appleton. “[War Machine] makes it sound like Roger having to pull out due to an injury is somehow a big loss for him. The reality is, I set up the fight for him on XFC, and even though Roger is out, he still got an opportunity and a payday out of it [at the September 5^th event]. Now it’s time to settle this score between these two once and for all.”

Bowling is a serious blue-chip prospect whose career is gaining steam and garnering attention from the big leagues of MMA, and Appleton, who is also Bowling’s manager, set up a fight between “Relentless” and the outspoken fighter formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver for Big Show’s June 20^th “CONVICTION” event. Unfortunately, Bowling severely injured his hand before the fight, breaking his wrist and tearing a thumb tendon in a work-related accident. The fight was rescheduled for the September 5^th co-promotional effort between Florida’s Xtreme Fighting Championships and Big Show, but once again, fate intervened, and Bowling’s broken knuckles, suffered during his recent win, were deemed too serious injured by doctors for him to fight. Then the verbal jousting began.

“Relentless” has been quiet on the subject until now. “I feel horrible that I let my friends and family down. I had a lot of people with flights booked to Florida, people were planning entire vacations around this [last] fight. I really wanted to fight him anyway, but I am glad I have people around me that care enough to stop me from doing things I shouldn’t, because I would have fought him with one hand if I had to.” Bowling didn’t stop there: “It’s easy to talk trash about someone while saying you won’t fight them,” stated the champion.

Appleton takes it a step further: “I think War Machine was afraid of Roger going into the fight, and he’s using Roger’s injury as an excuse to never have to fight him in the future,” he explained. “I know he called around to the various gyms in the area trying to find out if Roger had any weaknesses, and then he tried to see if Roger would meet him at a 175 lbs. catch weight. War Machine tried everything. Point blank, War Machine knows he won’t beat Roger and this is the perfect opportunity for him to back out completely while trying to save face. If he wasn’t, he would be eager to get in there with Roger, not make excuses about why it will never happen.”

If you are interested in more information, or in sponsoring MMA Big Show, please contact Phil Lanides, Publicist

phil@fightofyourlife.com

(408) 439-3245

http://www.fightofyourlife.com/

Morrison’s first fight back in a serious drive for a comeback was on January 31st on an Internet site called GOFIGHTLIVE.TV. For $5.99 you could watch him fight his opponent, Corey “Wiz Kid” Williams. I was so excited to watch the fight either live or an hour or two later. I went to the site only to discover there were technical problems and the fight would only be showed on tape later that night.

If Morrison were to find a way to fight again on a regular basis he may just be considered a guy who has a shot in a very weak heavyweight division. Just the fact that Evander Holyfield has made some strides is one indication of this. Yes there are some guys who can box, but it is not and never will be the day of the “Real Champ” such as a Muhammad Ali or even a George Foreman. Boxing has not groomed a heavyweight like that since Mike Tyson and we saw what happened to him. I guess the comeback is all in the hands of Morrison and keeping himself clean (if he physically can) and also getting himself back into shape. He did fight in 2007 and he was not in the best of shape. He even has admitted that he needs “more consistency” in the ring and in training. Without both of these he will not be able to go longer in fights and also compete toe-to-toe with the heavyweight fighters even if they are weak themselves.

I guess time will tell if this is a story, which will turn bad blood into good (well, at least for Morrison). There are many obstacles still to climb such as who will fight him?  Who will even take the time out to train him not knowing whether he will be allowed to fight or not. Every State Athletic Commission differs as far as testing and it could be that he just can’t get cleared in certain places ever. There is also the matter as Morrison has been quoted saying, ” I am a good white fighter in a predominately black and hispanic sport.” They (promoters) do not want me to succeed because I am white and good looking.”

That is something that remains to be seen. What we do know is that Morrison is taking his comeback seriously and anyone who did go for the pay-per-view didn’t see much in terms of an epic bout. Morrison floored the Wyoming journeyman Williams only 1:57 into the first round, possibly setting himself up for a bigger payday down the road.

Frankie “The Sports Guy” Maniscalco has been hosting his show in one capacity or another on WGBB and other outlets since 2007. Frankie prides himself on not only talking with former and current athletes but he also catches the story of people helping in the community. His interviews range from former baseball players like Tommy John to people giving back to help others.  Frankie has aired his show on such platforms asyoucastr and MVN. When Frankie is not doing a show on WGBB,  you can find him on the internet at Blog Talk Radio Sunday nights from 10:00pm to 11:00pm. He also started writing a blog on his website ( frankiethesportsguy.com ) as well as  writing a fantasy article for NY Baseball Digest. Whether on the air or in print, Frankie strives to capture his audience with the best guests and topics relating to sports.

