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2013
November
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State Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
August
Maui
Open Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(tba)
June
State
of Hawaii Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
6/6-9/13
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World
BJJ Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, University of California at Long Beach)
5/25-26/13
NAGA:
Pacific Grappling Championships
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H.S. Gym)
4/13/13
Hawaiian
Open Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
3/20-24/13
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(Irvine, CA)
3/?/13
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
2/23/13
Got Skills
(MMA, Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom)
2/16/13
Mayhem At The Mansion
Kauai Cage Match 14
(MMA)
(Kilohana Carriage House, Lihue, Kauai)
Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym District Park Gym)
Uncle Frank Ordonez’s Birthday Tournament
(Palama Settlement Gym)
(Grappling, Sport-Pankration and Continuous sparring)
2/3/13
Diego Moraes Semainr
(BJJ)
(O2MAA)
2/2/13
World
Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship: Hawaii Trials
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(McKinley H.S. Gym)
2/1/13
IBJJF Referee Clinic
(O2MAA)
1/19/13
Destiny
Na Koa 2
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
1/12/13
Reuben "Cobrinha" Charles Seminar
4-7PM
(Ku Lokahi Wrestling Club)
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March
2013 News Part 1
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Unbeaten
135-pounders Johnny Bedford and Erik Perez meet at UFC 159
Hawaii’s
Yancy Medeiros fighting on this card!
by
Dann Stupp
Two
fighters unbeaten in the UFC's bantamweight division will meet
in April when Johnny Bedford (19-9-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) takes on Erik
Perez (13-4 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 159.
Bedford
today announced the fight via Twitter.
UFC
159 takes place April 27 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
The main card, including a main event between light heavyweight
champion Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, airs on pay-per-view following
prelims on FX and Facebook.
It's
not clear where Bedford vs. Perez will be placed on the lineup.
Bedford,
a semifinalist on "The Ultimate Fighter 14," has posted
back-to-back knockout wins over Louis Gaudinot and Marcos Vinicius
since his time on the show. He now owns 15 stoppages in 19 career
wins. The former NCAA Division I wrestler and Fitness Fight Factory
team member is 8-1 over his past nine fights.
Perez,
a Mexican fighter now based out of Team Jackson-Winkeljohn, is
riding an eight-fight win streak. After wins over James Brum
and Paul McVeigh for the BAMMA promotion, he joined the UFC and
has posted first-round stoppage victories over John Albert, Ken
Stone and Byron Bloodworth.
The
latest UFC 159 card includes:
Champ
Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen - for light-heavyweight title
Alan Belcher vs. Michael Bisping
Phil Davis vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Pat Healy vs. Jim Miller
Cheick Kongo vs. Roy Nelson
Sheila Gaff vs. Sara McMann
Johnny Bedford vs. Erik Perez
Nick Catone vs. James Head
Jimy Hettes vs. Steven Siler
Leonard Garcia vs. Cody McKenzie
Al Iaquinta vs. Joe Proctor
Ovince St. Preux vs. Gian Villante
Rustam Khabilov vs. Yancy
Medeiros
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Anderson
Silva Agrees to Defend Belt Against Chris Weidman at UFC 162
by Ken
Pishna
After
all the talk of Anderson Silva superfights died down a bit with
Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones both locked up in title fights,
attention quickly shifted to who is next for the longtime UFC
middleweight kingpin.
Following
Michael Bisping’s loss to Vitor Belfort, talk centered on
Chris Weidman as the likely next challenger for Silva’s
belt, and it appears that talk has born fruit.
Long
Island Newsday reporter Mark La Monica on Wednesday reported
that UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta on Wednesday told Weidman that
Silva had finally agreed to fight him on the promotion’s
planned UFC 162 fight card on July 6.
MMAWeekly.com
later confirmed with sources close to the fight that the deal
is done.
Fertitta
spoke to Weidman while the two were at the New York State Capitol
in Albany, lobbying for the state to finally sanction mixed martial
arts.
“Dream
come true,” Weidman told Newsday. “Ever since I’ve
been fighting, Anderson Silva has been the champion and I’ve
been visualizing beating him. Now I have the opportunity. I have
to make the most of it.”
Weidman
is undefeated at 9-0 in his professional career, rolling through
all five of his UFC opponents. His most recent victories include
a knockout of Mark Munoz and unanimous decision victory over
Demian Maia before the Brazilian jumped to the welterweight division.
The
New Yorker has been widely considered the No. 1 contender to
Silva’s title since last summer, and any fog about that
lifted when Bisping lost to Belfort.
Silva
(33-4) has never lost in the Octagon, winning all 16 of his UFC
bouts. He has held the UFC middleweight championship since 2006,
finishing all but two of his challengers.
Silva
is the most dominant champion in UFC history, and regarded as
the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
He
has been on the precipice of signing a new eight or 10-fight
UFC contract, but at 37 years of age, has been targeting only
the biggest fights on the biggest stages. Silva has lobbied hard
for a fight with Georges St-Pierre, while UFC president Dana
White has pressed for a Silva vs. Jones match-up.
Silva’s
camp initially didn’t want a fight with Weidman, but with
the superfights out of the picture, at least momentarily, and
Bisping dropping back down the ladder, the fight with Weidman
makes the most sense.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
Hall of Famer Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman Announces Retirement
at Age 48
By Mike
Whitman
Decorated
former champion Mark Coleman today announced his retirement from
mixed martial arts, revealing that he will soon undergo hip replacement
surgery.
“Total
hip replacement next Monday,” Coleman wrote on his Facebook
page. “‘The Hammer’ is done fighting. I know,
[I’ve] been done. Just looking for some [prayers]. I thank
everyone who will help me get through this. [You] have to pay
to play sometimes. [My] only regret is [I] could have worked
harder. Love you all. Live your dream.”
Coleman,
48, is widely credited with popularizing the term “ground-and-pound”
in MMA thanks to his strong wrestling base and powerful strikes
from top position. The heavyweight’s dominance in the Ultimate
Fighting Championship proved to be a sign of things to come,
as many wrestlers have since found success built upon the foundation
laid by the Hammer House fighter.
A
former NCAA Division I wrestling champion at Ohio State University,
Coleman represented the United States in the 1992 Summer Olympics
before making his MMA debut in 1996. The UFC Hall of Famer began
his fighting career with back-to-back tournament victories at
UFC 10 and 11 and submitted the highly regarded Dan Severn the
following year to become the first UFC heavyweight champion.
After
four straight losses, Coleman found new life in Japan’s
Pride Fighting Championships, where he bested Masaaki Satake,
Akira Shoji, Kazuyuki Fujita and Igor Vovchanchyn to claim the
open-weight grand prix title in 2000.
Coleman
competed 11 times over the next decade, posting five wins against
six defeats while taking on the likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko Filipovic. The veteran was inducted
into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2008 and returned to the Octagon
the following year as a light heavyweight at UFC 93, falling
via technical knockout to former Pride rival Mauricio Rua. Coleman
last competed in 2010 at UFC 109, submitting to a rear-naked
choke courtesy of fellow Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
Source:
Sherdog
|
'WSOF
2: Arlovski vs. Johnson' lineup finalized, Villefort-McCray joins
card
The
lineup for this month's "World Series of Fighting 2: Arlovski
vs. Johnson" event is complete with three new preliminary-card
bouts.
The
event takes place March 23 at Revel Atlantic City in New Jersey.
The main card, including a heavyweight headliner between Andrei
Arlovski (19-9) and Anthony Johnson (14-4), airs on NBC Sports
Network.
Officials
previously announced most of the card, but three prelim fighters
now have opponents.
Danillo
Villefort (13-4), who's competed for organization ranging from
the WEC to UFC to Strikeforce, looks for his fifth win in six
fights when he meets fellow welterweight and "The Ultimate
Fighter 11" runner-up Kris McCray (8-4), whose three-fight
win streak recently came to an end with a split-decision defeat
to Mike Wade.
Igor
Gracie (5-3), whose four-fight win streak came to an end with
a ONE FC 5 loss to Jung Hwan Cha, takes on fellow welterweight
Richard Patishnock (4-1), a New Jersey prospect who also looks
to rebound from a recent defeat.
Finally,
welterweight Ozzy Dugulubgov (3-1) takes on fellow Northeast
product Chris Wade (5-0), who's posted an unbeaten streak in
the popular Ring of Combat promotion.
The
full WSOF 2 card includes:
MAIN
CARD (NBC Sports Network, 9:30 p.m. ET)
Andrei
Arlovski vs. Anthony Johnson
Marlon Moraes vs. Tyson Nam
Josh Burkman vs. Aaron Simpson
Dave Branch vs. Paulo Filho
Gesias Cavalcante vs. Justin Gaethje
PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised, 7 p.m. ET)
Kris
McCray vs. Danillo Villefort
Igor Gracie vs. Richard Patishnock
Cameron Dollar vs. Waylon Lowe
Ozzy Dugulubgov vs. Chris Wade
Rick Glenn vs. Alexandre Pimentel
Source: MMA Junkie
|
MMA
Roundtable: Hunt as contender, FOX Sports changes, Lombard's
future and more
By Mike
Chiappetta
Busy
week. Among the developments: Mark Hunt kept his improbable run
going, Hector Lombard lost again, and a matchup between Dan Henderson
and Rashad Evans was announced. Oh yeah, and UFC programming
is moving to a newly announced, all-sports network.
Joining
me to discuss the fun, feedback and fallout is my colleague Luke
Thomas. Let's roll ...
1.
How, if it all, will the inclusion of UFC programming on the
new FOX Sports 1 channel affect the UFC?
Chiappetta:
Well, that's a question with a long-term answer. On the surface,
the change should turn out to be a net positive for the UFC,
as it marks the first time the company's programming is regularly
featured alongside other major sports on an all-sports network.
Believe it or not, this is still fairly important in the way
the sport is perceived by both middle America and Madison Avenue.
Just because we watch and accept doesn't mean the sport is widely
accepted everywhere. The more it is surrounded by "legitimacy,"
the better.
The
impact of the move will be harder to measure in the short-term.
On the plus side, some of the promotion's auxiliary programming
like UFC Tonight and Countdown specials will be exposed to larger
audiences. On their old home on FUEL, only 36 million households
had access to them; on FOX Sports 1, that number will balloon
to near 90 million. On the flip side, other programs like the
Fight Night events and FOX and pay-per-view prelim cards are
moving from FX (98 million homes) to a channel slightly smaller.
It's also a channel that will take some time to find as TV viewers
adjust to the change. Given the fact that it's competing with
ESPN, well that's just another obstacle to be solved.
Looking
at FOX's history, they basically invented a network from scratch
and made it a powerhouse. Then they created a news channel that
has also become an industry leader. So with FOX's overall investment
and their aggressive strategies, the marketing of the channel
and its partners including the UFC should ensure a fruitful outcome.
Thomas:
I agree with much of Mike's analysis here, particularly the point
that positioning UFC alongside college football and soccer and
whatever else as part of a sports fan's diet is an important
development. I also share his concern about the exposure issues.
UFC fans were asked to go all over the place after Zuffa and
Spike parted ways. They'll be asked to do so again as will other
sports fans who wonder why NASCAR is sharing so much space with
cage fighting. There's lots of adjustments to make for everyone
involved, no group more so than consumers.
I
also think it's noteworthy Wednesday night is going to become
important to the UFC. Sharing space with other sports is great
for image issues, but presents logistical challenges when there's
conflict on Saturday night. Moving to the weeknight isn't without
risks, but it could be a long-term payoff as fans settle into
the groove.
