LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Tonight on AXS TV'S INSIDE MMA, series hosts Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten presented this week's top news and highlights, including exclusive interviews with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, whose upcoming bout with Tito Ortiz was cancelled today, and Gilbert Melendez, winner of what UFC announcer Joe Rogan called "the greatest fight I've ever seen." The episode also featured an in-depth look at the controversial subject of weight cutting through the eyes of UFC fighter Tim Boetsch as he dropped 30 pounds before UFC 166.
Following today's news that Tito Ortiz will miss his upcoming Bellator fight due to a neck injury he sustained while training, INSIDE MMA talked to his planned opponent Quinton "Rampage" Jackson about the news.
Said Jackson about his fight being canceled:
"If I'm going to keep it real, I would have said look, throw another opponent at me and still keep the pay-per-view because I've trained really hard for this. I had my knees fixed, I fixed my injury and I came back. Throw somebody in there like Kimbo Slice, Houston Alexander, anybody that's in Bellator. Somebody different like Tyrone Spong. I don't know, throw anybody in there, I'm ready for anybody. Throw in Chuck Liddell out of retirement. Put the pay-per-view on! I'm ready to go."
Said Jackson about Ortiz' injury:
"I texted Tito to make sure he was okay and he said he's okay and he's out for three months. That's a real serious injury, to your neck, and I hope Tito a speedy recovery."
Watch Jackson's exclusive interview here: http://bit.ly/1gOoO98
Last Saturday, Gilbert Melendez showed off his striking prowess as he defeated Diego Sanchez at UFC 166. Tonight, he joined Rice and Rutten live from his gym in San Francisco and talked about wanting a UFC Lightweight title shot and said what he expects to see from Anthony Pettis versus Josh Thompson.
Said Melendez:
"I really think I'm the uncrowned champ right now and I'm definitely going to be campaigning hard for it. It's one of those things that I also believe will be good for business. The fans wanna see it, I want it bad. I think we are big names, I think it's gonna be great for pay-per-view. We are two guys who like to fight and if I can get your support and everyone out there's support and who wants to see it. I want the winner of that title fight."
Watch the full interview clip here: http://bit.ly/HmrHxj
Often discussed, but never seen up close, the process of cutting weight has always been a controversial subject in the sport of mixed martial arts. In a rare piece, middleweight fighter Tim Boetsch gave INSIDE MMA's Ron Kruck exclusive access into his camp as he dropped from 216 pounds to the 186 pound limit to fight in the middleweight class at UFC 166.
Watch here as Boetsch does his final cut the day of his weigh-in: http://bit.ly/1duvGGk
ABOUT INSIDE MMA
Inside MMAis mixed martial arts' longest running and only independent weekly television news show. EveryFridayLIVE at9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, Kenny Rice and four-time world champion Bas Rutten interview MMA's top names and break down highlights from the biggest fights while Ron Kruck provides on-site coverage from major events and in-depth reporting on the most interesting stories in the sport.
ABOUT AXS TV
Bringing music back to television, AXS TV, launched in July of 2012 by visionary entrepreneur Mark Cuban, has created a one-of-a-kind, live television environment for entertainment and other cutting-edge trends. AXS TV delivers relevant, unpredictable and irreverent programming offering an unparalleled experience to a nationwide audience by presenting unfiltered, uncensored and uncut access to entertainers and their performances. Sports programming is led by over 40 hours of live mixed martial arts broadcasts on "AXS TV Fights" and the longest running weekly MMA news show on television, "Inside MMA." The network is available in the United States via AT&T U-verse, Charter, Comcast/Xfinity, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Suddenlink, Verizon FiOS, and other TV providers. It is also distributed in Canada and the Caribbean. The network is spearheaded by a partnership including Mark Cuban, AEG, Ryan Seacrest Media, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and CBS. For more information, visit the website,www.axs.tv; go to the Facebook page here and follow the company on Twitter, @axstv; on Instagram; Tumblr and YouTube.
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