FanHouse K.J. Noons

Just because K.J. Noons has been stripped of the EliteXC lightweight title doesn't mean he's no longer a part of the organization.

At least, it doesn't according to EliteXC head of fight operations Jeremy Lappen, who told me today that as far as EliteXC is concerned, Noons' refusal to defend his title against Nick Diaz doesn't mean he's done fighting in EliteXC's cage.

EliteXC lightweight champion K.J. Noons has repeatedly refused to take a rematch with Nick Diaz, and as a result he's no longer the EliteXC lightweight champion.

EliteXC announced today that it has stripped Noons of the lightweight title. EliteXC Head of Fight Operations Jeremy Lappen explains:

"We are stripping KJ of his championship belt for refusing to defend against Diaz. It's a very unfortunate situation but we cannot have belt-holders who refuse to fight the top contenders. We want champions who will fight anyone, anytime, anyplace. That's the mentality all champions should have.

"I feel very bad for KJ because I like him a lot on a personal level and have always thought he could be a big star.He's charismatic, has a very exciting fighting style and is a top level fighter. So I'm obviously disappointed that he has chosen to take this stance.

"I don't understand why he would turn down a chance to be a headliner on CBS on Oct. 4. KJ then turned down the fight again when we offered him a headlining spot on our next Showtime date against Nick."

I don't understand Noons' decision, either.

Elite XC returns from its trip to network television tomorrow night with a card from Honolulu on Showtime. The main event will feature lightweight champion K.J. Noons against the veteran Yves Edwards. That match will be preceded by an undercard featuring Nick Diaz vs. Muhsin Corbbrey, Murillo "Ninja" Rua vs. Tony Bonello, Rafael Feijao vs. Wayne Cole and Dave "Pee Wee" Herman vs. Ron Waterman.

We'll be talking about that card at 1 p.m. today during a live chat. We won't limit the discussion to that show, however, so feel free to drop by to talk about Donald Trump's foray into the MMA world via a stake in Affliction, Dana White's still mysterious announcement, the potential demise of the IFL and anything else on your mind.

So drop by at 1 where we'll be chatting after the jump.