But
as Kevin Iole reported on Yahoo, part of the impetus for this
decision is to get UFC programming largely in one place. Yes,
there will be shows on FOX and pay-per-view, but basically everything
else is to be on Fox Sports 1 (we'll see what happens with The
Ultimate Fighter). FOX execs admitted there was a ton of confusion
when UFC left Spike. This new move is a way to correct for the
old one. Perhaps more than anything else, settling in on an easy-to-follow
routine is what UFC and MMA needs.
2.
Hector Lombard is 1-2 in the UFC and reportedly has a hefty contract.
Is he on the verge of being cut after his loss to Yushin Okami?
Thomas:
The verge of being cut? Yes, but he's still got some life left
in him. I don't believe this bout will result in his dismissal,
but it's also fair to say he's probably on thin ice.
It's
true Lombard is expensive, rumored to be earning between $300,000
to $400,000 a fight before pay-per-view points. UFC officials
have been able to somewhat cut down on costs by placing him on
free television cards. Still, that sort of sum of money means
the recipient has to deliver a return on the UFC's investment.
That sort of pressure is on every fighter within the organization,
but at a time when the UFC is having to make some difficult and
controversial choices about roster reduction, standing out like
a sore thumb by being a high-dollar draw with a losing record
is hardly advisable.
There's
this pathetic rumor that some wish to see Lombard fail for whatever
silly reason conspiracy theorists concoct. The truth could not
be more dissimilar from that nonsense. Middleweight needs as
many true contenders as it can get. Lombard, at one point in
time, seemed like a safe bet. The truth is the UFC needs to give
Lombard a tough bout in his next UFC contest. Either the guy
is going to win his way into a contendership or he isn't. If
he's not, the UFC needs to explore the option of giving him a
new, less lucrative contract. Should that not be possible, then
releasing him has to at least be an option on the table.
All
of this is to say the current path is not sustainable. Something
has to give. Either Lombard starts winning against top 5 opposition
or negotiates a new contract or moves on to another organization.
Making (relatively) big bucks while losing won't last forever.
Chiappetta:
It sucks that it's come to this, and that we have to speculate
on the futures of fighters who have a rough patch. But this is
a sport that demands performance, and to date, Lombard hasn't
produced in the way that was expected of him or that validates
his expensive contract. The crazy thing about it all is two of
his losses are by split-decision, so despite the fact he's 1-2,
he's also two close rounds away from being undefeated.
But
to cut to the nitty gritty, Lombard desperately needs a win.
If Jon Fitch, a longtime contender who built up his name in the
UFC, could be cut for one win in a four-fight stretch, there
is little doubt Lombard could be, too. As far as I know, UFC
brass doesn't have any close ties with Lombard. He was just someone
they saw as a potential title challenger given his tremendous
success outside the promotion. If they change their view of him,
and he's suddenly no longer that potential challenger, and no
longer worth that investment, he, too, will become expendable.
3.
Last Saturday at UFC on FUEL 8, we saw Mark Hunt capture his
fourth straight win. Is he a legitimate title contender?
Chiappetta:
I think we've hit the stage where we are obligated to proclaim
him "in the mix." The heavyweight division has always
been a difficult one in which to generate contenders, and by
virtue of his walkaway KO over Stefan Struve, Hunt now has the
longest win streak of any UFC big man. That's stunning when you
consider the UFC tried to pay him to leave a couple years back,
and even more shocking when you consider he lost to Sean McCorkle
in his octagon debut.
Let's
look at this way: who is ahead of him in the pecking order? Aside
from champ Cain Velasquez, there's Junior dos Santos, Antonio
Silva, Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, Frank Mir, and I suppose,
you can throw Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Roy Nelson in there.
That's eight guys, so while Hunt isn't a likely challenger right
now, he realistically is one or two more wins away from doing
so. Of course, as competition levels rise, his challenge does,
too. Would he survive the mount position with Mir, Nogueira or
Werdum as he did with Struve? Would his striking-heavy style
play as strongly in a pairing with Overeem or dos Santos? The
matchups definitely get less favorable, but after what he's done
so far, it's hard to count him out. If he wins one more fight,
his story and streak would be an easy sell in a title match.
Thomas:
Eh, I can't get overly worked up about Hunt as any sort of contender.
Not yet, anyway.
For
starters, Mike also forgets Daniel Cormier, which pushes Hunt
even further back in the queue. The biggest issue, though, is
that Hunt's major achievement is not transforming himself into
something decidedly new inasmuch as it is finally making use
of what was already there. That's why he's winning, but that's
why it is highly unlikely he goes much further.
I
recall during the 'rally for Mark Hunt' these utterly absurd
notions floating around that Hunt had all the tools to be a better
contender than Mir or Werdum. What nonsense. Hunt is a hell of
a competitor and his late career turnaround at this level is
sort of unprecedented. That's why what he's doing is impressive:
it's coming from a deficit. On its own, his accomplishments are
very good, but we're all magnifying them because this is one,
giant come-from-behind victory party.
Here's
my take: Hunt wants a top 5 opponent and he should be given one.
He's probably earned it. If he beats someone there (or even in
the top 7 or 8) without controversy, then let's talk about Hunt:
The Contender. Until then, though, let's manage our expectations
just a bit.
4.
Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans are both coming off of losses
and are now set to face each other in June. What are the implications
for the loser of that bout?
Thomas:
I certainly don't think it means retirement, at least not for
Henderson. He's stated he wants to fight two more years and while
coming off of a loss against Lyoto Machida at UFC 157, it was
controversial. And unlike Henderson, Evans has lost two in a
row. Worse, he lost to someone he was widely expected to defeat
in a terribly listless performance. Henderson's showing wasn't
particularly dramatic, but in retrospect can't be much of a surprise
either.
Evans
is the one who worries me. He's never lost two in a row until
now. It's hard to imagine how he'll handle three consecutive
setbacks, especially considering he admitted mulling retirement
after losing to Jon Jones at UFC 145. Three in a row isn't a
death knell necessarily, but for a fighter whose mind may be
on pursuits other than fighting, it could be just the push he
needs to make the leap.
If
Henderson loses, I think he keeps trucking on. He'll win eventually
and he's always looking for the biggest fights possible. Evans,
though, appears to be in a more precarious position. My hope
is that he doesn't retire without giving middleweight a try.
Changing weight classes isn't the cure-all for fighter problems,
particularly if motivation is the issue. But not giving 185 pounds
a real push seems also like a wasted opportunity for Evans to
find some necessary reinvention.
Chiappetta:
When you're creeping up on 43 years old, as Henderson is, time
chases you around every corner. The former two-division PRIDE
champion was underwhelming in his loss to Machida. Even he admitted
that. But it's hard to know if that was due to his age, his 15-month
layoff or some combination of the two.
What
we do know is that a matchup with Evans gives him a chance to
change perceptions fast. If Henderson wins, he rebounds to near
his previous spot. After all, the loss to Machida was a split-decision,
so it's not like he was steamrolled. If he beats Evans, it becomes
a blip. But if he loses, things are not so rosy. Two defeats
in a row don't have to be the end of his UFC run, but at his
age, you don't often get the benefit of the doubt. You don't
have the luxury of time. Even if he does lose, Henderson has
a remaining ace up his sleeve because he could always cut down
to 185. He's done it in the past and he's capable of it again.
So he'll likely go on either way.
Evans?
It's hard to know what to expect from him. I was at UFC 156 and
heard him talk about his previous struggles with motivation.
Those days were behind him, he said. But the Nogueira fight didn't
prove that. If anything, it made you wonder if he was truly focused
on fighting. The interesting thing to me is that Evans didn't
take any time to consider his future. He took the bout with Henderson
right away. I think he understands the importance of the bout,
and while I'm not sure a loss to Henderson would be the end of
his career, I wouldn't be surprised if it led to a temporary
hiatus from fighting.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Renan
Barão Puts Belt on the Line Against Eddie Wineland at
UFC 161 in Winnipeg
by Ken
Pishna
Just
24 hours after UFC officials confirmed several UFC 161 bouts
for June 15 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, company president
Dana White has confirmed that interim UFC bantamweight champion
Renan Barão will put his belt on the line in the main
event.
Still
waiting for champion Dominick Cruz to return from injury, Barão
will defend the interim strap for the second time when he faces
Eddie Wineland, according to a tweet by ESPN reporter Bret Okamoto.
UFC officials later confirmed the bout.
Barão’s
coach and manager, Andre Pederneiras also confirmed the fight
to MMAWeekly.com, although he said that, “If Dominick (could)
not come back this year, I don’t understand why he still
(has) his belt. Renan deserves (the official title) more than
him.”
Barão
(30-1) won the interim championship with a five-round unanimous
decision victory over Urijah Faber at UFC 149 last summer in
Calgary, after it was determined that Cruz’s timeline for
recovery was too uncertain to wait for his recovery.
Barão
briefly held out hope that Cruz might return soon enough that
the two could unify the belt in the early part of this year,
but various setbacks have left Cruz sidelined with a still uncertain
future.
Michael
McDonald stepped into the title picture during that time, challenging
Barão in the UFC on Fuel TV 8 main event. McDonald put
up an amazing fight, but Barão ultimately won the war,
submitting McDonald late in the fourth round.
Barão
has not lost a fight since his first professional bout in 2005,
and doesn’t intend to change that on June 15.
Wineland
(20-8-1) had a four-fight winning streak derailed by back-to-back
decision losses to Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez when he
made the jump to the UFC, but has since bounced back.
He
knocked Scott Jorgensen out at UFC on FX 3, and then followed
that up with a split decision victory over Brad Pickett at UFC
155 to close out 2012.
Wineland
mentioned after beating Pickett that he just wanted to fight
whomever put him closer to the belt, but now finds himself fighting
for the belt and couldn’t be happier.
“Thank
you a million times over @danawhite @ufc @seanshelby for this
opportunity! It’s my time now!!!” he tweeted.
Renan
Barão and Eddie Wineland headline UFC 161 on June 15 in
Winnipeg.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Rousimar
‘Toquinho’ Palhares leaves Brazilian Top Team
Carlos
Arthur
After
eight long years in Murilo Bustamante’s team, Rousimar “Toquinho”
Palhares leaves Brazilian Top Team, according to a press release
sent by the team on Tuesday.
“After
a conversation with the head of the Brazilian Top Team (BTT),
Murilo Bustamante, this afternoon, Rousimar “Toquinho”
Palhares called off the team claiming personal problems,”
said the release.
Although
surprised, Bustamante talked with the athlete, advised him on
how to go on with his career and made sure to wish him good luck.
Palhares
is going through a tricky time in his career after two consecutive
losses in the UFC, one to Hector Lombard and another to Alan
Belcher, and a positive result in his drug test with high levels
of testosterone, which resulted in nine months of suspension.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
162 Update: Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante vs. Thiago Silva
Added to Fight Card
by Ken
Pishna
Former
Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao”
Cavalcante will finally make his way to the Octagon at UFC 162
when he squares off with fellow Brazilian Thiago Silva.
The
bout has been verbally agreed to according to MMAWeekly.com sources.
The rumored bout was first reported by MMAFighting.com.
Feijao
(11-3) had a strong run in Strikeforce, accumulating a 4-2 record.
He defeated Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal for the 205-pound
title, but then lost it to former Pride champion Dan Henderson.
Feijao
bounced back with victories over Yoel Romero and Mike Kyle. The
California State Athletic Commission later changed the win over
Kyle to a no contest after Feijao tested positive for Stanozolol,
an anabolic steroid.
