Quinton “Rampage” Jackson recently accused UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones of having a spy in his training camp ahead of their headlining UFC 135 title fight on Sept. 25, a claim Jones’ manager adamantly denies.
■Jake Shields’ father and manager Jack Shields passed away on Monday, but it is not yet known if it will force Shields out of the UFC Fight Night 25 main event against Jake Ellenberger on September 17 in New Orleans.
■Shane Carwin, who is targeting a 2012 return to the UFC following a June loss to Junior dos Santos, recently said that fellow heavyweight Alistair Overeem is close to a deal with the UFC and could debut before the end of the year.
■Fresh off a win at Strikeforce Challengers 18 earlier this month, Pat “Bam Bam” Healy has replaced an injured Josh Thomson and will face fellow lightweight Maximo Blanco at Strikeforce: Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinals on Sept. 10 on Showtime.
■Joe Soto’s upset loss to Eddie Yagin at Tachi Palace Fights 10 earlier this month has cost the former Bellator featherweight champ a spot in Bellator’s season five bantamweight tournament. Soto has been replaced three-time semifinalist Wilson Reis, who will meet Eduardo “Dudu” Dantas when tourney begins at Bellator 51 on Sept. 24, while Yagin has since signed with the UFC.
■Bellator’s fifth season will air in high definition on the premium EPIX channel in addition to standard definition broadcasts on MTV2.
■Tickets for UFC 137 go on sale to the general public on Sept. 9, UFC newsletter subscribers on Sept. 8, and UFC Fight Club members on Sept. 7 for the Oct. 29 event in Las Vegas featuring welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz and BJ Penn vs. Carlos Condit.
■Diego Sanchez recently admitted to being embezzled out of $170,000, smoking marijuana, and “drinking away sorrows” following his 2009 loss to then-champion BJ Penn before rejoining trainer Greg Jackson last year.
■UFC President Dana White has been tight-lipped about the promotion’s offer to Fedor Emelianenko before the now-former top-ranked heavyweight signed with Strikeforce in 2009, but recently said it was for “million and millions of dollars.”
■Duane “Bang” Ludwig will undergo neck surgery this week following his UFC on Versus 5 win over Amir Sadollah earlier this month and is campaigning to have his 11-second KO of Jonathan Goulet from 2006 changed to a more-accurate 4-seconds to claim the UFC record for fastest knockout currently held by heavyweight Todd Duffee at 7-seconds.
■Undefeated Dutch judo specialist Michael Kuiper is likely headed to the UFC.
■Jason Reinhardt has been released by the UFC after losing to bantamweight Edwin Figueroa at UFC on Versus 5 to fall to 0-3 in the UFC.
■Let’s Get It On: The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee by referee “Big” John McCarthy with Loretta Hunt will be released on Thursday, Sept. 1
