Michael Jackson turned up in a wheelchair to watch the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas at the weekend.
The Thriller singer – who rarely makes public appearances – tried to disguise himself by wrapping a coat around his face and wearing sunglasses as he entered the MGM Grand Hotel in the medical aid.
Jackson witnessed Jenna Jameson’s boyfriend Tito Ortiz get beaten by Lyoto Machida during the evening.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a US-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation, which is recognised as the largest MMA promotion in the world.
As well as attending the evening of bouts, Jackson went to Los Angeles’ Peterson Automotive Museum to celebrate the 50th birthday of designer Christian Audigier.
Jackson – dressed in a blue satin military and western-themed shirt - took to the stage to say a few words about his friend.
The pop superstar said: “Christian is the king of fashion.”
Pamela Anderson, Fergie and Britney Spears also attended the bash.

thewest.com.au

It’s a story we’ve come to know very well: pro athlete tests positive for steroids, fans respond with tired disappointment. Pro athlete professes innocence, fans grow even more tired. Pro athlete slinks back into the fold, fans forgive, but never quite forget.
It gets a little more depressing every time we see it played out, but only because it’s so predictable. We used to use terms like "disgraced" to refer to these fallen heroes. Now, that rhetoric seems too dramatic for something so increasingly common. We just say "tarnished." Or "caught." We don’t know who will be next, but we know there will surely be a next.
It’s this impenetrable skepticism that makes Sean Sherk’s situation so daunting. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title-holder tested positive for steroids after defeating Hermes Franca last summer. Sherk immediately cried foul.
He filed an appeal with the California State Athletic Commission.
He hired lawyers and built a case against Quest Diagnostics, the laboratory responsible for testing the samples.
He took, and passed, three polygraph tests.
He tested his over-the-counter supplements and presented evidence of contamination in one of them.
But none seemed to make a difference. Not to the CSAC, the media or the fans. The athletic commission cut Sherk’s suspension in half, but upheld his $2,500 fine — a kind of tip of the hat to reasonable doubt, but one that didn’t erase the damage to his career and reputation. He lost his title and saw it awarded to rival B.J. Penn, who has repeatedly condemned Sherk for the positive test. To most, Sherk was branded a cheater — a label that still follows him everywhere, threatening to diminish his accomplishments.
"I’ve done everything I can do to clear my name," Sherk said. "It’s up to each individual to look at the facts and decide for themselves whether they believe me or not. The problem is that a lot of people don’t bother to look at the facts first. They just hear ‘positive test,’ and they look at me and what I’ve done and think, ‘Oh, he’s got to be on something.’ I’m not. People have to decide that for themselves, but the people who know me and the people who look at the facts will see for themselves that I’m telling the truth."

sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Wanderlei Silva, who is preparing to fight Keith Jardine at UFC 84 on May 24, wears a contraption with tape over his nose and a snorkel while he’s working out to force himself to breathe through his mouth. That improves the cardiovascular benefit of the workout, and it prepares him for a situation that could arise in a fight, such as blood in his nose restricting his breathing.
It strikes me as a little silly that Silva was asked about getting a title shot in that video, seeing as he’s on a three-fight losing streak. But I do think his fight with Keith Jardine has the potential to be a great one.
1. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that technique before either, but it makes perfect sense. I have seen guys train ground technique while someone covers their mouth and nose with a hand, and of course lots of athletes in many sports do high-altitude training, but I don’t know of any other apparati dedicated to restricting airflow while training.
I fully agree that a title shot should be the furthest thing from Silva’s mind. Maybe it’d be best to concentrate on winning one match before worrying about that. Not sure where that question even came from.
Posted at 12:37PM on May 6th 2008 by Trogdor
2. Doesn’t seem like such a good training technique to me. Conventional wisdom says that you should AVOID breathing through your mouth in a fight, if at all possible. It makes you more susceptible to a knockout. Also, I don’t know too many people who need to consciously train to mouth-breathe. Seems like it comes natural to just about anyone–especially people who aren’t in shape. Every fat piece of **** who tries to get out and exercise for the first time is a mouth-breather.

sports.aol.com

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After earning his fifth straight victory in the UFC’s welterweight division, American Top Team’s Thiago “Pitbull” Alves (14-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is now directly behind No. 1 contender Jon Fitch (17-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) for a shot at the title.
Alves was informed of his positioning by UFC matchmaker Joe Silva immediately following the 24-year-old Brazilian’s TKO victory over Karo Parisyan (18-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) at Ultimate Fight Night 13.
Alves discussed his possible title contention, as well as the hotly debated ending of the Parisyan bout, while a guest on Monay’s edition of TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com), a content partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
“Right now I heard I’m right behind Jon Fitch,” Alves said. “That’s what Joe Silva told me.”
With Fitch expected to take on the winner of next weekend’s Matt Serra-Georges St. Pierre UFC 83 main event, Alves could potentially sit out briefly and wait on the results of these fights and his pending title shot. Alves, however, would prefer to stay active.
“I know I want to fight,” Alves said. “My manager asked me if I want to wait to see what’s up, and I said, ‘I don’t want to wait, I want to fight.’ Probably I’ll be fighting by June or July.”
By most counts, Alves lost the first round of his bout with Parisyan. But Alves contends that was due, at least partially, to his always-patient strategy.
“I was feeling great,” Alves said. “In the beginning, I always start slow. I don’t start 100 percent. I start to pick up the pace while the fight is going.”
That slow start also had much to due with Alves’ respect for Parisyan.

mmajunkie.com