He
was fined $2,500 and suspended for one year following a controversial
commission hearing. The suspension concludes on May 19.
Silva
(14-3) is also entering this fight coming off of a suspension.
He
had his submission victory over Stanislav Nedkov at UFC on Fuel
TV 6 changed to a no contest and he was suspended for six months
after testing positive for marijuana metabolites following the
fight. His suspension runs its course on May 10.
Silva’s
job is likely on the line with this fight. He is 1-3 with 2 no
contests in his last six fights in the UFC. Aside from the suspension
following the Nedkov fight, Silva also had a unanimous decision
over Brandon Vera changed to a no contest after his post-fight
drug test sample was determined to be a sample “inconsistent
with human urine.” He admitted to using a urine adulterant
to mask injections that he took prior to the fight to alleviate
pain in his injured back.
Anderson
Silva vs. Chris Weidman headlines the UFC 162 fight card on July
6 in Las Vegas with Silva’s UFC middleweight championship
on the line.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Bill
to Sanction MMA in New York Passes Senate Vote; On to the Assembly
by Ken
Pishna
Professional
mixed martial arts in New York came one step closer to legalization
on Wednesday when the New York Senate passed S.2755, which would
authorize the New York State Athletic Commission to add MMA to
the list of contact sports that may hold matches and exhibitions
in New York.
The
bill passed on a 47-14 vote.
The
real hurdle has yet to be faced, however, as most supporters
expected the bill to make it out of the Senate. The question
now is if it will even make it to the floor for a vote in the
Assembly, which is where the bill has died on past efforts.
UFC
CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and several other UFC representatives, including
fighters like Chris Weidman and Ronda Rousey, were at the State
Capitol lobbying for the bill’s passage.
“New
York State’s time has come,” said Fertitta last week
when the bill made it out of committee. “We are confident
that 2013 is the year that the Empire State joins 48 other states
in legalizing MMA.
“I
want to thank Senator Griffo and the other cosponsors of the
legislation for their leadership and Senator Little and the other
members of the committee for their support.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dominick
Cruz remaining positive but admits recent title announcement
'sucks for me'
By Ariel
Helwani
When
news broke Wednesday that Renan Barao would defend his interim
bantamweight title against Eddie Wineland at UFC 161, many wondered
what this meant for the 135-pound champion, Dominick Cruz.
What
we know for sure is it means Cruz won't be ready to fight again
come summertime, which was what the UFC was hoping for after
Barao defended his belt against Michael McDonald last month.
Other
than that, Cruz, 27, told MMAFighting.com on Wednesday that there
is no timetable set for his return.
"I'm
listening to my doctors," he wrote via text message, "and
I'm not putting extra pressure on myself by giving any timeline
because it's not possible to do so as of now. Everything associated
with recovery/rehab is on track 100 percent."
Cruz
(19-1) hasn't fought since he defended his belt against Demetrious
Johnson at UFC on Versus 6 in Oct. 2011. He tore his ACL weeks
before he was scheduled to fight Urijah Faber for a third time
at UFC 146 last summer, and then was forced to undergo a second
knee surgery in December when it was revealed that his injury
didn't heal properly.
"I'm
out of the equation until I'm cleared by the doctor," he
wrote. "Barao is the champion for now, and my belt/title
defenses up to this point save me a spot to fight the interim
champion when I am healed.
"The
UFC is a machine, and machines never stop. It's out of my hands
at this point.
"And
yes, needless to say, this sucks for me."
Barao
vs. Wineland will take place June 15 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
on FX 8 Update: ‘Jacare’ Souza-Costa Philippou Official
for Co-Main Event
By Mike
Whitman
A
rumored bout between former Strikeforce middleweight champion
Ronaldo Souza and Costas Philippou will serve as the co-main
event of UFC on FX 8.
UFC
officials recently revealed the booking, which takes place May
18 at Arena Jaragua in Santa Catarina, Brazil. The evening’s
main card is headlined by a pivotal middleweight confrontation
between Vitor Belfort and Luke Rockhold and airs live on FX.
A
decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Souza, 33, made his
MMA debut in 2003 and six years later joined the Strikeforce
middleweight division, where he ran off four straight wins and
captured the promotion’s 185-pound championship. Though
Souza relinquished his belt to Rockhold in 2011, “Jacare”
responded with three consecutive victories to close out his Strikeforce
career, most recently submitting UFC vet Ed Herman via kimura
on Jan. 12.
Known
for his elite punching power, Philippou, also 33, has won five
straight fights dating back to August 2011. The native Cypriot
competed three times last year, kicking off 2012 with a unanimous
decision victory over “TUF 11” winner Court McGee before
doing the same to ex-Deep champion Riki Fukuda. Philippou was
last seen on Dec. 29, when he stopped Tim Boetsch with third-round
strikes at UFC 155.
Source
Sherdog
|
Bellator
92 weigh-in results: Middleweight, featherweight tourney semis
official
Thursday's
Bellator Season 8 middleweight and featherweght tournament bouts
are official for Bellator 92 with weigh-ins complete for the
evening's main card.
Bellator
92 takes place at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif.
The main card, featuring the semifinal bouts of both Bellator
MMA's current middleweight and featherweight tournaments, airs
on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.
The
tournament staredowns were certainly the most spirited of the
evening, and with several bouts that appear evenly matched on
paper, the card could prove very entertaining.
The
night's lone issue belonged to Ricky Legere, who came in at 173
pounds for his welterweight fight with Sabah Homasi and was given
additional time to lose weight. After the extended period, he
was able to lose just one additional pound. However, opponent
Sabah Homasi agreed to take the contest as a catchweight affair.
Complete
Bellator 92 weigh-in results include:
MAIN
CARD (Spike TV, 10 p.m. ET)
Magomedrasul
Khasbulaev (145.8) vs. Marlon Sandro (145.8) - featherweight
tournament semifinals
Alexandre Bezerra (146) vs. Mike Richman (145.4) - featherweight
tournament semifinals
Brett Cooper (185.1) vs. Dan Cramer (185.6) - middleweight tournament
semifinals
Sultan Aliev (185.8) vs. Doug Marshall (185.1) - middleweight
tournament semifinals
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com, 8 p.m. ET)
Cleber
Luciano (144.6) vs. Nick Piedmont (146)
Sabah Homasi (170.6) vs. Ricky Legere Jr. (172)*
Akop Stepanyan (156) vs. Chris Saunders (154.5)
Keith Berry (186) vs. Richard Rigmaden (178.6)
Josh Appelt (247) vs. Manny Lara (254.2)
Aaron Miller (146) vs. Shad Smith (146)
Brandon Halsey (205) vs. Rocky Ramirez (204.8)
* - Legere missed weight but the bout will go on as a catchweight
contest
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Alistair
Overeem Out of UFC 160 Bout with Junior dos Santos Due to Injury
by Jeff
Cain
An
injury during training has forced Alistair Overeem out of UFC
160 against Junior dos Santos.
For
the second time, Alistair Overeem vs. Junior dos Santos is off
the table.
MMAFighting
first reported on Wednesday that Overeem suffered an undisclosed
injury during training that will sideline the former K-1 and
Strikeforce heavyweight champion for four to five weeks.
Overeem
and dos Santos were originally scheduled to meet in the UFC 146
main event on May 26, 2012, but Overeem tested positive for an
high ratio of epistestosterone to testosterone during a pre-fight
drug screening, resulting in the Nevada State Athletic Commission
refusing to grant him a license for a period of nine months.
Former champion Frank Mir replaced Overeem against dos Santos.
Overeem
returned at UFC 156 against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva
and was promised a title shot if he won. Silva pulled off the
upset in a come-from-behind knockout of Overeem in the opening
moments of the final round.
Following
the fight, it was revealed that Overeem passed his mandatory
drug test, but in a strange turn of events, the tests showed
lower than normal testosterone levels.
The
UFC 160 bout was made possible because dos Santos was defeated
by Cain Velasquez in the UFC 155 main event on Dec. 29, 2012,
losing the heavyweight title.
Fans
will now have to wait even longer for the anticipated Overeem
vs. dos Santos match.
It’s
unclear whether the UFC will push back the bout to a later date
or replace Overeem. An announcement is expected in the coming
days.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Ronda
Rousey Tops Inaugural UFC Fighter Rankings Women’s Bantamweight
List
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship recently launched its own UFC
Fighter Rankings.
The
UFC Fighter Rankings are based on the votes of select members
of the media. MMAWeekly.com managing editor Ken Pishna and senior
writer/associate editor Jeff Cain are members of the voting panel.
The
UFC on Monday released its most recently updated rankings, launching
the women’s bantamweight rankings.
The
women’s bantamweight rankings currently have only 10 women
available for ranking. So the inaugural list includes Ronda Rousey
in the champion’s spot, which is not voted upon, and then
spans from 1 to 9.
As
more women are added to the 135-pound division, the rankings
will then number from 1 to 10.
Note:
Julie Kedzie and Amanda Nunes tied for the No. 7 ranking.
UFC
Women’s Bantamweight Rankings
Champion
: Ronda Rousey
1. Miesha Tate
2. Liz Carmouche
3. Sarah Kaufman
4. Alexis Davis
5. Cat Zingano
6. Sara McMann
7. Julie Kedzie
7. Amanda Nunes
9. Germaine de Randamie
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Sherdog.com’s
Pound-for-Pound Top 10
The
beginning of February saw Jose Aldo knock Frankie Edgar from
these rankings, and the month claimed another pound-for-pounder
before it was through.
Perennial
top 10 entrant Dan Henderson exits the list with this update
after dropping a split decision to Lyoto Machida at UFC 157.
“Hendo,” who has been the living embodiment of pound-for-pound
late in his career, could not find a home for his thunderous
right hand and appeared just a step too slow throughout his Feb.
23 encounter with the former UFC light heavyweight champion.
The loss snapped a four-fight winning streak for the 42-year-old,
who has since announced he has no plans to retire.
Henderson’s
exit makes room for a new entrant in Renan Barao. The current
UFC interim bantamweight titleholder slides in at No. 10 after
a decisive defense of his belt against young prospect Michael
McDonald on Feb. 16 in London. With seven straight wins under
Zuffa employ -- including big victories over Urijah Faber, Scott
Jorgensen and Brad Pickett -- Barao has proven that he’ll
be a handful for long-sidelined champion Dominick Cruz when the
two of them eventually meet.
1.
Anderson Silva (33-4)
Nearly
four months after his dismantling of an overmatched Stephan Bonnar,
we are not much closer to knowing when the world’s top fighter
will return to the cage. Silva was already expected to take a
large part of 2013 off, a matter complicated further by the recent
losses of potential opponents Michael Bisping and Rashad Evans.
Still, there are a few possibilities remaining for the man who
has all but cleaned out the UFC’s 185-pound division, and
the top choice at present seems to be unbeaten wrestler Chris
Weidman, who UFC President Dana White recently said could be
next for “The Spider.”
2.
Georges St. Pierre (23-2)
The
welterweight division’s French Canadian king finally came
off the shelf in November after a frustrating 18-month layoff.
Showing no signs of the knee injury that had kept him from the
cage, GSP got right back to his old ways, sweeping interim champion
Carlos Condit in a five-round affair to unify the UFC’s
170-pound belts. For a moment, Zuffa seemed dead-set on getting
St. Pierre and fellow pound-for-pound luminary Anderson Silva
together for a mega-fight; instead, GSP’s next bout will
be a long-anticipated fight against former Strikeforce titlist
Nick Diaz at UFC 158.