In 2008, Yaxeni Oriquen won her third Ms. I and finished in third place at the O. She always comes in ready and this show should be no exception.

Dayana Cadeau will be looking to do some damage. She was visibly disappointed when her name was announced as fifth at the Ms. O and that may have given her that extra incentive to work on her weaknesses.

There will 13 women gunning for Kyle, who will turn 35 this August. This will be her 15^th year competing and although her recent record may not reflect it, time may be running out on her to keep up with a hungry field. Age may be just a number, but training and dieting time and time again can get difficult, even for a seasoned pro like Kyle.

A few other names to keep an eye on are Betty Adkins (2008 Ms. Olympia runner-up), Cathy LeFrancois and Dena Westerfield, who could sneak up on some people for a respectable finish. Dr. Dena may be three years older than Kyle, but has only been competing since 2006 and can be likened to a fresh body off the bench in the fourth quarter of a close game. In five shows on the professional circuit, Westerfield has two top three and four top six finishes.

They say you have to knock out the champ to take the title. There will be a lot of ladies wearing the proverbial boxing gloves in one week.

Business is business. The cold, harsh reality is that Dexter Jackson is not the type of person that makes someone grab a magazine off the newsstand and plunk down their $4.00 or more for it. No offense towards the newly-crowned Mr. Olympia, but he was basically not controversial enough to warrant any good (or bad, depending on which way you’re looking at it) press. Thus, he didn’t warrant any covers in the world of bodybuilding magazines.

For right or wrong, Jackson is too ‘vanilla’ and this industry survives and strives by the ‘wow’ factor, which Jackson doesn’t bring. Is he a champion bodybuilder that deserves cover features? Absolutely, but a publisher has to look at the bottom line. The main selling point of print industry is the cover and headline. Why do you think piece of shit rags like the New York Post and the National Enquirer have made such an impact?

Jay Cutler brought an air of controversy with him due to the blocky look that attracted so much criticism. Was he a great champion? That is debatable, but he was and still is a face and body that sells. Like him or not, Cutler’s popularity cannot be disputed.

Perusing the newsstand shelves and the covers of the latest bodybuilding mags, ‘Muscular Development’ has Dennis Wolf; ‘Flex’ gives us a UFC-theme with Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar; ‘Muscle & Fitness’ stayed in the octagon with Frank Mir; ‘Iron Man’ has a faceless bodybuilder and ‘MuscleMag International’ shows Johnnie Jackson with a sub-heading of “Who Got Robbed at the Mr. Olympia?” Interesting indeed.

As far as Wolf is concerned, he may be the most overrated bodybuilder of today’s era. Because so many people try to compare him to Arnold, he receives a hell of a lot of attention that he really doesn’t deserve. Jackson is a decent guy, but an odd choice for a cover and not one that would make a difference as far as star power is concerned. Oddly enough, his name doesn’t even appear on the cover. The UFC angle is something that is a good cross-over market, but to have not one, but two publications from the same company go in that direction is a bit odd. There must be more to the story or at least some type of agreement in place.

So, there are many reasons why our new Mr. O is getting pushed to the back pages of even his own industry publications. And that is a shame, indeed.

Dennis Wolf will not turn 30 years of age until the month after the upcoming 2008 Mr. Olympia contest in Las Vegas on September 28. The up and coming bodybuilder finished in fifth place last year, and although his official website states that he was “proud to have finished” in that spot, some observers felt that he had enough to place higher.

Moving up 11 spots in one year – and only his second time competing for the Sandow Trophy – Wolf has made quite an impression in a short period of time. Last September, the 5’11” German followed Cutler around the stage during the pose down, and giving the incumbent a run for his money.

Expect Wolf to be a major factor at the Orleans Hotel and give not only Cutler a run for his money, but Dexter Jackson and the rest of the field, as well. A top-three finish for Wolf is not only likely, but should be expected.

Although he has the height on Cutler, Wolf – who weighs as much as 300 pounds off-season – needs to come in a little bigger than the 258-pounds that he did last year. Cutler was 274 and eclipses the 300-pound mark in the off-season, so size has never been a concern for the two-time reigning champ. Quite the contrary, critics have said that Cutler was too ‘blocky’ and lacked symmetry.

Come the fall, bodybuilding fans worldwide will see if Wolf has lessened the gap.

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