I had the privilege of receiving a last second invite by Stevie J (Angry Marks) to help him interview author of the fantastic book Total MMA, Jonathan Snowden.

Stevie J did a great job with running the interview while I was on my cell phone driving home. As you’ll be able to tell, both Stevie and I read the book cover to cover and both enjoyed it thoroughly. Snowden was a great guest and answered everything we threw at him.

It’s a fun 90 minute interview.

Right click to download or listen to the stream at Angry Marks.

Also, let me know what you think in the comments section or by sending me an e-mail me.

According to F4W/Wrestling Observer, former UFC fighter Justin Levens and his wife were found dead today in Laguna Niguel, California.

His record was 9-8 according to his Wikipedia page, including 5 losses in a row and a 2-8 record since starting his career 7-0.

He had stints in WEC, UFC, and most recently in the IFL.

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- Silverbacks vs. Pitbulls on September 20th at the IFL finals.

- Strikeforce heads to the Playboy Mansion.

- Dana White calls Fedor Emelianenko’s handlers “crazy Russians“.

- Diego Sanchez leaves Greg Jackson’s camp.

- Spencer Fisher is out of his match at UFC Fight Night 11 because of a staph infection, but Kenny Florian is in.

- This is what happens when you can’t make weight and you lose to cake.

- Sean Sherk and Phil Baroni were granted extensions at the CSAC meeting on Monday.

- What happens if Sean Sherk’s suspension is held up?

- Zach Arnold can’t believe James Toney’s suspension was reduced.

- Dave Doyle also can’t believe the CSAC reduced James Toney’s suspension.

Talking Points

You have Hermes Franca, who admitted to taking steroids, hoping that his honesty would cause the California State Athletic Commission board to reduce his suspension. Then you have heavyweight boxer James Toney, who denied everything. One was honest. One was in denial. One admitted to taking steroids. One admitted to nothing, even though he tested positive for a horse steroid. Guess who got his suspension reduced? If you guessed Hermes Franca, you are absolutely wrong. Both Arnold and Doyle in the articles I linked above, found the decision to be unbelievable. Since I wasn’t there, I didn’t get to see each man plead his case, but I’ve heard Toney on the radio many times and I wouldn’t necessarily say that he’s an influential speaker. And he’s usually very candid and honest, which is why people like listening him speak. But other than the board simply believing that his horse steroid failure was possibly a false positive, I’m not sure what they were thinking. His record and longevity as a boxer shouldn’t matter in this case at all.

As it is, Sean Sherk’s October hearing is all of a sudden even more interesting.

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- Sam Caplan previews tonight’s IFL postseason semi-final match-ups and has predictions for all the fights.

- Todd Martin writes about the two top matches for Sunday’s WEC show and is excited specifically for the main event.

- Kevin Iole tells how Carlos Condit found the sport.

- More questions with Dana White including his thoughts on Sean Sherk’s steroid test failure.

- Coming to America starring Wanderlei Silva.

- Frank Shamrock looks for the next MMA Superstar.

Talking Points

I’m really excited for Sunday’s WEC event that is going to be shown live on the Versus network. Paulo Filho, who many believe is the top 185 pounder in the world, faces veteran Joe Doerksen. It is Filho’s US debut. Also, Carlos Condit puts his welterweight title on the line against Brock Larson in a match that was scheduled for earlier this year, but didn’t happen because of an injury to Condit. With UFC off until later this month, this gives the WEC a chance to get some eyeballs from thirsty MMA fans.

I wanted to point to one of Dana White’s comments in his interview with Ryan Hockensmith of ESPN The Magazine that I linked above.

White said:

I’ve known Sean Sherk for a long time. He’s a really good man. He trains hard and has worked hard to get where he’s at. You and me probably have six nanograms [of the steroid Nandrolone] in our system; he had 12. Other guys who’ve been busted for the same steroid have had over 50 nanograms in their system. What my experts tell me is, there’s no way that he would only have 12 in his system. I’m not his father. If he did it, he’ll have to face the consequences. People make mistakes. If your life was over every time you make a mistake, that’s pretty f—ing harsh. How many times do I have to tell people not to use steroids? It’s to the point where it’s just stupid.

White was answering a question about his personal feelings on Sean Sherk’s drug test failure. What really stood out to me was White’s explanation about how many nanograms of Nandrolone Sherk had in his system. If I’m not mistaken, White is incorrect that a normal person walks around with six nanograms in their system. I think a normal person walks around with two nanograms in their system. Maybe someone with freak-like genetics would have more. But even if his explanation was correct that a normal person did have six nanograms, didn’t Sherk test for twice as much as what White thought was normal? I’m not an expert in false positive research, but the numbers look a little hard to argue. Sherk will get his chance to argue his test at the California State Athletic Commission hearing on August 6th.

By the way, the person who White was referencing as having over fifty nanograms in his system was none other than Royce Gracie, who tested positive after the K-1 show in Los Angeles this past June.