Surf Photographer - Shelli Bankier

Welcome to our latest featured surf photographer; Shelli Bankier from the Gold Coast of Australia. The beauty of the blue sphere…

www.clubofthewaves.com/surf-photographer/shelli-bankier.php



www.bluespherephotography.com

Lorenzo Borgomeo  Kyle Bradley  Jai Bradney  Ebenezer Fontes Braga Chris Brennan

Canadian promoter takes on ‘Big’ John McCarthy about refs receiving extra pay

It's always been one of the bizarre phenomenons at MMA events.

What other sport has fans that give raucous ovations to "name" referees? For some reason, many MMA fans enjoy seeing "Big" John McCarthy and Herb Dean and show them the love. Somehow we don't see that happening anytime soon at baseball game with "Cowboy" Joe West or in the NBA with Joey Crawford.

McCarthy recognizes this oddit and he along with certain promoters may be cashing in on it. That doesn't sit right with Canadian promoter Mark Pavelich. The MFC chief throws a lot of bull at the wall and generally none of it sticks, but this time, he may have uncovered a pretty serious issue.

Pavelich says promoters are paying some MMA referees extra "appearance" fees to work events.

"It's outrageous and absolutely inappropriate. These certain referees are charging anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 just to show up, bark out a catchphrase, and supervise a fight. But these fees aren't being paid by any commission. They are paid by a show owner or promoter," Pavelich said in a recent MFC newsletter. "[...]
And how can you not call into question the ethics of these referees. Would you not expect their loyalties to be torn when some promoter is willing to pay them 10K, and that same referee is then calling the action when the promoter's top fighters are in action."

Pavelich says commissions need to lay down the law.

"There are a number of very good referees out there, including those that have worked recent MFC events. But even they shouldn't be allowed to just toss out a price tag, or have a commission toss out one for them. There should be a pay scale in place ? here's what you get paid (plus reasonable expenses) … take it or leave it," said Pavelich.

McCarthy responded to Pavelich on MMA.tv's Underground Forum and in doing so confirmed that he has received additional dollars to work events.

If I have a promoter contact me about working their show it is my right to ask for whatever fee I feel is fair. Most of the time that promoter is using my name to help promote their show and I should be compensated for that because it goes beyond the normal scope of the job. Now they are using you to help possibly sell tickets," said McCarthy.

In a sense McCarthy is right, that's not fair. But he also has the right to tell the promoter that his name can't be used in any promotional efforts to push the event.

"Have I ever made $10,000 to work a show, No. I have made different amounts of money throughout my career," McCarthy wrote. "Last night I worked a show and made $280 for the night."

McCarthy alleges that Pavelich is only pushing the issue as part of an agenda to help out a Canadian friend/official who's been left out of UFC 129 and several other big events in Canada.

Does anyone else see the potential problem here? In no way are we saying McCarthy, Dean or any of the other big-name referees would do a favor for a promoter or one of their star fighters, but anything that could potentially put any referee's integrity into question has to be stymied before the issue arises.

Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo  Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai  Mac Danzig 

Melendez defends belt, makes case to be No. 1 lightweight

Gilbert Melendez held onto his Strikeforce lightweight championship belt with a dominating performance at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley. Melendez quickly TKOed Kawajiri in San Diego on Saturday.

Melendez started aggressively in the first round, dropping Kawajiri with a right hook and then following up with a bevy of strikes. He took Kawajiri's back, and continued to land strikes even as Kawajiri struggled to his feet. When they returned to stand-up, Kawajiri, a noted wrestler, shot in for a takedown but Melendez sprawled, threw an upper cut and then followed up with strikes and elbows to finish the fight at 3:14 in the first round.

After he ran through Kawajiri, Melendez wanted to make it clear that he believes he's the best lightweight in the world, not UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

"I think it's time to unify some titles. I'm the No. 1 lightweight in the world. Let's get it done," Melendez said.

Melendez�hadn't been in the cage for a year;�his last win was over another Japanese fighter, Shinya Aoki. Melendez's record is now 19-2. Kawajiri, who faced numerous training difficulties because of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, was making his American debut. He�fell to 27-7-2.

Justin Eilers  Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko

The worst part of UFC 129 for GSP and Shields? Dealing with the sometimes dopey media

Fighting in front of 55,000 fans, a huge pay-per-view audience and increased media attention has to be great for the fighters at UFC 129. There is a downside. With all the interest, Jake Shields and Georges St-Pierre say the media crush has been unbelievable.

"It's always a distraction. For sure, I'm not gonna lie, the worst part is this," St-Pierre said. "Sometimes you have to wake up very early in the morning. It's bad because it messes up your sleep time."

Shields wants to be a company man, but when you body is on west� coast time, it makes it even tougher to fulfill your duties.

"I think they have me doing the same amount [of interviews as St-Pierre], which I'm not really used to," Shields said (0:15 mark). "I looked at my schedule up there and they have me getting up at seven in the morning for interviews, which is four o'clock in the morning my time.�It seems kind of ridiculous to me. I don't know."

The former Strikeforce middleweight champ will do what he's told. He's a quality dude. Watch him act like a pro as this crazy, smiling wacko is all over him.

Before you mock too hard, John D. Villareal is a pretty accomplished athlete. He's just a little too Tony Little-like.

GSP said he understands that the media requests are part of the business and those increase even more when you're a champion. He also knows it's how fans get their fill of the sport.

Most Excited Interviewer in the World tip via Cage Potato

Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto

The Ultimate Fighter 13: Episode 5 Results Recap for ?Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos?

With Ramsey Nijem's upset over Charlie Rader on last week's episode of The Ultimate Fighter 13, Team Velasquez remains in control of the matchups and chooses the latest opening round fight, but the winner may be unable to continue in the competition.

Murilo Bustamante  Grant Campbell  Gesias JZ Calvancante  Luiz Cane  Dos Caras Jr  

Nick Diaz Talks Paul Daley Win - Nick Diaz

Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz talks about his win over Paul Daley.

Yves Edwards  Justin Eilers  Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis

Jones vs. Evans: Xtreme Couture coach Melanson would love to work with Rashad

The opinions are swirling on who comes out on top when Rashad Evans and Jon Jones step into the Octagon. The former teammates are on a collision course after Evans decided to leave, the only team he's known, Jackson's Submission Fighting in Albuquerque. Evans, who will challenge Jones for his UFC light heavyweight title, is training with camps in both Denver and Florida.

When we stopped by Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas to talk about this teammate versus teammate thing, the grappling coach Neil Melanson surprised us by saying he'd like to get Evans to Vegas.

"I feel my style of coaching is perfect for him," Melanson said (3:15 mark). "He's a wrestler and I've got a lot of experience with the wrestlers here. I think I can help him. He's really good already, but I would like to see him finish and I know he can finish on the ground."

From talking to some folks around Xtreme Couture it sounds like Jones' favorite status at minus-500 is a bit out of whack. Plenty of folks think he's got a good shot at taking the strap from the phenom.

Daiki DJ taiki Hata He Peng David Heath Delson Heleno Dan Henderson