Herring to UFC: Don't Worry About It

All is well with Heath "The Texas Crazy Horse" Herring months after he was forced to withdraw from a co-main event bout with Cain Velasquez at UFC 99 in June. So well, in fact, he's not looking at a return to the cage until the New Year.

"I've told the UFC don't even worry about it until next year," he said Friday.

Violently ill with pneumonia symptoms, Herring said he was completely unable to train for Velasquez in the home stretch of his camp and had no choice but to pass up the fight with the American Kickboxing Academy standout.

Herring suffers from asthma and said the illness worsened the condition. Worse yet, he couldn't use his inhaler because its active ingredients would have flagged him for illegal substances per Nevada State Athletic Commission based statutes.

So why is he so relaxed about his time off? Hollywood, babe.

Herring's appearance in the MMA movie "Never Surrender" got the attention of the film's producers, who hired him for an untitled horror movie, which he recently wrapped. He plays a gang leader that gets eaten by monsters.

Herring says he may fly south of the equator to Columbia to play a boxer in an action movie filming in early September.

In the meantime, he's working on a restaurant, The Tilted Kilt, of which he is a partial owner.

Herring says his Texas roots made him a lock for UFC 103, but his other hobbies got in the way. And he's just fine with that.

"I've got to take advantage of this while I can," said Herring.

Georges St. Pierre...Canada's Van Damme?

Mixed martial arts will always be the first love of UFC welterweight champion, Georges "Rush" St. Pierre, but when the Canadian champion isn't dominating in the Octagon, he's picking up a few new skills in front of the camera as an actor.

St. Pierre recently filmed scenes alongside other fighters such as Anderson Silva, Heath Herring and ironically enough, B.J. Penn, in a movie set for release in 2009 called "Never Surrender."

"It was great," St. Pierre told MMAWeekly Radio recently about the movie experience. "I liked it and I actually have another filming planned for February after my fight. I'm very excited about it."

According to online movie resource, IMDB.com, St. Pierre is set to star in two new movies, one called "Hell's Chain" and another titled, "Death Warrior."

The 2008 Canadian Athlete of the Year admits that acting can be fun, and it takes him back to his childhood, and he hopes one day he can be as iconic as the "Muscles from Brussels."

"It's pretty fun, I like it. It's like make me remember when I was a kid, playing games, it makes me remember those days," St. Pierre commented. "It's a little bit like come back as a kid and play games, and I when I do it sometimes I feel like the Canadian version of Jean-Claude Van Damme. It's pretty funny."

Unless Van Damme pulls out the Dim Mak from his movie "Bloodsport" he probably wouldn't stand much of a chance against St. Pierre in a real fight, but the 170lb king says he still has a lot to learn in the Belgian's medium as well.

"Maybe I'm better in the Octagon, but I still have a lot to learn on the camera."

J-Lau Returns Enthused From Visit With U.S. Troops

Press Release:

UFC lightweight contender Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon's recent 12-day goodwill trip visiting U.S. military troops in Iraq and Kuwait was a knockout for everybody.

Lauzon (17-4, 4 KOs, 13 submissions), star of The Ultimate Fighter 5 television reality show, was on the trip with fellow mixed-martial arts fighters Jorge Rivera and Heath Herring, as well as some models and ring card girls.

"It was awesome," Lauzon said from home. "It was one of the happiest 12 days of my life. They kept us real busy going from one camp to another. We visited 14 camps in Iraq and Kuwait. The first hour we'd give demonstrations and the second we signed autographs and posed for pictures with them. I was thrilled to see all of them over there, away from their friends and family, but helping all of us back home. It was cool to see how excited and appreciative they were to see us. There are a lot of MMA fans over there, too.

"They watch UFC events on the Armed Forces Network, but, due to the time differences, it's on there at 3 in the morning. They watch and then start their day at 6. The weather wasn't bad. They say it hits 150-160 degrees in the summer, but it is dry heat like in Las Vegas, not humid like it is in Massachusetts. It was between 85 and 105, hit 110 once, while we were there but it wasn't bad at all, especially when I got off the plane back home and it was freezing."

The special guests got to play some poker with the troops, fired weapons a few times, drive around in Humvees, and were transported from camp to camp on Black Hawk helicopters.

"It was a long, busy 12 days," Lauzon concluded. "But I'd definitely do it again. It's something that I'll never forget. I'm glad I did it."

For more information about Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon, who has a Bachelor's degree in computer networking from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, go online and visit www.joelauzon.com or myspace.com/lauzonrsd.

J-Lau, Rivera, Herring to Visit U.S. Troops

UFC lightweight contender Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon, 17-4, 4 KOs, 13 submissions), star of The Ultimate Fighter 5 television reality show, leaves Tuesday on a 10-day goodwill trip visiting U.S. military troops in Iraq.

Fellow mixed-martial arts fighters Jorge Rivera and Heath Herring are among the other athletes on the trip. "It's going to be an amazing experience," 24-year-old Lauzon said. "I can't wait to go overseas and see the troops in Iraq."

For more information about Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon, who has a Bachelor's degree in computer networking from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, go online and visit www.joelauzon.com or myspace.com/lauzonrsd.