Affliction, the clothing company turned upstart MMA promotion, has now been banned as a sponsor from EliteXC, after receiving the same treatment from the UFC earlier this year:

?Since Affliction is starting their own MMA organization, both the UFC and EliteXC have now decided that its fighters cannot wear the clothing line during its events. The primary concern of the fighters is that they lose a large stream of income, as sponsorships sometimes exceed the money that they would receive from even the fights themselves.?

The EliteXC banning isn?t the only roadblock Affliction has hit lately, as it was also reported that the company had indeed lost out on a partnership agreement with Oscar De La Hoya?s ?Golden Boy Promotions?:

“The two sides couldn’t reach an agreement however, and parted over control issues. De La Hoya officially confirmed that he was taking his hat out of the MMA ring for now in order to focus on building the sport of boxing.”

Lastly, Affliction seems to have soured their broadcast deal with HDNet, which in turn has caused some venue-fumbling for their inaugural July 19 show:

“…A proposed deal between Affliction and HDNet appeared to have fallen through. As a result, Affliction was not able to finalize an agreement to book the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas for its first show. The event, which is slated to be headlined by Fedor Emelianenko taking on Tim Sylvia, could now be held at The Pond in Anaheim, Calif., instead.”

Tough week, Affliction.

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira have both relocated from Brazil to Miami to open an MMA academy in the city, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Nogueira and Silva will train together at the new facility, dubbed the “Nogueira and Silva Mixed Martial Arts Academy”, while also offering seminars and classes for children and adults of all levels. The pair will also work with underprivileged children at the new academy, the first-ever to be headed by two UFC champions.

The 15,000 square-foot facility opens on May 16th and a seminar titled “What It Takes To Be A Champion” is set for May 17th.

Jiu-jitsu and judo black belt Daniel Valverde will also be part of the gym’s staff.

Here’s a quote from Nogueria on the new venture:

“The sport is growing here now and is a hotbed for mixed martial arts.Big things are growing here. This has been a dream to open an academy together here. This is a good area and the weather is very good. In Miami, you can walk in the street and see people. It’s like Brazil. This is the right time and right place. This is the biggest time right now, in America, for this sport.”

Nogueira’s brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueria, will join the team next year.

According to the report, Nogueria stated that he may return to the octagon in August against an opponent to-be-determined.

The MMAFrenzy.com rumors section has been updated with the latest fight cards for upcoming MMA events. The MMAFrenzy.com rumors section is updated daily with new bouts, fight card changes, event details, new events, and more so check back frequently and subscribe to MMAFrenzy.com’s “Event Alerts” to have the latest MMA card updates delivered right to your email inbox.

UFC RUMORS

• UFC 84 - May 24, 2008 (Las Vegas, NV)


• UFC 85 - June 7, 2008 (London, England)


• The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale - June 21, 2008 (Las Vegas, NV)


• UFC 86 - July 5, 2008 (Las Vegas, NV)


• UFC 87 - August 9, 2008 (Minneapolis, MN)

OTHER MMA RUMORS

• IFL - May 16, 2008 (Uncasville, CT)


• EliteXC Saturday Night Fights 1 - May 31, 2008 (Newark, NJ)


• WEC 34 - June 1, 2008 (Sacramento, CA)


• TKO 34 - June 7, 2008 (Montreal, Canada)


• EliteXC Hawaii - June 14, 2008 (Honolulu, HI)


• Adrenaline MMA - June 14, 2008 (Chicago, IL)


• Strikeforce - June 27, 2008 (San Jose, CA)


• Affliction - July 19, 2008 (Dallas, TX)

Popular UFC fighter and former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has been drug tested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in advance of his main card bout against Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 on May 24th in Las Vegas, according to MMA Weekly.

Ortiz’s test results were negative.

UFC 84 headliners Sean Sherk, who previously tested positive for steroids following a UFC lightweight title defense in California last July, and BJ Penn have also tested clean in pre-event drug tests.

For more on UFC 84 check out the MMAFrenzy.com rumors section.

“The Ultimate Fighter 6: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra” welterweight cast member Matt Arroyo (3-1) will return to the octagon on June 21st at “The Ultimate Fighter 7″ Finale. Arroyo announced the news on his official website earlier this week.

Arroyo’s opponent for the bout has not yet been announced.

After defeating Dorian Price and Troy Mandaloniz in the first two rounds of the reality series, Arroyo was forced to withdraw from the competition and a scheduled semifinal matchup against eventual show winner Mac Danzig after sustaining a rib injury. John Kolosci was selected to replace Arroyo in the competition.

At “The Ultimate Fighter 6″ Finale Arroyo defeated Kolosci via first round submission.

The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale is headlined by a middleweight showdown between former champion Evan Tanner and The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Kendall Grove. Additional main card bouts officially announced for the Spike TV broadcast are the middleweight tournament finals, Diego Sanchez versus Luigi Fioravanti, and Spencer Fisher versus Jeremy Stephens.