3.
Jon Jones (17-1)
The
light heavyweight king has answered all challenges during a dominant
title reign, most recently taking out Vitor Belfort at UFC 152
in September. Once his coaching stint opposite Chael Sonnen on
“The Ultimate Fighter 17” runs its course on FX, “Bones”
will defend his strap against the outspoken wrestler in the UFC
159 main event on April 27. If Jones vanquishes Sonnen as expected,
it figures to be an interesting second half of 2013 for the Jackson’s
Mixed Martial Arts member, with a wide array of potential opponents
looming, including lucrative cross-divisional bouts against the
likes of Daniel Cormier or Anderson Silva.
4.
Jose Aldo (22-1)
In
his first title defense since January 2012, Aldo held off hard-charging
former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in the UFC 156 headliner.
Shortly thereafter, 155-pound contender Anthony Pettis informed
UFC President Dana White that he would like to drop a weight
class to face the Brazilian champion. After initially balking
at the match, Aldo and his team have agreed to square off with
Pettis at a currently unnamed event on Aug. 3. The deal comes
with an added incentive: if he is victorious, Aldo will receive
an immediate title shot at 155 pounds.
5.
Benson Henderson (18-2)
After
claiming and defending the UFC lightweight title in a pair of
hotly contested wins over Frankie Edgar, Henderson left little
doubt in his latest defense. Before an audience of millions on
network TV, Henderson grounded, pounded and ultimately took a
unanimous decision over top contender Nate Diaz. Henderson’s
recent run at 155 pounds has given him one of the strongest records
in all of MMA, but there is no time for “Smooth” to
rest on his laurels. Next up: a long-anticipated showdown against
Strikeforce lightweight champion -- and fellow pound-for-pound
rankings resident -- Gilbert Melendez in the UFC on Fox 7 headliner.
6.
Gilbert Melendez (21-2)
Melendez’s
on-again, off-again Strikeforce lightweight title defense against
Pat Healy was rescheduled for the company’s final show on
Jan. 12. One problem: Melendez’s knee injury still was not
healed, forcing him off the show. However, we now get what the
world really craves: Melendez against top 10, elite lightweights
on a fight-in, fight-out basis. The Cesar Gracie disciple makes
his Octagon debut in April against reigning 155-pound champion
Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 7. It has been a long time coming.
7.
Cain Velasquez (11-1)
Velasquez
has been awaiting his next opponent since he avenged his only
defeat with a dominant five-round verdict over Junior dos Santos
at UFC 155. The course of the heavyweight division took a dramatic
detour on Feb. 2, however, when Antonio Silva knocked out No.
1-contender-in-waiting Alistair Overeem at UFC 156. With no obvious
title challenger on the horizon, Velasquez will now face “Bigfoot”
for the second time in a year on May 25. Their initial meeting
was far from competitive, as the American Kickboxing Academy
product used a ground-and-pound assault to decorate the Octagon
floor with Silva’s blood at UFC 146.
8.
Demetrious Johnson (17-2-1)
As
we begin to wonder what various pound-for-pound greats might
look like fighting a weight class above the one they dominate,
Johnson is becoming one of the few truly successful fighters
to actually fulfill the “drop a weight class and dominate”
expectation. Johnson remained unbeaten at flyweight and established
himself as a champion with staying power at UFC on Fox 6. In
front of a national television audience, “Mighty Mouse”
survived the knockout power of John Dodson early, then had plenty
left in reserve for the championship rounds to close out a unanimous
decision victory in his first 125-pound title defense. Unfortunately,
injury has delayed his second defense, which would have come
against John Moraga on April 13.
9.
Joseph Benavidez (17-3)
For
years, while he toiled and overachieved at 135 pounds, MMA fans
and pundits said that Benavidez had the potential to be the best
flyweight fighter in the world. With the 125-pound class now
installed in the UFC, the 28-year-old Team Alpha Male representative
is doing his best to prove them right. Despite falling to Demetrious
Johnson in a close September five-rounder for the UFC flyweight
belt, Benavidez is already back in title contention after outworking
former divisional ruler Ian McCall in a unanimous decision at
UFC 156.
10.
Renan Barao (30-1)
Barao
successfully defended the UFC interim bantamweight strap against
22-year-old prospect Michael McDonald at UFC on Fuel TV 7 last
month. With a resume that includes triumphs over Brad Pickett,
Scott Jorgensen, Urijah Faber and the aforementioned “Mayday,”
Barao has earned his place atop the division, even if his title
comes with a “temporary” label. The date for a desired
showdown with Dominick Cruz remains unknown, as the reigning
135-pound king has yet to establish a timetable for his return
from multiple knee surgeries.
With
his Feb. 23 loss to Lyoto Machida, previously sixth-ranked Dan
Henderson exits the top 10.
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
on FX 8 official for Brazil in May; Rio-Trinaldo, Hollett-Maldonado
added
The
UFC's return to Brazil now is official for May, along with a
pair of newly booked fights.
"UFC
on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold" is set for May 18 at Arena
Jaragua, which is located in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.
UFC officials on Tuesday made a formal announcement of the card
and its current lineup of fights.
The
main card of UFC on FX 8, featuring a middleweight bout between
Brazilian favorite Vitor Belfort (22-10 MMA, 11-6 UFC) and final
Strikeforce 185-pound champ Luke Rockhold (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC),
airs on FX following prelims on FUEL TV and Facebook.
In
addition to a slate of previously reported bouts for the card,
the UFC announced bouts between lightweights Mike Rio (9-1 MMA,
1-0 UFC) and Francisco Trinaldo (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and light
heavyweights Roger Hollett (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Fabio Maldonado
(18-6 MMA, 1-3 UFC).
Rio,
a cast member on "The Ultimate Fighter Live" a year
ago, returns for his second official UFC fight after a submission
win over John Cofer at the TUF 16 Finale in December. That win
gave him three straight, not counting his unofficial fights on
"TUF." He was injured on the show and couldn't compete
on Season 15's live finale, delaying his official debut with
the promotion to December.
Trinaldo,
a cast member of the first international "TUF" season
in Brazil, looks for his second straight. All three of his UFC
fights have been in his home country of Brazil, including a second-round
submission of C.J. Keith in January at UFC on FX 7, giving him
six wins in his past seven fights.
Hollett
will try to get back on track after dropping his UFC debut this
past September in Toronto to Matt Hamill at UFC 152. Hamill was
returning from retirement and picked up a unanimous decision,
snapping the Canadian's five-fight win streak.
Maldonado
is likely in a must-win situation. With three straight losses,
the Brazilian will get one more shot. But a loss is likely to
send him packing, especially with UFC President Dana White's
recent revelation that the promotion still needed to trim its
roster by roughly 100 fighters this year. Maldonado won his UFC
debut in October 2010, but since has dropped unanimous decisions
to Kyle Kingsbury and Igor Pokrajac, then a doctor's stoppage
TKO loss to Glover Teixeira at UFC 153 in October. He was praised
in that fight, however, for his ability to withstand what was
a fairly brutal beating for 10 minutes before the stoppage.
The
latest UFC on FX 8 card includes:
Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold
Constantinos Philippou vs. Ronaldo Souza
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Evan Dunham
CB Dollaway vs. Cezar Ferreira
Lance Benoist vs. Paulo Thiago
Azamat Gashimov vs. John Lineker
Mike Rio vs. Francisco Trinaldo
Roger Hollett vs. Fabio Maldonado
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Wednesday
'Fight Nights' among UFC content featured on new FOX Sports 1
channel
By Mike
Chiappetta
On
Tuesday in New York, FOX officially unveiled its long-held, widely
rumored plans to launch a cable sports network that, they hope,
will one day soon rival ESPN. It has been named "FOX Sports
1" and will send out its signal for the first time on Saturday,
August 17.
On
that day, one of its first live programming options will be the
UFC. The promotion will produce a "Fight Night" for
the occasion, and from then on, expect to see plenty of the UFC
on the new channel. According to information from FOX, the new
sports channel will feature Fight Nights as a staple of Wednesday
night programming. The network could not immediately provide
further details about the frequency of events. They did, however,
note they would air through 2014. (UPDATE: Sports Illustrated's
Richard Deitsch reported that FS1 would air 12 Wednesday night
events through 2014, and that each event would air from 8-11
p.m.)
FOX
Sports 1 will also import UFC Tonight from sister station FUEL
TV as weekly programming. In addition, all pay-per-view and FOX
event preliminary cards will air on the channel. Finally, the
network will have access to hundreds of hours of the UFC's tape
library.
FOX
Sports 1 will be replacing the auto-racing themed Speed channel
on the dial. That will make it available in roughly 86 million
homes around the nation at its launch.
The
channel also has deals in place to broadcast college basketball,
college football, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, and soccer.
They will also launch a news show called "FOX Sports Live,"
that will center on major sports coverage.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Douglas
Lima Broken Hand Pushes Back Bellator Tourney Final Against Ben
Saunders Until Summer
After
a knockout filled Bellator Tournament run, Welterweight Finalists
Douglas Lima and Ben Saunders will have to wait for their long
awaited rematch as Douglas Lima has suffered a broken hand.
Originally
scheduled on March 21, from Maine’s Androscoggin Bank Colisee,
the Welterweight Tournament Finals will now take place this summer.
“I’m
really disappointed, but I know this is the right decision and
I just need to heal up and get my $100,000 prize,” Lima
said. “Ben is a great guy, but he’s been in my way
before, and I want my rematch with Askren.”
Lima
had an impressive road to the finals, with knockout victories
over Bryan Baker and Michail Tsarev on his way to a rematch with
fellow finalist Ben “Killa B” Saunders. The two originally
met in the Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Finals, with Lima collecting
a second round knockout victory.
“Douglas
and Ben are two of the most exciting and explosive welterweights
in the game today, and while it’s disappointing to have
to delay this fight, injuries are a part of our game and I have
no doubt it will be absolute fireworks this summer when these
two meet,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Roger
Gracie, Tim Kennedy agree to fight at UFC event in July
Erik Fontanez
Jiu-Jitsu
world champion Roger Gracie will make his UFC debut along side
a fellow Strikeforce import in Tim Kennedy when the two face
off on July 6, Gracie told GracieMag.com on Monday.
The
two have agreed to face each other at a yet-to-be announced UFC
event in Las Vegas.
Gracie
(6-1) last competed at the Strikeforce finale in January, gaining
a submission-win over Anthony Smith on the card. The win gave
Gracie strong leverage in earning himself a spot on the UFC roster
after the demise of Strikeforce. Five of Gracie’s six MMA
wins have come by submission.
Kennedy
(15-4), like Gracie, last fought on the final Strikeforce card
and earned a submission-win. Prior to that, Kennedy fought for
the Strikeforce middleweight title, losing to champ Luke Rockhold
in the contest.
Previous
reports indicated that Gracie and Kennedy would fight on the
UFC on FX 8 card in Brazil in May, but further investigation
showed that Las Vegas instead will play to host city for the
fight. UFC officials declined to comment about the match-up.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Transgender
fighter Fallon Fox's MMA license under review
by Steven
Marrocco
(This
story appeared in today's edition of USA TODAY.)
A
female transgender MMA fighter is under investigation by the
Florida State Boxing Commission.
"Our
department is currently investigating allegations pertaining
to the information provided on the application," said Sandi
Copes Poreda, a spokeswoman for the commission, which licensed
Fallon Fox to fight as a woman.
SI.com
reported Monday that Fox, 37, had gender reassignment surgery
in 2006 along with supplemental hormonal therapy.
