According to the Mixed-Martial Arts Web site TATAME, MMA is the current focus of a huge controversy in Argentina. Franco Lescano, age 30, died of multiple fractures in his neck, which were suffered during a practice workout in South America. "The boy left the gym a quadriplegic and died 21 days later," said Eduardo Duarte, who runs academies across Argentina. According to the local press, Lescano had been training at Tiger Gym for his professional debut when he got injured. The injury caused the fractures of two vertebrae, paralyzing Lescano from the neck down. "What I could understand, after talking to people who were there, was that ...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="340" caption="Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images "][/caption] Last week when former lightweight champ BJ Penn released his autobiography, Why I Fight , many wondered why UFC president Dana White and Co. refused to endorse their athlete’s life story. Well, the first excerpt of the book has just hit the Internet and it’s clear why the modern day Don King didn’t want fans reading what Penn had to write. After the ...

    That depends on your priorities. Lying to the press is never a good idea. In the information age, falsehoods can come back to haunt you and severely undermine your credibility. Tell a lie before all of the facts are out and an enterprising reporter can make you pay. But that's actually not what happened with the UFC and the main event for UFC 115. The UFC was much more brazen. Rather than lie and work to cover up details they didn't want disseminated, the UFC deliberately went on the record in interviews in print, radio and online saying words and spreading messages they knew to be false. That means they actually incorporated the unwitting press into their ...

The push to legalize mixed martial arts in New York is now being led by the state’s top official. Governor David Paterson unveiled a state budget proposal Tuesday that includes a bill that would nullify a 13-year-old ban on MMA in the Empire State as a way of raising sorely needed revenue. “Currently, 40 States safely regulate the sport of mixed martial arts and enjoy local and statewide economic benefits associated with the conduct of mixed martial arts events,” reads a summary from Paterson’s office of his revenue proposals. “While New York’s ban on professional combative sports would be removed, conduct of the sport would be carefully regulated.” Paterson’s proposal means that legalization of MMA will be taken up as part of the ...

After disappointing showings on The Ultimate Fighter 3 and at UFC 73, Colorado jiu-jitsu ace “Big” Mike Nickels has found himself on the comeback trail. Wins in his last three fights, including an impressive Fight of the Night win over fellow UFC veteran David Heath in the MFC in October has Nickels possibly on the verge of returning to his former promotion. Currently standing in the way of Nickels’ achieving such a task is Ultimate Fighter 8 alumnus Vinny “Pezao” Magalhaes, as the two are scheduled to meet on the Dec. 4 edition of Colorado’s popular Ring of Fire. “I feel good,” stated Nickels heading into Friday’s fight. “I’ve been training a lot and working on ...