Junie Browning Situation and BloodyElbow.com

This morning I was emailed by BloodyElbow.com regarding Junie Brownings arrest warrant...

Junie is fine and still fighting, no worries.

I woke up this morning and saw an email from BloodyElbow.com asking me a series of questions relating to the news of Junie Browning being issued an arrest warrant. I was shocked to hear of this so close to fight night and put a call in to Junie and his manager to find out the details. You can read the email exchange here.

Now, 205 comments later it seems there are a lot of people who understand my position. Couple things I wanted to mention.

#1. Junie is still fighting. After speaking with him and his manager, it appears the press has turned a small clerical error into a national fugitive story. Junies lawyers are taking care of the error and all is well. Nothing has changed and the fight is still on.

#2. BloodyElbow sent me a list of questions that really put me in an uncomfortable situation, almost as if to paint me as some kind of greedy promoter with no moral fiber in booking Junie to fight. The bottom of their emailed request for a response included a line saying that my comments or lack thereof will be posted on multiple sites. Basically making me feel like if I didn't say anything they would make an attempt at fueling their preconceived notions of me to the public. So I responded with honesty and after 205 comments from the BE readers, I'm pleased to see they understand my position on the matter.

#3. I didn't book Junie knowing there would be a windfall of press and media focused on him. I honestly didn't realize he was THAT damn important in the MMA community. I knew of Junie before Ultimate Fighter. Hell when I was a member of the G-Force fight team in 2006 Junie and his brother were fighting on the Caged Inferno card that we were at which inspired my starting the MMA Big Show. Overall, booking Junie was a good decision and I stand by it. I believe he is going to show everyone that he has worked hard for this fight and deserves the opportunity. Scott Cornwell and Junie are going to make a memorable battle regardless of the outcome. ( You can watch it online at GoFightLive.com )

#4. In some of the comments I saw things pointing the finger at Junies manager as some kind of greedy pig. First of all, I've been working with Junies manager for a couple of years and if there is one thing I know about him, he is always working to help his fighters and takes damn good care of them. He booked this fight with me because he knew I would give Junie an opportunity at a solid promotion. Junie has his issues and his manager is trying to keep his mind focused on what fuels him to better himself as a person. This isn't about money, not for any of us. I still have no sponsors for this event and there is NEVER a gaurantee of any show selling out. Every show is a risk. It's going to be an amazing night of fights because the fighters on the card train hard to be in my cage, plain and simple.

I'm looking forward to a great night on November 28th. 7pm EST at Belterra Casino Resort & Spa in Indiana.

See you there.