Fox
on Saturday knocked out a woman in 39 seconds in a fight in Coral
Cables, Fla. As an amateur and a professional, Fox holds a 5-0
record, with all five wins coming in the first round.
On
her fight license application, which was obtained by MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com), Fox said she had been licensed by the California
State Athletic Commission, which likely helped procure a license
in Florida. The California commission, however, said Fox's license,
which was submitted in February and included medical documentation,
was under review and not approved.
The
Florida commission confirmed that Fox received a pregnancy test
per commission rules but was not drug tested. Executive director
Andy Foster said the California commission was in the process
of changing its forms to eliminate confusion over a receipt (which
reflects a $60 licensing fee) that he thought was interpreted
by Fallon as a license. Fox told MMAjunkie.com that she didn't
knowingly misrepresent herself to the Florida commission and
thought she had been approved by California.
Fox's
next bout, which was scheduled for April 20 as part of semifinals
in an eight-woman tournament at 145 pounds, is on hold as her
promoter, Championship Fighting Alliance, has canceled the event
in a show of support.
"We
stand 120,000 percent behind Fallon," Championship Fighting
Alliance CEO Jorge De La Nova said. "She's a female. She's
a very sweet girl. There's a lot of money on the line for her,
and she's performed very well. We're going to give her a couple
of weeks to see how this thing turns out."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
New
fights added to World Series of Fighting 2
By Ariel
Helwani
Several
more fights were recently announced for World Series of Fighting's
second show later this month.
WSOF
2, headlined by Andrei Arlovski vs. Anthony Johnson, will take
place March 23 at Revel Resort & Casino in Atlantic City,
N.J. The main card will air on NBC Sports Network.
Of
note, former UFC fighter and The Ultimate Fighter finalist Kris
McCray (8-4) will face former UFC, WEC and Strikeforce veteran
Danillo Villefort (13-4) in a middleweight fight. Another pair
of former UFC fighters, Waylon Lowe (13-4) and Cameron Dollar
(11-4), will also meet in featherweight action.
Below
is a rundown of the card, including the new preliminary fights:
Main
card (NBC Sports Network, 9:30 p.m. ET):
Andrei Arlovski vs. Anthony Johnson
Marlon Moraes vs. Tyson Nam
Josh Burkman vs. Aaron Simpson
Dave Branch vs. Paulo Filho
Gesias Cavalcante vs. Justin Gaethje
Preliminary
card (6:30 p.m. ET):
Kris McCray vs. Danillo Villefort
Igor Gracie vs. Patishnock
Cameron Dollar vs. Waylon Lowe
Ozzy Dugulubgov vs. Chris Wade
Rick Glenn vs. Alexandre Pimentel
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Soa
Palelei Returns Against Stipe Miocic at UFC 161 in Winnipeg
by Ken
Pishna
Soa
‘The Hulk’ Palelei and Stipe Miocic have verbally agreed
to fight at UFC 161 on June 15 in Winnipeg, Canada.
UFC
officials on Tuesday confirmed the fight, first reported by Australian
website MMAKanvas.com.
Palelei
(18-3) on Monday announced that he had signed a new four-fight
contract to make his return to the Octagon after being more than
five years removed from a one and done stint at UFC 79.
Palelei
has since gone 10-1 outside the Octagon, losing only the Strikeforce
Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier more than two
years ago.
Miocic
(9-1), coming off the first loss of his career, will welcome
Palelei back at the UFC’s first event in Winnipeg.
Miocic
rocketed up the UFC heavyweight ranks, winning his first three
bouts in the Octagon before Stefan Struve TKO’d him in the
UFC on Fuel TV 5 main event last September in Nottingham, England.
No
main event has yet been named for UFC 161, although a light heavyweight
feature bout between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua is set. Other rumored bouts include Dan Henderson vs. Rashad
Evans and Jake Shields vs. Tyron Woodley.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Report:
Ex-UFC Heavyweight Champ Ricco Rodriguez Arrested on Suspicion
of DUI
By Mike
Whitman
Former
UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez was reportedly arrested
early Sunday morning in Los Angeles on suspicion of driving under
the influence, according to TMZ.com.
Rodriguez,
35, was allegedly pulled over around 1:25 a.m. and was reportedly
booked for misdemeanor DUI. According to the report, Rodriguez
was released several hours later after posting a $5,000 bail
and may protest the charge.
Rodriguez,
who is known outside the cage for his stint on the VH1 reality
show “Celebrity Rehab,” captured the UFC heavyweight
title from Randy Couture in 2002 but relinquished the belt to
Tim Sylvia in his first title defense. Rodriguez parted ways
with the UFC in 2003 and went on to compete under the WEC, IFL
and EliteXC banners, in addition to fighting regularly on the
regional circuit.
More
recently, the 68-fight pro has lost eight of his last 10 bouts
and was last seen falling to Croatian prospect Ante Delija on
Dec. 21. Rodriguez owns 38 of his 49 career wins by either knockout
or submission and has been finished just five times in nearly
14 years as a pro.
Source
Sherdog
|
Dan
Henderson vs. Rashad Evans official for UFC 161; main event still
to come
Winnipeg
has a major addition to its UFC 161 lineup, but the Canadian
city still has a main event on the way.
On
Tuesday MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported that the event,
which is slated for June 15 at MTS Centre, would get a light
heavyweight bout between former champion Rashad Evans (17-3-1
MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) and Dan Henderson (29-9 MMA, 6-3 UFC), though
Henderson needed medical clearance.
UFC
officials have since announced Henderson is cleared. Additionally,
they announced the fight won't serve as the main event and that
as-yet-unannounced headliner is still on the way.
UFC
161, which marks the UFC's debut in Winnipeg and Manitoba, airs
on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.
Evans,
who had won four straight fights after losing his title to Lyoto
Machida in 2009, looks to end a two-fight losing streak after
dropping back-to-back decisions to current light heavyweight
champion Jon Jones and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
The
33-year-old had flirted with the idea of a potential move down
to middleweight in recent months but instead will face Henderson,
who dropped a close split decision to Lyoto Machida this past
month at UFC 157. The loss, which snapped a four-fight win streak
and came after a 15-month injury layoff, likely cost the 42-year-old
a title shot.
The
latest UFC 161 card now includes:
Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua
Jake Shields vs. Tyron Woodley
Stipe Miocic vs. Soa Palelei
Source: MMA Junkie
|
2013
Hawaii State Junior Olympic Boxing Championships
Hi Everyone,
Wanted to let you know our 2013 Hawaii State Junior Olympic Boxing
Championships will be held on Saturday, March 16, at 6:30 p.m.,
and Sunday, March 17 at 1:30 p.m. Winners of the 15/16 year old
divisions advance to the 2013 National Junior Olympic Boxing
Championships in Mobile, Alabama on June 25-29, 2013. 8-14 year
olds will Box for State Titles.
Boxers from Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai, and Big Island expected
to compete. Admission will be $15 for both days unless card has
less then 12 bouts, then admission will be $12. Number of matches
depend on weigh-ins that saturday morning.
For more info. or any questions feel free to email me at bkawano@aol.com
Thanks for Your Support Always!!!
Bruce Kawano
Amateur Boxing of Hawaii President.
Commissioner for Hawaii State Boxing Commission.
USA-Boxing Coaches/International Task Force Member.
Ringside Board of Advisors.
A.I.B.A. Athlete and Youth Commission.
Head Coach- Kawano Boxing Club.
USA National Boxing Team Coach.
Rock Bottom Sports Bar- General Manager.
Red Lions Manager
Boxing Coach - UFC Gym.
State of Hawaii MMA Inspector.
Honolulu P.A.L. Advisory Council.
|
UFC
158 Fight Card Rumors
UFC
158: St-Pierre vs. Diaz
Date: March 16, 2013
Venue: Bell Centre
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Main
Bouts (on Pay-Per-View):
-Georges St-Pierre (23-2) vs. Nick Diaz (26-8)
-Carlos Condit (28-6) vs. Johny Hendricks (14-1)
-Jake Ellenberger (28-6) vs. Nate Marquardt (32-11)
-Nick Ring (13-1) vs. Chris Camozzi (18-5)
-Mike Ricci (7-3) vs. Colin Fletcher (8-2)
Preliminary
Bouts (on FX):
-Patrick Cote (18-8) vs. Bobby Voelker (24-8)
-Antonio Carvalho (15-5) vs. Darren Elkins (15-2)
-Dan Miller (14-6) vs. Jordan Mein (26-8)
-John Makdessi (10-2) vs. Daron Cruickshank (12-2)
Preliminary
Bouts (on Facebook):
-Rick Story (14-6) vs. Quinn Mulhern (18-2)
-T.J. Dillashaw (7-1) vs. Issei Tamura (7-3)
-Yves Jabouin (18-8) vs. Johnny Eduardo (26-9)
-George Roop (12-9-1) vs. Reuben Duran (8-4-1)
UFC
158 Start Times:
Preliminary Bouts on Facebook: 6:10 p.m. ET / 3:10 p.m. PT
Preliminary Bouts on FX: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
Main Card on Pay-Per-View: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Viewpoint:
Sun Has Not Yet Set
By Tristen
Critchfield
It
was far from a tense atmosphere at the UFC on Fuel TV 8 post-fight
press conference on Saturday, and for that, we have a victorious
Wanderlei Silva to thank.
Attendees
applauded dutifully as the star of the evening described what
it was like to return to his old Pride Fighting Championships
stomping grounds and author a performance that harkened back
to an era when the Brazilian was the most feared fighter on the
planet.
“I
feel really happy,” Silva said. “I don’t know
what happens in Japan, but it makes me feel young.”
Now
36 years old, Silva is far removed from his reign as Pride’s
inaugural middleweight champion, and it has been nearly a decade
since he memorably won the Japanese promotion’s 2003 middleweight
grand prix. While Silva once went unbeaten over the course of
a 20-bout stint with the organization from 1999 to 2004, he entered
his matchup with Brian Stann having lost seven of his last 10
fights, four by brutal knockout.
Had
it been Silva, not Stann, hitting the canvas after a little more
than nine minutes of furious action, the mood surrounding the
beloved brawler at the Saitama Super Arena would have been decidedly
more somber. The questions, as they seem to do more frequently
with each passing fight anyway, would have revolved almost exclusively
around Silva’s post-MMA plans, or lack thereof. As it is,
it has become practically obligatory to inquire “How many
more?” of Silva, regardless of the in-cage result.
When
a similar question was posed after he knocked out Stann, Silva
was more thoughtful than defiant as he basked in the afterglow
of a vintage triumph.
“I’m
fighting one fight at a time right now. I feel healthy. A couple
of injuries are normal, you know? Sooner or later, I’m going
to need to stop this job, but I’m happy for this feeling
and this energy from my fans,” he said.
It
was a realistic answer from a man whose physical appearance has
changed drastically after years of brutal battles have taken
their toll. There is no set timetable for the onetime Chute Boxe
Academy standout to call it a career, however. Sooner or later
tends to become “sooner” after a humbling defeat and
“later” when the aim of a knockout blow proves true.
The
idealist in all of us would prefer to see Silva go out a winner;
to see him do so in Japan, the fighter’s home-away-from-home
for so many years, would make such a graceful exit that much
sweeter. However, none of us are writing Silva’s story.
Take a moment to consider how close Silva was to a second-round
stoppage of Rich Franklin at UFC 147. Had things gone differently
then, he could very easily be 3-0 in his last three appearances
-- and he still owns notable victories over Stann and former
Strikeforce champion Cung Le. That cannot make it easy to walk
away.
