Sanchez Fails Drug Test, Other MMA News

[Motion]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]DIEGO SANCHEZ FAILED DRUG TEST AFTER UFC FIGHT IN DECEMBER[/FONT]

Ultimate Fighting Championship star Diego Sanchez tested positive for marijuana after his December 13th victory over Joe Riggs and was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission.

The UFC welterweight contender and Ultimate Fighter Season One winner knocked out Riggs in the main event of UFC Fight Night 7, which took place in San Diego, California at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and aired live on Spike TV.

At some point following Sanchez' failure of the drug test, he was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for three months from the date of the fight, which means that his suspension has already expired. The CSAC also fined Sanchez $500 (his purse for the fight was $32,000).

The news of Sanchez' positive test was first reported on Thursday by Carlos Arias of the Orange County Register. In the three months following the Sanchez-Riggs fight and prior to Arias' report, the California State Athletic Commission did not announce or disclose Sanchez' drug test failure.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3653&zoneid=13

Shogun Signs new contract with Pride

MMAWeekly has received word from our Brazilian connection, Denis Martins, that his contacts at Chute Boxe are telling him that Mauricio “Shogun†Rua has signed a new four-fight contract with Pride Fighting Championships.

There has been some speculation that the new contract is structured as two fights for Pride FC and two fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. That appears to be information that may have been jumbled because of the recent swirl of controversy surrounding the possible sale of Pride FC to Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, whose company Zuffa LLC owns the UFC.

Shogun’s new contract is with Pride FC, but if the company is indeed going to change hands (especially with everything pointing in that direction lately), it is likely that his new contract was structured so that it would be part of the Pride sale, and thus we could eventually see Shogun in the UFC. But until an actual sale does take place, Shogun is a Pride fighter.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3652&zoneid=2

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]GRACIE & LESNAR AT L.A. COLISEUM OFFICIAL

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Fighting Entertainment Group (K-1's parent company), Pro Elite, and Showtime yesterday made official the news that broke earlier this week on MMAWeekly.com. The trio scheduled a press conference for Tuesday, March 27 to announce “Softbank presents DYNAMITE!! USA in association with ProElite,†a major pay-per-view event at the massive Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The press conference will introduce four of the key fighters for the event: MMA legend Royce Gracie, former WWE wrestler and NCAA national champion amateur wrestler Brock Lesnar, 7-foot-2-inch K-1 fighter Hong-Man Choi, and former NFL player Johnnie Morton.

It is believed, as reported here, that the pay-per-view event will take place under the K-1 Hero’s banner on June 2, 2007. It is also believed that the main event of the show will feature Brock Lesnar making his MMA debut against Hong-Man Choi.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3651&zoneid=13

 

[ChrisKo]

Will Johnnie do the worm in the ring?

 

[ckb2001]

Sanchez is stupid. One fight away from a title shot and this. Well, the guy's a good fighter so I'm sure he'll get his chance. Never did like him as a person though.

 

[bullseyeguy]

Atleast its just pot and not steroids...You had me worried for a minute there, I thought his fight with Koscheck was going to be cancelled...

 

[Motion]

Sanchez is stupid. One fight away from a title shot and this. Well, the guy's a good fighter so I'm sure he'll get his chance. Never did like him as a person though.

Me either, he's a wierd dude.

 

[Samphin]

They should give him more money if he was high on weed and still had enough fire in him to pound Riggs' face in.