For more on The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale check out the MMAFrenzy.com rumors section.

• Takashi Nakakura def. Ganjo Tentsuku via unanimous decision


• David Baron def. Hayato Sakurai via submission - Round 1, 4:50


• Akitoshi Tamura def. Rumin Sato via submission - Round 3, 2:37


• Savant Young def. Takeshi Inoue via unanimous decision


• Ryuich Miki vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani - Majority draw


• Yusuke Endo def. Vince Ortiz via submission - Round 1, 3:31


• Bendy Casimir def. Shinji Sasaki via unanimous decision


• Hayate Usui def. Sakae Kasuya via majority decision


• Shinpei Tahara def. Katsuya Murofushi via TKO - Round 2, 0:45

Despite not having completed their first MMA event, scheduled for June 14th in Chicago, Adrenaline MMA has already announced their second event. Adrenaline MMA President and CEO Monte Cox announced that the promotion will hold its second-ever event on September 6th at the i wireless Center in Moline, Illinois through MMA Weekly.

Opened in 1993, the i wireless center holds 12,000-plus spectators and is located in the Quad Cities region, which includes Bettendorf, Iowa, home of Miletich Fighting Systems.

Miletich fighters Tim Sylvia (24-4) and Ben Rothwell (27-5) have been confirmed as appearing on the September fight card, though their opponents have not yet been announced.

Prior to his September bout, Sylvia is scheduled to face top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko at an Affliction-promoted event in July.

UFC newcomer Goran Reljic will make his UFC debut on May 24th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas at UFC 84. Reljic will face American Top Team fighter Wilson Gouveia (10-4), winner of four-straight UFC fights, in a televised main card bout.

Earlier this year MMAFrenzy.com exclusively announced the signing of the Croatian light heavyweight prospect who was to make his debut with the promotion in March. When the event he was to compete on was scrapped, Reljic’s UFC debut was pushed back.

Now set for his octagon debut, the 7-0 Reljic recently sat down for a pre-UFC 84 interview with MMAManager.net’s Zoran Saric:

MMA Manager: Hello Goran How is your day today?

Goran Reljic: My day is doing great thanks for asking.

MMA Manager: Which city are you stationed in at the moment?

GR: At the moment I am in the beautiful Las Vegas.

MMA Manager: What a pleasant surprise to have you in the US. Is it your first time here?

GR: My first time here, yes.

MMA Manager: So you must have lot of fun in Vegas?

GR: Not really. To be honest with you I haven?t seen the town yet, at the moment I just eat, train and sleep. That s why I am here.

MMA Manager: Let me guess, you are training in Randy Couture?s gym?

GR: You are right!!

MMA Manager: When did you decide to change training camp 2 months before the fight?

GR: First of all I took strong advice from my manager Zoran Saric to come to the US and prepare for the fight 2 months before,

and on the top of that I need to train with the UFC level fighters which is hard to get in Europe.

MMA Manager: How is your preparation for upcoming fight coming up?

GR: Excellent I am injury free; train 2-3 times a day usually morning strength and conditioning and night sparing and techniques.

MMA Manager: Who are your sparing partners?

GR: Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva, Forrest Griffin, Martin Kampmann, Jay White, Mike Pyle and all the others from Extreme Couture.

MMA Manager: What do you think about Extreme Couture?

GR: Its great because there are a lot of high level sparring partners at the one place, trainings are hard but that s the only way to push forward and make the progress to win.

MMA Manager: Where did you train in Europe?

GR: In Croatia with CRO COP, and in London with Roger Gracie

MMA Manager: Can you explain the difference between Europe and US in training of MMA?

GR: It would take me whole week to talk about, let s say that Europe and USA are 2 different worlds as far as training goes.

MMA Manager: So how did you end it up in UFC?

GR: I am here to fight and I believe one day be the best, and for everything else my manager Zoran Saric is the man who made the decisions in my carrier and he got me in the UFC.

MMA Manager: Let?s talk about your opponent Wilson Gouveia, what do you know and think about him?

GR: He is a good fighter with great guillotine chokes, heavy hands, strong grip and strong leg kicks, all respect to him but he did not impress me in any way.

It looks like he?s got a lot of luck fighting. For everything else I know that I am better fighter and I will prove it may 24th with no mercy; its business, its not personal.

MMA Manager: He is coming from last 4 straight wins in UFC, what do you think about that? Did he impress you in any way?

GR: Not at all, seems like he was losing in every one of them and somehow ended up with Guillotine or KO but luck is important too.

MMA Manager: What are your plans and tools for the upcoming fight?

GR: Not too many people know about me and my skills and just for the first time I would like to keep it a secret.

MMA Manager: This is your biggest fight so far, are you exited and mentally ready for it?

GR: Yes I am excited and ready. I can?t wait!

MMA Manager: Any thanks to sponsors or people responsible for you carrier?

GR: Yes thanks to my sponsors, my manager, all my trainers, sparing partners, and the people who supported me.

MMA Manager: We wish you best of luck and thanks for your time. Thank you