It
is important to remember after all that we are talking about
a man with the moniker of “The Axe Murderer.” Although
Silva is one of the meanest-looking nice guys in combat sports
today, it is difficult to imagine him comfortably following in
the footsteps of Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes, both of whom
have settled into executive-type roles with Zuffa. The current
difference between Silva and his two contemporaries, of course,
is that Silva is still winning. Back-to-back first-round knockout
losses ushered Hughes into the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s
front office, while Liddell needed three knockout losses and
repeated prodding from promotion head and close friend Dana White
before settling into a new job as the company’s executive
vice president of business development.
Before
Silva stopped Le at UFC 139, White was hinting that the Brazilian
should begin to consider life after the Octagon. Back then, Silva
was certain his time to say farewell had not arrived.
“I
think my performance is going to make me fight again,” he
said during a pre-fight conference call.
Silva
was correct then, and the statement holds true after his victory
over Stann, as well. “The Axe Murderer” has no true
weight class -- his last three bouts have been held at 205, 195
and 185 pounds -- and no serious title aspirations, but under
the proper circumstances, the man still can perform with the
best of them.
Not
every opponent is going to wildly engage Silva as Stann did,
but when it happens, the results are spectacular. The flip side
of that coin is that the unharnessed aggression and sturdy chin
that carried him for so long are not nearly as reliable as they
once were, particularly the latter. Occasionally, Father Time
will rear its ugly head, like at UFC 132 when Chris Leben delivered
a brutal 27-second knockout of the former Pride standout. Times
like those are when we begin to question the sanity of our legends,
even as they remain resolute in their intentions to carry on.
In
a perfect world, we would remember Silva as he was on Saturday:
smiling and grateful, brutal and assertive, and most of all,
coherent.
“There
is no way Wanderlei can go after that performance,” said
Fuel TV studio analyst Michael Bisping, who lost to Silva at
UFC 110. “It proves he still has a lot left in the tank.”
Our
interests often seem to contradict one another. While we want
our fighters to attack with unbridled ferocity, we are quick
to become indignant when those same athletes begin losing their
faculties as a result of the very same nature we once praised.
We blame the organizations, the athletic commissions or the fighters
themselves for hanging around too long, as if it was our choice
to begin with. In reality, it never was.
Silva’s
drive to compete might be fueled by the fans, but nobody with
an “Axe Murderer” T-shirt and a few Pride DVDs truly
has a right to question his decision making. They do not live
with the consequences if he chooses to fight or if he does not.
Rare
is the occasion in any professional sport that a superstar rides
off into the sunset unscathed. For every Barry Sanders, there
are 10 more stories of athletes who held on too long. In MMA,
Chris Lytle, who retired after beating Dan Hardy in 2011, is
the exception, not the norm.
At
the moment, the future looks fairly promising for Silva. A fight
or two down the road, his prospects might not be so rosy. Whether
he continues to proceed or not from there is entirely up to him.
As
someone who has put his heart into the sport, Silva has earned
that right.
Source:
Sherdog
|
ONE
FC 8 card finalized with five prelims, including Jake Butler's
return
The
lineup is complete for next month's "ONE FC 8: Kings and
Champions" card in Singapore with the addition of five more
bouts.
ONE
FC officials early Tuesday announced the remaining fights for
the the preliminary card, including NCAA Division I wrestler
and Princeton product Jake Butler (1-0) vs. Nuur Muhammad (0-0)
of India.
ONE
FC 5 takes place April 5 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang,
Singapore. Star Sports broadcasts the event in Asia, and it's
available elsewhere via online pay-per-view for $9.99.
Also
on the prelims, Ronald Low (1-0) meets Chen Yun Ting (0-0); Yusup
Saadulaev (9-2-1) takes on Leandro Issa (10-3) at bantamweight;
Wushu world champion Rene Catalan (0-0) makes his pro debut against
Alex Silva (1-1); and Bashir Ahmad (0-0) meets Shannon Wiratchai
(2-0).
Light
heavyweight Butler made his MMA debut this past month with a
first-round TKO of Antoni Romulo at ONE FC 7. Muhammad will be
making his pro MMA debut.
Also
of note on the prelims, Issa had a seven-fight win streak snapped
by Soo Chul Kim at ONE FC 6 in October. Saadulaev, a DREAM vet
who trains with Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champ and Bellator
and Strikeforce vet Christian Uflacker near Chicago, will look
to snap out of a 1-2 skid.
The
complete ONE FC 8 card includes:
Kotetsu Boku vs. Shinya Aoki - for lightweight title
Brock Larson vs. Melvin Manhoef
Jens Pulver vs. Masakatsu Ueda - bantamweight tournament semifinal
Kevin Belingon vs. Thanh Vu - bantamweight tournament semifinal
Arnaud Lepont vs. Eddie Ng
Leandro Issa vs. Yusup Saadulaev
Rene Catalan vs. Alex Silva
Bashir Ahmad vs. Shannon Wiratchai
Jake Butler vs. Nuur Muhammad
Ronald Low vs. Chen Yun Ting
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua rematch set for UFC
161 in Winnipeg
By Luke
Thomas
A
key match-up from the 2005 PRIDE middleweight tournament will
be contested again, as UFC light heavyweights Antonio Rogerio
Nogueira and Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua are set to face off on the
main card of UFC 161. That event is planned for the MTS Centre
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on June 15. USA Today reported
the news overnight, which came from statements made by UFC President
Dana White.
Winnipeg
now becomes the fifth Canadian city to host a UFC event, behind
Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.
Rua,
31, defeated Nogueira in 2005 in the quarterfinals by unanimous
decision and ultimately won the entire famed tournament. He has
been up and down in his UFC run, however, going 5-5 inside the
Octagon. He earned the UFC light heavyweight title in defeating
Lyoto Machida at UFC 113 in May of 2010. He surrendered it in
his next bout, however, losing to current champion Jon Jones
at UFC 128 in March of 2011. His current MMA record stands at
21-7.
Nogueira,
36, is 4-2 in the UFC. He most recently defeated former UFC light
heavyweight champion Rashad Evans at UFC 156 in February of this
year by unanimous decision. He holds a MMA record of 21-5.
According
to the report, a light heavyweight bout between Dan Henderson
and Evans is also being targeted for UFC 161, pending medical
approval for Henderson.
Henderson,
42, most recently competed at UFC 157 in February where he lost
a split decision to Machida. He is 6-3 in the Octagon during
his three different stints in the organization and 29-9 in professional
mixed martial arts.
Evans,
33, has lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his career.
In addition to his most recent loss to Nogueira, the former UFC
light heavyweight champion dropped a unanimous decision to Jones
at UFC 145 in April of 2012. Evans is 17-3-1 in professional
MMA.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Johny
Hendricks Won’t Be Denied: ‘Who is Georges St-Pierre
to be My Judge?’
by Ken
Pishna
Johny
Hendricks has only ever lost one fight in his professional career,
a decision loss to Rick Story nearly two and a half years ago.
Since
that fight, Hendricks has been the epitome of a one-man wrecking
machine. He’s won five consecutive fights with four of the
five being Top 10 fighters: Mike Pierce, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck,
and Martin Kampmann.
If
those aren’t No. 1 contender credentials, what are?
How
about adding perennial UFC welterweight title contender Carlos
Condit to the hit list? Would that put any doubts to rest?
It
certainly should, but most people already do consider Hendricks
the No. 1 contender to Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight
strap. It happens to be that the one man contesting Hendricks’
worthiness is GSP himself; one of the few men that also has some
power to derail his title shot.
“It
isn’t the world; it is GSP. It is, in this situation, because
of GSP,” declared Hendricks in a recent interview with official
MMAWeekly.com content partner Knockout Radio.
So
what does he aim to do about it? He aims to change St-Pierre’s
mind, and short of that, he aims to position himself such that
UFC officials can’t deny him his shot unless St-Pierre finally
agrees to take a superfight with UFC middleweight champion Anderson
Silva.
Hendricks
next faces Carlos Condit – who is one fight removed from
losing his challenge of St-Pierre – at UFC 158 on March
16 in Montreal. That is the same fight card that St-Pierre headlines
against Nick Diaz, a fight that the champ specifically requested
instead of facing Hendricks.
Hendricks
had initially agreed to fight Jake Ellenberger on the card with
Condit facing Rory MacDonald. When MacDonald fell out due to
injury, Hendricks seized the opportunity for what he sees as
a much more dangerous fight, and one that would pay a much bigger
reward if he is successful.
“My
coaches found out that Rory MacDonald got hurt and they jumped
all over it,” Hendricks recounted. “It’s a big
fight; it’s a good fight. He’s coming right off a title
shot, a title run, all that kind of stuff.
“Carlos
Condit is the tougher fight and what I’m trying to do is…
if I do fight Condit and I win then there’s nobody else
in the division that get’s the title shot.”
St-Pierre
has pointed to Hendricks’ split decision victory over Josh
Koscheck as one of the prime reasons he wanted to instead fight
Diaz. St-Pierre said that he believes Koscheck was the real winner
of that fight, and thus, Hendricks doesn’t yet deserve a
shot.
Hendricks
doesn’t necessarily buy that. Perhaps his patented left-hand
knockouts of Fitch and Kampmann had something to do with GSP
not wanting the fight.
Either
way, Hendricks doesn’t take kindly to St-Pierre denying
him.
“He
said the only reason why I’m not the No. 1 contender in
his eyes is because he thought I lost to Josh Koscheck. And so
that’s his claim, right? That’s it,” said Hendricks.
“Who
is he to be my judge? Who is he to keep me from something that
I’ve earned. So that being said, that doesn’t make
any sense. I think that it might be that he’s worried about
my power and my wrestling abilities.”
Regardless
of why Georges St-Pierre has denied Johny Hendricks, Hendricks
isn’t about to site idly by and let his future slip away.
He intends to take the toughest fights there are – in this
case, Carlos Condit – and keep winning until St-Pierre has
no choice but to step up to the plate and give him a shot at
the belt.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Wanderlei
Silva: The UFC savage
Wanderlei
Silva is not just a fighter. He is a force of nature.
His
style was never the most technical and studied one. His great
advantage is the wild features: the glower, aggressiveness, courage,
fearlessness, the deadly assaults to decide the combat. His movement
before the fight is the same as a tiger, an effort to curb the
ferocity and explosion that will follow when he advances towards
the victim. Wand’s glower could be well described by the
poem “The Tiger” by William Blake: “Tiger, tiger,
burning bright; In the forests of the night … In what distant
deeps or skies; Burnt the fire of thine eyes?”
I’ve
never seen Silva get into a fight to decide it by points. That
does not exist in nature. In the wild it’s all or nothing,
move or be eaten, kill or be killed. And so is Wanderlei Silva.
Everyone
knows that the beasts are more dangerous in their own territory
and this was proved once again in UFC on Fuel TV 8. Although
the person Wanderlei Silva is a native of Curitiba, Brazil, the
fighter — the “Axe Murderer” — dwells in
Japan.
It
was in Japan, at the time when Pride was the biggest MMA organization
in the world (even bigger than UFC), that the “Axe Murderer”
presented some of the most exciting fights in the history of
the sport and it was undisputed champion for six years. In the
“Land of the Rising Sun,” the wild Silva was feared
as the most dangerous fighter on the planet and is an absolute
idol today.
