– It sounds as if UFC president Dana White and former champion Anderson Silva have a different opinion when it comes to the return date for “The Spider.” During a recent interview on “UFC Tonight,” White insisted that Silva will be back before the end of the year.
“I’d like to see him come back whenever he wants to come back. I think he’ll be back before ’15,” White said. “He says a lot of things in the media; ‘I’ll never fight Chael Sonnen again,” and then he does. I think we’ll have him before ’15.”
Silva, in several other interviews, has said he doesn’t want to fight again before next year so he can spend more time with his family and on his other projects. After suffering a broken leg in December, Silva received clearance to resume full MMA training by his doctor last week.
“He’s physically ready,” White said. “I’m sure it’s more mental now.”
– The UFC is taking pirating of pay-per-views to the extreme, filing a $32 million lawsuit against a 27-year-old recently. According to a report by the New York Post, the UFC alleges that Steven Messina has been using file-sharing websites to provide MMA and boxing events to fans, accepting payments through PayPal.
Previously, UFC officials have made it known that they will go after anyone who illegally downloads their product. In 2012, UFC president Dana White publicly backed the “Stop Online Piracy Act.” The bill died, but the promotion remained in court battles, filing suits against those that were stealing their shows.
Messina still lives with his parents in Staten Island, according to the report. He refers to himself as the “Provider of Best MMA and Boxing rips online.”
– Anthony Johnson will return to action later this year at UFC on FOX 12 against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. The event takes place July 26 from San Jose and the SAP Center. The only other bout announced to date features Josh Thomson vs. Michael Johnson.
Johnson (17-4) was successful in his return to the Octagon last month, defeating Phil Davis to move into a contender role at light heavyweight. “Rumble” previously fought at welterweight for the UFC, but was released after a loss to Vitor Belfort in which he missed weight for the third time.
Nogueira (21-5) has won four of his six UFC fights, including a win over former champion Rashad Evans. Nogueira, though, has missed time recovering from injuries. He was scheduled to meet Alexander Gustafsson before being forced to pull out of the planned main event fight.
Read more at http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/0511/575975/ufc-files-huge-lawsuit/#XXgusPGkAChjm1ZM.99
