Latest World News Watch: 9 Aug 2011

Tuesday, 9 August 2011

Dennis Hallman says UFC 133 in-cage attire came about due to lost bet, explains elbow injury that hampered performance

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Dennis Hallman's cage-attire on Saturday night at UFC 133 left little to the imagination, and drew the ire of UFC President Dana White - who gave his opponent Brian Ebersole a $70,000 bonus for defeating him quickly to get the short shots off television.

Hallman's peedo look on Monday was then added to ESPN Page 2's list of the "Worst Looks in Sport History," and with a big deal being made out of it, Hallman explained his reasoning for wearing it on Saturday night.

"I'm not regretful," Hallman said in an interview with MMAjunkie.com. "It's not like I'm the first guy to wear Speedos. Maybe I'm the first guy in the modern UFC era to do it. Other than that, there's nothing for anybody to make a big deal about."

Hallman says he lost a bet with some training partners, and the Speedo's were what resulted. However, it wasn't his (revealing) attire that bothered him on fight night, it was a severely injured elbow that impacted his performance against Ebersole. The injury happened just two days before the fight, but he didn't pull out of the event.

"When it boils down to it, I didn't have any go with my right arm," he said. "I'm actually heading to the specialist down in Oregon to get it checked out. It's 21 inches in diameter right now."

He tweeted a picture of the elbow on Sunday night, and he believes his inability to do much with the arm cost him a chance to finish the fight in the first round when he had Ebersole's back. Because of that, Hallman hopes to get another shot at Ebersole down the line.

"I pray for a rematch against that guy because I know I could smash him," he said. "I just have to be healthy. Literally, I can't bend my wrist and touch my shoulder with my wrist. I couldn't hit pads to warm up.

"I was going to try to get to the best position I could and try to finish him. If it worked out, it worked out. If it didn't, I was going to be in a whole load of trouble, which is where I found myself."

Penick's Analysis: Hallman's not the first to wear short, Speedo-like trunks, but his were even shorter than many have worn in the past and ultimately he had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction while grappling with Ebersole. Still, it was gutsy of him to fight through the injury, but it is definitely unfortunate for him that it would not allow him to really go for the rear naked choke when he had Ebersole's back for an extended period of time. He'll need to recover, and may be on thin ice in his next fight in the UFC because of White's reaction to his attire in this fight.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/torchtoday/article_10106.shtml

Estella Warren Esther Cañadas Eva Green Eva Longoria

Damon Dash Talks $3 Million Tax Debt

Roc-A-Fella co-founder opens up on Shade 45's 'Sway in the Morning.'
By Rob Markman

Damon Dash on "Sway in the Morning"
Photo: MTV News

The once-flamboyant Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash is now in debt. In July, The Detroit News reported that the music mogul and Jay-Z's former business partner owes almost $3 million in back taxes, according to a tax lien filed June 30.

On Friday, Dash visited the "Sway in the Morning" radio show on Shade 45 and spoke to host and MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway about his recent troubles with the IRS. After being asked about owing "$2 million," Dash quickly set the record straight: "I owe way more than $2 million in taxes. That must've just been the IRS," Dash said, laughing, before admitting that he was in a bad space financially. "Nah, nah, I'm f---ed up."

Dame made his mark alongside Jay-Z and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in the mid-1990s. After the trio founded Roc-A-Fella Records and released a few street singles, they dropped Jay-Z's debut album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996 and embarked on a storied run. In the following years, Roc-A-Fella would continue to put out records from Hov and also introduce new artists such as Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel and, of course, Kanye West. By 2005, however, it all came crashing down, and Jay-Z parted ways with Dash and Burke, leaving them on the outside looking in.

Dash has since started new business ventures, and on Friday, the DD172 CEO told Sway that when it comes to his tax troubles, he just doesn't have the money. It isn't because he is broke, Dame insisted, but rather because he redistributes his money back into his many companies, choosing to reinvest instead of making a profit off the top. "It's the price of business; it is what it is," he explained. "I owe taxes: I got to pay.

"They're auditing me. When you're a business man, you have a lot of businesses, a lot of times they think you're laundering money or you're pretending you're writing things off that you don't," he continued. "I'm a true businessman. As you know, I believe in my independence, I have no partners, so every dollar I make goes right back into every business I have."