In
his niche, Silva did what he does best. He returned to his traditional
weight category (light heavyweight),entered with his traditional
song (Sandstorm), performed his traditional presentation (the
greeting and twisting wrists with fingers interlaced) and went
for frank and unrestricted striking which already knocked down
so many bodies at that arena.
At
Saitama Super Arena, Silva was in his territory and his opponent,
Brian Stann, was the prey. Not a defenseless zebra, but a bear
or a buffalo. A dangerous prey. During a frenetic first round,
Stann and Silva hit fast and furious, a moment of wild beauty
worthy of a Discovery Channel documentary. In the second round,
the predator, Silva, smelled the blood of the prey and went for
the conclusion of the confrontation with two swift strokes. A
straight and a hook. A spectacular knockout. A successful hunt.
Just like in nature, the tiger, even older or injured, remains
always dangerous.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
UFC's
Forrest Griffin targets late 2013 for return
Former
UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin is targeting the
second half of the year for his return from an injured knee.
Griffin
(19-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) hasn't fought since a decision victory over
Tito Ortiz back in July. He was scheduled to fight Phil Davis
in December at UFC 155 but ultimately pulled out of the bout
due to an MCL tear and ACL strain, UFC President Dana White announced
at the time.
Griffin
ultimately underwent surgery in early December.
"Dr
said my knee is doing great ill be able to go in 6-7 months,"
Griffin tweeted on Monday. "We must have different Definitions
of the word great."
Prior
to the injury, the 33-year-old was on a 3-1 run that included
a pair of wins over Ortiz, a decision victory over Rich Franklin,
and a knockout loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. However,
"The Ultimate Fighter 1" winner, who had a brief title
run in 2008, has registered just four fights in the past 40 months
due to an assortment of injuries.
With
his current recovery timetable, he'll likely go a year between
fights for the second time in his career.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Wanderlei
Silva vs. Brian Stann bout nearly doubles all-time FUEL ratings
record
By Dave
Meltzer
The
fight of the year candidate with Wanderlei Silva knocking out
Brian Stann destroyed all ratings records in the history of Fuel
TV, doing 485,000 viewers.
UFC
and Fox officials were in celebratory mood over the success of
Saturday night's UFC on Fuel show headlined by Wanderlei Silva's
knockout win over Brian Stann.
The
fight of the year candidate, on a show that featured Silva, Mark
Hunt and Takanori Gomi's return to fighting in Japan, where they
all made their names during the heyday of combat sports in that
country, drew 485,000 viewers live for the three-hour show. That
more than doubling the previous all-time record for a live main
card on the station, 217,000 viewers set for UFC on Fuel 1 which
was headlined by Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger, on Feb.
15, 2012.
The
station's all-time highest rated show was the prelims for the
Jan. 19, UFC on FX show from Brazil, which did 255,000 viewers.
In
what blew away Fuel's all-time biggest day in the station's history,
both the pre-fight show (250,000 viewers) and post-fight show
(219,000) became the third and fourth most-watched shows in station
history. The post-fight show, which didn't start until 1 a.m.,
was the second most-watched show, behind the main card, in station
history in the Male 18-49 demo, as 70 percent of the viewers
fit into the target demo..
"****in
amazing, FOX is going crazy," said Dana White in a text
message to MMAFighting.com when the rating was released.
The
show did a 0.78 rating. The 1.32 rating in Males 18-49, a figure
largely thought to be impossible for a station with the profile
and dial position of Fuel, was the seventh highest rated show
in the demo on cable Saturday.
The
Silva vs. Stann match was almost storybook like with the thought-to-be
broken down Silva, coming back from three first round knockdowns
to win via spectacular second round knockout. But, if anything,
the actual quality of the last two fights probably only had minimal
effect on the numbers, since people wouldn't have known when
tuning in what was going to happen. The numbers were strong for
all three hours, peaking at 542,000 viewers for the main event.
Plus, the pre-show numbers, going head-to-head with actual fights
on Facebook, already indicated record levels.
The
No. 2 fight saw Hunt, also an underdog, giving up 14 inches in
height, knock out Struve in the third round.
If
anything, it shows that it's far more about the personality profile
than the UFC record when it comes to ratings. Silva came into
the fight with a 3-5 UFC record, but remains one of the company's
most popular fighters stemming from his fighting style and his
legend from Japan. Stann was only 6-4 in UFC competition, but
also very popular. Stann is a great public speaker, which is
a tremendous attribute for a main event fighter, and both men
do have good track records of providing exciting fights.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Bellator
92: What to Watch For
By Mike
Whitman
How
the time flies. It seems like just yesterday that we were discussing
Bellator MMA’s Season 8 debut on Spike TV, and now we are
suddenly staring at the home stretch.
We
continue hurtling toward the inevitable season finale on Thursday,
when Bellator 92 emanates from the Pechanga Resort and Casino
in Temecula, Calif. Here is what to watch for during the Spike
TV broadcast:
Guns
Blazing
Take
a serious look at Mike Richman and Alexandre Bezerra and tell
me with a straight face that those dudes are not going to blow
the roof off the arena.
I
know, I know. It seems like every week I find myself out here
talking about how much I love Richman, but can you blame me?
Study the man’s body of work and try to find an argument
against giving him an honorary degree from the University of
Violence.
The
only problem I have had with Bezerra in the past was his overly
cautious approach against his chum, Marlon Sandro, but “Popo”
has been the opposite of timid in his last two fights, which
resulted in first-round finishes of Matt McCook and Genair da
Silva. No way this thing goes 15 minutes.
‘Frodo’
and the Stretcher Man
If
Richman deserves a diploma from the University of Violence, Marlon
Sandro should be regarded as a tenured professor. His one-punch
knockouts of Tomonari Kanomata and Masanori Kanehara are regarded
as some of the most brutal finishes of all time, and in my opinion,
Sandro’s right uppercut should be regarded as one of the
most devastating techniques this sport has ever known.
With
all that said, it is undeniable that the Brazilian is slowing
down. This fact was readily apparent in his majority decision
win over Akop Stepanyan -- a fight I actually scored for the
Russian in spite of a point deduction. I think Sandro benefited
from Stepanyan’s reluctance to push the pace that night,
and I do not believe Magomedrasul Khasbulaev will afford the
former Sengoku champion the same luxury.
There
is little I could say to describe Khasbulaev that the Dagestani
did not already communicate in his dominating victories over
Josh Pulsifer and Fabricio de Assis Costa da Silva, so I will
just leave it at this: “Frodo” is a straight killer
right now. If you want to beat him, you had better knock him
unconscious or break something or find a way to lay on top of
him for 15 minutes, because it appears anything short of those
three things will not be good enough.
Can
Sandro keep his stocky opponent and range to make full use of
his vaunted punching power or will Khasbulaev close the distance
in order to attack with his devastating ground-and-pound?
‘Cosmo’
and Cooper
Any
professional fighter who makes a “Seinfeld” reference
in his nickname is an OK guy in my book.
This
might seem a little strange, but I am really holding out hope
that Dan Cramer has turned his living room into the set of “The
Merv Griffin Show” or is secretly posing as the Moviefone
voice after receiving a new phone number. I want so badly for
Cramer to rave about the freshness of this year’s Mackinaw
peaches, only to later temporarily lose his sense of taste after
inhaling a bunch of fumigation chemicals.
Oh,
stop being a baby. Cramer would most certainly not die from the
exposure to the toxic fumes. Did you see his performance in the
quarterfinals against tournament veteran Brian Rogers? “Cosmo”
is as healthy as an ox. While I will admit that he needed every
bit of that beast-strength to get by “The Professional Predator,”
I think a win over a competitor as seasoned as Rogers lends serious
credence to the idea that Cramer could win this whole thing.
Like
his foe, Brett Cooper is a former welterweight who has found
a comfortable place at 185 pounds, posting a 7-1 record since
moving to middleweight in 2010. Cooper was relentless on the
attack against Norman Paraisy in the Round of 8, taking down
the Frenchman something like 947 times over the span of 15 minutes.
I
find it hard to believe that anyone who watched both of those
fights does not have high hopes for a Cramer-Cooper collision.
I truly do not know which of these aggressive fighters will advance
to the middleweight final, but I am certain that finding out
will be a lot of fun for those of us on the couch.
Charging
‘Rhino’
A
simple piece of advice for Sultan Aliev: when Doug Marshall takes
a swing, be somewhere else.
The
former World Extreme Cagefighting light heavyweight champion
may not be busting down the door to Sherdog’s top 10 anytime
soon, but that does not change the fact that he could knock out
a Budweiser Clydesdale with his right hand. Andreas Spang found
out the hard way two weeks ago, when “The Rhino” turned
the Swede inside out with a fastball to the jaw.
At
37, this could easily be Marshall’s final chance to wear
some gold. Currently standing in his way is the undefeated Aliev,
who did anything but impress in his Bellator debut against Mikkel
Parlo. With both Aliev and Marshall just a win away from making
the final, which man will rise to the occasion?
Source
Sherdog
|
Nick
Diaz: UFC champ Georges St-Pierre 'crazy' for not fighting Anderson
Silva
Although
Georges St-Pierre's decision-making ultimately got him a shot
at the belt, Nick Diaz still isn't convinced the UFC welterweight
champion is making the best career moves.
St-Pierre
(23-2 MMA, 17-2 UFC) and Diaz (26-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) meet next week
in UFC 158's pay-per-view headliner. The March 16 event, which
takes place at Montreal's Bell Centre, will conclude a beef that
began in June 2011, when officials first announced their plans
for a St-Pierre vs. Diaz bout.
However,
since then, St-Pierre's injuries, as well as Diaz's press-conference
absences and drug suspension, have delayed the booking. But a
bout nearly two years in the making is now right around the corner.
However,
in a pre-fight interview that the UFC conducted, Diaz said he
is surprised St-Pierre hasn't been campaigning for another fight
– one with middleweight champion and pound-for-pound kingpin
Anderson Silva (33-4 MMA, 16-0 UFC).
"I
started (competing at) like from 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 (years old),"
Diaz said. "By 23, I'm fighting No. 1 people in the world.
I will tell you right now I'll fight the No. 1 guy in the world.
I've always said, that I want to fight the No. 1 fighter.
"Georges
has never said that. That's the only thing I've ever said negative
about Georges, that if I were in his place, I'd be asking for
the Anderson Silva fight. I wouldn't let that blow away. That's
crazy."
A
victory over Diaz, though, could set up such a scenario. As MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com) recently reported, UFC President Dana White
has promised either a St-Pierre vs. Silva or Jon Jones vs. Silva
super fight by year's end.
Of
course, should Diaz pull off the upset next week – and given
his willingness to campaign for the big fights he wants –
he could conceivably slide into one of the slots.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Soa
Palelei Signs 4-Fight Deal to Make UFC Return
Soa
“The Hulk” Palelei has signed a four-fight contact
with the UFC. Palelei’s management, Paradigm Sports Management,
announced the signing on Monday.
This
will be Soa’s second stint with the UFC after being with
the organization briefly in 2007. Palelei was one and done, losing
to Eddie Sanchez at UFC 79.
He
has since gone 10-1 with the lone loss coming at the hands of
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner and current UFC heavyweight
Daniel Cormier. Palelei (18-3) is currently riding an eight-fight
winning streak, finishing all eight of those opponents by knockout
or TKO.
All
of Palelei’s 18 career wins have come via finish and he
promises to bring this same exciting style to the Octagon.
“I’m
thankful to Dana White and Joe Silva for giving me this opportunity
to come back to the UFC to showcase my skills,” said Palelei
upon signing with the UFC.
