Dana White's UFC 108 Video Blog - 12/28/09

Dana White's video blog leading up to UFC 108 on Saturday, Jan. 2 on PPV. Includes Dana's visit with Gilbert Yvel, who will fight Junio Dos Santos at UFC 108.

Gilbert Yvel Moves To Vegas

After a punishing loss to Josh Barnett at Affliction's "Day of Reckoning," Dutch striker Gilbert Yvel has moved to capitalize on the training offered by MMA's mecca, Las Vegas.

John Lewis, owner of J-Sect Academy in Las Vegas (he was the guy who taught Dana White and the Ferttitas Jiu-Jitsu), and Brian Schall, a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer who reps Rich Franklin, have taken Yvel as a client in their new management firm, The Fight Agency. Yvel is currently training at J-Sect and living in Sin City.

Yvel's last home was at the Vos Gym in Amsterdam, where he honed his vicious striking game over a 12 year career.

Lewis had no word on Yvel's next fight, but said training was going well and anticipated a strong return for "The Hurricane."

"Gilber's such a great guy," said Lewis. "He loves to train."

Showtime Sports Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel Preview

Stephan Bonnar Mixes It Up With Gilbert Yvel

As always, the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas is buzzing with activity. MMAInsider was on the scene last weekend while several well-known fighters prepared for upcoming bouts in a group sparring session.

Amidst the swarm of fists and kicks on the gym's main workout area, Gilbert Yvel was engaging Stephan Bonnar near the cage in the second of five five-minute rounds. From the looks of it, Yvel was taking it to the runner-up of the original "Ultimate Fighter."

Yvel's hands and feet were lightning fast; he never let anything get away. The second Bonnar threw a punch, another was on its way to meet him. He did his best to catch-up, but after eating several kicks to the midsection, he thought twice about being overly aggressive.

And apparently, Yvel was still being too nice. Between rounds, Yvel's trainer, John Lewis, told his fighter to turn it up a notch.

"You can hit harder," he encouraged.

When the two found each other in the fifth five-minute round, Yvel quit playing patty-cake.

One particular kick to Bonnar's midsection took the wind out of his sails.

"It kinda sucked," Bonnar later told MMAinsider. "Every time I hit him, he'd hit me back harder. So I took him down at the end of the (second) round, kinda got a good position on him. He didn't like that, so he found me again for the fifth round and hit me with a few."

Bonnar pointed to his left eye, which was marked red.

"It's good to take an ass whupping every now and then," he said with a smile.

Make sure to check out videos with Yvel and Bonnar as they discuss their upcoming fights at Affliction's "Day of Reckoning" and UFC 94, respectively.

Affliction's Atencio Has Back-up Plan for Yvel

In a media teleconference for Affliction's "Day of Reckoning" on Wednesday, Affliction Entertainment VP Tom Atencio said he, as well as Josh Barnett, are ready for anything when it comes to Gilbert Yvel's trials with the California State Athletic Commission.

On Tuesday, Yvel was cleared to apply for a California license to fight, though his paperwork needs to be approved before he gets in the ring.

Atencio said he expected Yvel to clear the commission, but had fighters on standby.

"He's been approved to move forward in the licensing process, and that's pretty much where we're at," said the spectacled fight promoter. "Yeah, I have people in line if this doesn’t work out, but as far as Josh is concerned, it’s approved. Once again, like anything else, you never know what’s going to happen, there’s a process to go through. Hopefully, he makes it through all his medicals and if he does, then the fight’s on. I know that Josh is preparing for him, but Josh will fight anybody out there, so it’s not so much a concern for me."

Atencio declined to name any fighters waiting in the wings, but expressed confidence that Barnett would face any of them.

"When we approach that bridge, we'll cross it," said Atencio.

CSAC's Douglas Permits Yvel To Apply For Fight License

Gilbert Yvel, the controversial Dutch fighter scheduled to face Josh Barnett at Affliction's "Day of Reckoning on Jan. 24, has cleared one hurdle to fighting in California.

Bill Douglas, Assistant Executive Officer of the California State Athletic Commission, on Tuesday night informed MMAInsider he had granted Yvel permission to apply for a fighter's license in the Golden State.

Last year, Yvel was denied a license to fight in Nevada after its athletic commission reviewed several inflammatory incidents in his career including knocking a referee out, biting a referee, and eye gouging an opponent.

Douglas stressed the action was only a first step to Yvel fighting on Jan. 24.

"He must meet all of the licensing requirements, as would any other applicant, before he can be considered 'approved,' Douglas wrote. "If he is fully approved, the rest will be up to Gilbert."

Yvel will now be required to submit the necessary paperwork for licensure, including bloodwork, EKG, current neurological exam, opthamological exam, a pre-fight medical questionnaire, and physical.

Should his paperwork be acceptable to Mr. Douglas, Yvel will be on his way. Douglas gave no timetable for when the paperwork was required. However, since California began regulating MMA in March of 2006, the commission has on several occasions balked at last minute submissions. Several fighters, including Joe Riggs, Nick Diaz, and Hong Man Choi, were denied licenses when their paperwork was turned in late or with details deemed to require further investigation.

You can bet if Yvel wants to make his trip worthwhile, he will have the documents hand delivered.