Dash charges that the audit is a result of his accountant's failure to itemize his expenses. "If I have an accountant that just reports I just invested $10 million in my business and he doesn't exactly itemize where every cost goes, it gives a flag to the government," he said. "They want to make sure that the reason I'm not paying taxes is because I'm reinvesting in these businesses and not trying to hide stuff."

Now, DD has to wait until the government goes through his books. H said he thinks it might take a while before things are sorted out. "They gotta look at every single transaction, and the government is slow," he said. "They really don't believe that I'm so real about putting all of my money into my business, but that's what I do."

Catch MTV News' Sway Calloway on "Sway in the Morning," on SiriusXM Radio's Shade 45, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon ET.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1668686/damon-dash-tax-debt.jhtml

January Jones Jennie Finch Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Gareis

Beyonce's 'Best Thing I Never Had' Video Premieres

Clip for 4 single features B in a gorgeous ornate wedding dress.
By Kara Warner

Beyoncé in her "Best Thing I Never Had" music video
Photo: Columbia

Anyone who's heard the two first singles off Beyoncé's new album, 4, knows they are about as different as night and day. The same can be said for the songs' music videos: Where "Run the World (Girls)" is fierce, upbeat and explosive, "Best Thing I Never Had" is also strong, but more subdued and slow.

The clip opens with Beyoncé in an elegant dressing room or boudoir. She is scantily, but very tastefully, clad in a fancy, lacy corset/lingerie combo, complete with garters. As she begins the song — co-written by Babyface and all about telling a former lover she was the best he'd ever have and that she no longer has any feelings for him — B plays to the camera, directing her words at the former lover via the camera's lens.

From there, she moves from playing with a tiara, a veil and lots of tulle on a bed to various stages of getting dressed. Between her half-dressed and fully dressed stages, there is a quick cut to old video footage of who viewers are to believe is a young Beyoncé and her former high school flame at their prom. B and her date are dancing, she is spun away briefly, and her date cozies up to another girl on the dance floor.

Now that we know what ended that romance, we follow a confident Beyoncé in her final preparations before she walks down the aisle on her wedding day. There are shots of Bey singing at sunset atop a grassy hill in a beautiful princess gown, followed by the walk down the aisle and the exchange of vows.

This is followed by one final shot of the former lover at the prom deep in thought, with what looks to be his prom king crown sitting askew on his head. Perhaps he is re-thinking his philandering ways?

The last few scenes of "Best Thing I Never Had" are full of more shots of Beyoncé's gorgeous dress, which will likely land on a few style blogs soon, given its embroidered and jeweled details, not to mention the silk bows and ruching on the sides. We see the newlyweds celebrating at a happy and well-attended reception: groom removing bride's garter with his teeth, dancing with their younger family members.

The final shot features Beyoncé looking into the camera, with a look of total satisfaction and happiness. She then walks off confidently, probably to re-join her wedding party and new husband, and then the screen fades to black.

Share your review of the "Best Thing I Never Had" video in the comments below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666967/beyonce-best-thing-i-never-had-video.jhtml

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Video analysis: Iole on Jones? tweets, plus his battle versus Evans and ?Rampage?

This is about as close to WWE as you can get. The triangle of trash talk between Rashad Evans, Jon Jones and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is going to reach epic proportions during the lead up to UFC 135 in Denver on September 24.

Before and after UFC 133, Jones took some shots at Evans on Twitter.

Evans responded by saying Jones is so cocky that he praises himself before he goes to sleep. Evans took a jab at Rampage too, saying the veteran moves like Frankenstein in the cage. Evans poured gasoline on the fire when he invited Rampage to train with him before the UFC 135 showdown.

Yahoo! Sports' lead MMA writer Kevin Iole checked in on video to talk about the latest in this three-headed feud. One can only hope Evans jumps into the Octagon on Sept. 24 with a steel chair or distracts the referee.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-analysis-Iole-on-Jones-tweets-plus-his-?urn=mma-wp5599

Bijou Phillips Blake Lively Blu Cantrell Bonnie Jill Laflin

'Hunger Games' Sequel Set For November 2013

'Catching Fire' is only movie scheduled for 2013 Thanksgiving weekend so far.
By Terri Schwartz

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss and Liam Hemsworth as Gale in "The Hunger Games."
Photo: Murray Close/ Lionsgate Entertainment

Get your fire extinguishers ready, because the world is going to be "Catching Fire" on November 22, 2013.

