The Weekly Wrap: Dec 3 - Dec. 10

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Odds and Ends

The UFC has two international jaunts set for 2011. Sherdog.com reported the company will announce next week that it will return to Brazil for the first time since 1998. The Rio de Janeiro card will be announced in a press conference at the mayor’s official residence, with the company’s top Brazilian fighters and Royce Gracie on hand. The promotion has also nailed down its debut in Scotland for a UFC Fight Night event on May 25.

The man driving alongside iconic Tapout founder Charles “Mask” Lewis the night he was killed in a March 2009 car crash was convicted of vehicular manslaughter. A California jury found Jeffrey David Kirby, 53, guilty of one felony count of vehicular manslaughter by unlawful act with gross negligence while intoxicated. He faces up to 13 years in prison and will be sentenced Feb. 4. The jury found Kirby, whose blood alcohol level was well above the legal limit the night of the crash, was racing alongside Lewis and lost control of his car, hitting Lewis’ car and causing it to crash into a pole and split in half.

The main event for Jan 22's UFC “Fight for the Troops 2” card in Killeen, Texas, fell through due to an undisclosed injury suffered by Kenny Florian. Set to face Evan Dunham, Florian will be replaced by Melvin Guillard on the Spike TV broadcast. Guillard was set to face Yves Edwards on the card; Edwards will now face “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 alum Cody McKenzie.

The timeline for Josh Barnett’s return to stateside MMA competition was further extended by a procedural mix up before the California State Athletic Commission. Barnett appeared before the commission on Dec. 2 and was asked to discuss the August 2009 steroid test failure that led to his being denied a fight license. Barnett, who has signed with Strikeforce, is reapplying for a license to fight in the state. He told the commission he only came prepared to get relicensed, not to discuss the test failure. Commissioners said its regulations require Barnett to demonstrate he had rehabilitated the issue that led his initial license denial. Barnett said he was uncomfortable discussing the situation without his attorney present. Barnett, who has fought twice overseas while waiting for an appeal period to expire, will appear before California commission again on Feb. 4.

Two weeks after he was derided for his UFC debut performance against Gerald Harris, Chute Boxe Academy middleweight Maiquel Jose Falcao Goncalves was arrested in Brazil on a warrant tied to an assault charge. Goncalves was held for four days and released on an 18-month probation, MMAJunkie.com reported. He will be allowed to travel to the United States to fight. The arrest is tied to a 2002 assault on a woman in a Brazilian night club. Goncalves was sentenced to a 24-month house arrest in the episode but was deemed a fugitive because he did not stay in proper contact with authorities. It did not affect the UFC’s interest in booking the Brazilian middleweight, as he is reportedly set to face Alessio Sakara on March 3.