Dennis “Superman” Hallman, the guy who beat UFC champion Matt Hughes twice, was suspended late last year for testing positive for steroids (a form of). He failed the drug test after his win over Jeremiah Metcalf at Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives.

Well the California State Athletic Commission gave him (scheduled) a chance to appeal the test and clear his name. Today I received an email from the CSAC that Hallman was a no-show for his appeal.

This is too bad because Hallman had won his last two fights but now his 1-year suspension will remain in take. Good job buddy.

What the F is wrong with these guys? Do they not understand that the state athletic commission does mandatory, not random, drug testing for each MMA event? Do they think it is easy to fool the system? Have they not read the list of banned substances? I just don’t get it.

Two more MMA fighters have been suspended in California due to testing positive for banned substances. Both Alexander Crispim and Dennis Hallman, who fought in Strikeforce on November 16th, have been suspended for a year and each fined $2,500 by the California State Athletic Commission. 

This morning the California State Athletic Commission released revenue and fighter payout numbers from the Strikeforce event held Friday in San Jose. Interestingly Cung Le, one of the least experienced MMA fighters on the card, ended up taking home the biggest paycheck. Le’s salary overshadowed the pay given to some of the sport’s longtime vets like Paul Buentello, Alistar Overeem, Dannis Hallman, and Trevor Prangley. However, this should not come as a surprise as Cung Le has a huge following in the Bay Area and those fans buy tickets.

As for attendance numbers:
Tickets Sold: 5,621
Exempt Passes: 1,628
Deadwood: 2,203
Gross Receipts: $387,685.00

Fighter payouts:
Cung Le - $50,000  
Alistair Overeem - $30,000
Trevor Prangley - $30,000
Brian Schwartz - $30,000
Paul Buentello - $20,000
Falaniko Vitale - $20,000
Jorge Santiago - $15,000
Dennis Hallman - $5,000 + $5,000 win bonus
Jeremiah Metcalf - $5,000 (more…)

Tonight Cung Le kept his perfect record in tact as he TKO’d Sam Morgan in the third round of the Strikeforce main event. After the fight he and Frank Shamrock announced that they will fight. Cung told Frank and the crowd that it was all about the fans and a fight between the two would be the biggest MMA fight in northern California history. Both Le and Shamrock have schools in the bay area and are huge fan favorites. This could be a mega payday for these guys.

A date has not been set, but I know that in the next couple of days the MMA forums will be chalk full of fight prediction over this bout. My early prediction, Frank Shamrock by whatever means he wants. Frank has way too much experience to lose this one. Cung has only 5 fights under his belt as hasn’t even faced a top 20 contender. Shamrock is crafty enough on his feet to avoid Le’s strikes and will have complete control of him on the ground. Period.

The event should be starting any minute now, here is the link to watch.

Looks like the guys at Strikeforce have struck some sort of distribution deal with Yahoo!, much to the delight of us MMA fans. Sure, it may not have the production value or the overall fighter talent as the UFC, but hell, it’s free. And a four man tourney, Alistar Overeem, and Cung Le, that’s not too shabby of a card. Here is the Strikeforce press release:

November 13, 2007; San Jose, CA….Following the smash success of its live stream from the world-famous Playboy Mansion, Strikeforce will again deliver to fans around the globe, world championship mixed martial arts action, LIVE on Yahoo! Sports (www.sports.yahoo.com), from the HP Pavilion in San Jose on Friday.
Available to all internet users located beyond a 150 mile radius of San Jose, the live stream, free of charge to viewers, will begin at 8 PM PST (11 PM EST) and include the entire Strikeforce four-man, single-elimination tournament, featuring middleweight (185 lb. limit) stars Trevor Prangley (16-4), Falaniko Vitale (24-7), Yuki Sasaki (21-13-1), and Jorge Santiago (14-7). Each tournament bout will consist of two, five-minute rounds.

Also included during the stream will be the Strikeforce world heavyweight championship battle between Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello (23-9) and Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (25-11); the middleweight showdown between undefeated Cung Le and The Ultimate Fighter season 2 star, Sam “The Squeeze” Morgan; the matchup between Strikeforce World Light Heavyweight (205 lb. limit) Champion, Bobby Southworth (8-4), and Anthony “El Toro” Ruiz (17-10); and the mixed martial arts debut of undefeated world kickboxing champion, Brian “The Mad Stork” Schwartz (18-0), who will take on Lemont Davis (8-4). The Strikeforce event is being presented by BodogFIGHT.

It’s shaping up to be a very interesting year in mixed martial arts. With the expanded distribution and consolidation of MMA organizations in 2007 I think we’re going to see the UFC fall a bit in it’s aura of invincibility in 2008.