Lionsgate announced the release date for the second installment in the "Hunger Games" film series Monday (August 8), following two new stills from the first flick hitting the Web. "The Hunger Games" is still in production and is slated for a March 23, 2012, release. "Catching Fire" is the only movie slotted for the prime 2013 Thanksgiving weekend spot.

No word yet on whether "Catching Fire" will maintain Gary Ross as director or whether it will follow "The Twilight Saga" and "Harry Potter" trend of getting new directors for its four installments. But, considering "The Hunger Games" is close to wrapping, the timing of the announcement leads us to assume that Lionsgate is attempting to maintain some continuity from the first movie to the second.

The new photos from "The Hunger Games" show that the cast is well into filming. The first still shows off Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in the middle of the titular Hunger Games. It is a familiar image from the previously released photos, but the "X-Men: First Class" star looks ready for battle with her quiver full of arrows. If you look close enough, you can even see her mockingjay pin peeking out on her jacket.

Photo number two features Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, one of the two leading men in the movie. He looks a bit worse for wear and a lot less concerned than Katniss about the fight to the death he's embroiled in. It appears that this photo takes place about halfway through the movie, after Peeta suffers a serious injury.

According to Elizabeth Banks' interview with ComingSoon.net, there's only about a month of filming left on "The Hunger Games." Banks, who plays Effie Trinket in the series, had nothing but wonderful things to say about the project. "We're really making a provocative movie that's also highly entertaining. It's gonna be fun," Banks said. "It's really great to make something that you know people are excited about and also that you know is gonna deliver. I really think the fans are gonna love it."

Check out everything we've got on "The Hunger Games."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1668654/hunger-games-sequel-catching-fire-release-date.jhtml

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"Why's he grabbing his shoulder like that? Is there a bug?"

Source: http://www.watchkalibrun.com/2011/1/10/1927489/whys-he-grabbing-his-shoulder-like-that-is-there-a-bug

Gisele Bündchen Giuliana DePandi Giulianna Ramirez Grace Park

Vitor Belfort Wants Title Shot, but Sonnen-Stann Winner Likely to Get It

Filed under: UFC, News

PHILADELPHIA -- For most of this week, Vitor Belfort has been telling anyone with a recorder, microphone or camera that it is still his goal and plan to win the UFC middleweight championship. After knocking out Yoshihiro Akiyama in the first round of their UFC 133 bout, Belfort reiterated his desire to fight for the belt again.

But Belfort is going to have some waiting and winning to do before he gets that chance again.

After UFC 133 was over, UFC president Dana White said that UFC 136's bout between Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann was most likely going to determine the man to face the Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami winner.

"I think it should be," White said when asked if Sonnen-Stann would be a No. 1 contenders fight.

That means there is at least a possibility of a rematch of the Silva-Sonnen fight that captivated fans in August of 2010.

Belfort (20-9) was fighting for the first time since his UFC 126 loss to Silva, a defeat that came as the result of a front kick. Ironically, Akiyama tried the kick against Belfort, too, but to drastically different results. He missed, and Belfort seemed to be angered by the move, rushing ahead and landing several hard strikes that grounded Akiyama before he finished with punches from the top.

It took less than two minutes.

"I knew if he were to throw that kick, this would happen to him," Belfort said. "He knows that [too].

Belfort said coming off his loss to Silva, his body was "aching" to fight again, and he took out his frustrations on Akiyama.

"I'm going for the belt," he said. "That's my goal and that's my future. I'm on a roll and I'm not going to stop. Nobody's going to stop me."

Except Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva. At least for now, Belfort will have to wait a little longer, and fight a little more to get back to the place he hopes to return to.

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/08/07/vitor-belfort-wants-title-shot-but-sonnen-stann-winner-likely-t/

Adrianne Palicki Aisha Tyler Aki Ross Alecia Elliott