“With
determination, hard work and a great team, I’m happy to
say that today I have signed with the UFC. I look forward to
competing in the best organization in the world.”
There
has been no word yet on when Palelei will return to the Octagon
and whom he will face.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Heart
and soul: Wanderlei Silva's appeal remains bigger than any fight-night
outcome
Wanderlei
Silva is an anomaly in professional sports, a bona fide star
who isn't one of his organization's top competitors.
It's
Kobe Bryant who is the Lakers' biggest star, not Antawn Jamison.
It's Sidney Crosby who is the Pittsburgh Penguins' biggest attraction,
not Craig Adams. And it's Tom Brady who is the fan favorite for
the New England Patriots, not Danny Woodhead.
Wanderlei
Silva is one of the most popular MMA fighters of all time. (Getty
Images)Silva occupies a special place in the hearts of MMA fans
and, even though it's been more than six years since he's won
back-to-back fights, remains one of the UFC's biggest stars.
He
returns to Japan on Saturday, the place where he blossomed into
a superstar while in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, to fight
Brian Stann in a middleweight bout that will be the main event
of UFC on Fuel 8 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama.
Silva
is just 5-6 in his UFC career and has never won consecutive UFC
bouts. The last time he won two in a row anywhere was in 2005
and 2006, when he scored wins over Ricardo Arona and Kazuyuki
Fujita in PRIDE matches.
No
matter, though. When Silva is introduced by Bruce Buffer before
the start of Saturday's bout with Stann, he'll be greeted as
he is just about everywhere he goes: as a conquering hero.
"There
aren't many moments in sports like it, being in the main event
[of a fight card] and having the crowd cheering so much,"
Silva said.
At
a time when UFC officials are looking to dramatically shed their
roster, Silva continues to be one of its top attractions despite
a record that, in other circumstances, would put him squarely
on the chopping block.
With
the new fighters the UFC has signed and the absorption of nearly
60 fighters from Strikeforce, the UFC has about 475 fighters
contracted when it needs no more than about 350-375.
As
a result, there is a purge underway that has led to the release
of some big names, none more notable than welterweight Jon Fitch.
Silva,
though, said he doesn't give that a second thought. And though
he's just 3-7 in his last 10 outings, Silva won't fight any differently
against Stann than he did in any of his previous 48 bouts.
It's
because if ever there were a heart-and-soul fighter, it is Wanderlei
Cesar da Silva.
He's
the infielder who dives into the stands chasing a foul pop, the
forward who will jump in front of a 100 mph slap shot to prevent
a goal.
He's
all out at all times, an attitude he constantly expresses to
his Las Vegas-based fight team.
"You
can't fight like a machine, like you are worried about what the
promoter is going to think," Silva said. "[UFC president]
Dana [White] isn't really the one who is going to [cut] you.
You cut yourself. I talk to my guys and I tell them, 'You have
to fight in a way that you don't give the promoter a choice but
to bring you back.' If you go out and make a show and put your
heart on the line every time, the people will respond to that
and the promoter won't be able to say anything."
Silva
is so beloved by the fan base that many are fearful for his safety.
He's 34-12-1 with a no-contest, and has scored 24 wins by knockout.
More significantly to his fans, though, is that he's been knocked
out six times himself, often violently.
But
he's coming off a Fight of the Night loss to Rich Franklin at
UFC 147 in which he didn't sustain much damage. The fight before
that was a one-sided victory over Cung Le at UFC 139 that was
a co-Fight of the Night along with the epic Dan Henderson-Mauricio
"Shogun" Rua bout.
Silva
doesn't know Stann that well personally, but he's eager to face
him on Saturday because he believes Stann is the same heart-and-soul
fighter he is.
"He
is a great person and did many good things in the military,"
Silva said of Stann. "His style is great, too. He likes
to go to war. This is a match the fans will love, trust me."
When
Wanderlei Silva is involved, win or lose, that's almost always
true.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 8 Results: Dong Hyun Kim Smothers Siyar Bahadurzada
Siyar
Bahadurzada was on a seven-fight winning streak and looking to
make Dong Hyun Kim his eighth consecutive victim when the two
squared off at UFC on Fuel TV 8: Silva vs. Stann on Saturday
night in Japan.
Things
couldn’t have gone hardly any different than what Bahadurzada
had hoped for.
While
the opening minutes of the fight saw both men feinting heavily,
trying to get a read on each other, it was Kim that cracked the
code midway through the opening round and didn’t look back.
Kim
took Bahadurzada to the mat and did what he does best; he smothered
him, mixing in just enough ground and pound and elbows to keep
the fight on the mat.
Rounds
two and three played out much the same way, Kim taking Bahadurzada
to the canvas at will. One thing that did change was the intensity
of Kim’s ground and pound attack.
Though
he was never close to putting the Afghan fighter away with his
punches and elbows, Kim came close with a head-and-arm choke
in the third round. Bahadurzada defended well. Kim was unable
to make the necessary adjustments to finish the choke, but he
used his position to drive home several knees to Bahadurzada’s
body, leaving no doubts for the judges, who scored it unanimously
in Kim’s favor.
The
victory puts momentum back in Kim’s favor.
Having
won five of his first six bouts in the Octagon – the sixth
was a no contest – Kim was 2-2 in his last four bouts prior
to this fight. The victory gives him back-to-back victories and
starts him back on the road to title talk.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Revelina
Berto’s Secret Weapon Heading into CFA 10? She’s Got
a Fighting Family
Revelina
BertoWhen making her MMA debut in 2008, women’s MMA 145-pound
up-and-comer Revelina “Nana” Berto had a definite lack
of experience, but that didn’t stop her from starting off
her career 3-0.
“I
was 18 years old and fresh out of high school and all the other
girls had tons of experience and were older than me,” said
Berto. “But it was lights, camera, action and I was not
really nervous and went in there and did what I had to do.
“I
learned a lot. It is so different than in the gym. A lot of people
are gym fighters, they’re great in the gym, but once they
get in the cage it kind of messes with them. That was one thing
that I had to get used to. It’s second nature to me now.”
Unfortunately
Berto’s hot start couldn’t be sustained as opponent
after opponent kept dropping out of fights, leading to a four-year
layoff prior to her scheduled CFA debut this coming Saturday
night.
“I
haven’t fought in so long, but I think it’s the best
thing that could have happened to me because now I’m just
so mature and I’m in it for the sport, no other reason,
and I want to showcase all the hard work I’ve put in at
my training camp,” she said.
Berto’s
return to fighting comes as part of the first round of the CFA’s
145-pound women’s tournament. At the event, scheduled to
broadcast live via UStream from Coral Gables, Fla., Berto will
be fighting in perhaps the most competitive fight of the night.
“Peggy
Morgan is the most feared girl in the tournament and I got her
in the first round,” said Berto. “I know she’s
going to bring her A-game and trained her butt off for me, but
I trained my butt off for her, so it’s going to be a crazy
fight.
“With
Peggy, she’s good on the ground and with stand-up, so I’ve
had to work on every part of MMA. This fight can go either way,
from knockout to submission to crazy from start to finish. Even
if it goes to decision, it’s going to be a good fight.”
Luckily
Berto comes from a fighting family that includes former EliteXC
lightweight Edson, former boxing welterweight champion Andre,
former state wrestling champion Cleveland, and former multi-time
NAGA champion Rachelle to help her out.
“I
was just the new kid on the block and people were saying with
my last name that I had to show something, so it was most definitely
a lot of pressure on me at a young age, but now I just see it
as something that drives me,” Berto told MMAWeekly.com.
“I’m
just so blessed to have a family that’s good at every different
part of MMA. I have brothers that can help me out with boxing,
wrestling, all-around MMA, and a sister that can help me with
the crazy ground game.”
Berto’s
goals don’t just stop at winning this tournament. She fully
intends to be a champion in multiple divisions and gain recognition
as one of the best fighters in the world, period.
“I’m
excited to be in the tournament and am going to go out there
and do what I’ve been training to do,” she said. “After
this, I’m looking to probably go down to 135 pounds and
do my thing at both weights and shake up both divisions.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Keenan:
“I can no longer be absolutely sure that this is the right
environment for me”
Keenan
Cornelius just released a statement on Facebook on his departure
from Team Lloyd Irvin.
He
states that the decision was his alone, although he took the
opinion of his family, who publicly campaigned for him to leave
Maryland in the last few weeks, greatly into consideration.
Keenan
thanked Lloyd and Team Lloyd Irvin for the time he spent with
them and said that he made great friends there, but he also said
he is not 100 percent sure that TLI is the right enviroment for
him under the current circumstances.
He
also did not disclose where is he going to, although GRACIEMAG.com
already informed that he has been in touch with a Jiu-Jitsu team
on the West Coast.
Here
is the full statement:
—
I
think some of you could care less about where I go, or what I
do, and I get that, but a lot of people, including professional
publications, have asked why I’ve left TLI. I want to make
it clear what my reasoning is so there’s no more speculation,
or worse the wrong reasons assumed:
Obviously,
the circumstances surrounding TLI having been public so I don’t
need to clarify a subject that many of you already understand
and have been saturated with. In the last 6 weeks, article and
blogs have spun out of control, testimonies given, and arguments
and explanations made; clearly there are many views – much
of which contradict each other.
What
I believe and feel about these issues is personal and private,
but let me make something understood, I would, and will never,
endorse, or support wrongdoing whether it’s on the mat or
off. And though I have made truly great friends through TLI,
have had the best training of my life here, and the greatest
success, its time for me to go. I can no longer be absolutely
sure that this is the right environment for me under the current
and enlightening circumstances.
Leaving
a team is not easy – especially a team like TLI. I owe a
great deal of gratitude for many things that Lloyd Irvin has
done for me and the training I have had with TLI. And in my decision
to leave, I in no way dismiss what was good about training in
MD. So I want to thank TLI and Lloyd Irvin for that experience;
it was the best I’ve had. However, not all things, or circumstances,
are all good, and I had to weigh what was good for, against what
was not, and proceed.
I
have to to say that my family has been very supportive (everyone
should have one of those), but ultimately leaving was my decision.
Though their opinion was respected and appreciated; in the end,
I came to this decision independent of them.
The
future…where I’ll train…I don’t know. From
what I’ve read, I think a lot of you know where I’m
headed more that I do. But yeah, there’s a lot to think
about and hopefully there’ll be a bit of time to do that.
I know there is great jiu jitsu and training and good times ahead.
My life is bjj, and I hope to be heading out to meet and train
with some great athletes who feel the same. But I’ll tell
you, I’m gonna make sure that where, how, and who I do that
with, is practicing that life on the mat in a way that I can
truly get behind.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Still
training in the gi, UFC on Fuel TV 8?s Cristiano Marcello is
‘nothing without Jiu-Jitsu’
UFC
on Fuel TV 8's Cristiano Marcello is, admittedly, nothing without
his Jiu-Jitsu.
The
lifestyle that comes from training in the gentle art has helped
him in all aspects of his life, both professionally and personally,
he said. As he prepares for his UFC battle with Kazuki Tokudome
that takes place in Japan on Sunday, the black belt stays close
to his roots, keeping his gi on in his training.
“My
jiu-jitsu does everything for me,” Marcello told GRACIEMAG.com.
“I keep training every day in my gi because if I don’t
have my Jiu-Jitsu, I’m nothing. It helps me in everything
in my life, from my personal life to my MMA life.”
The
Royler Gracie pupil plans on implementing his best trait when
he fights Tokudome in the Octagon. Jiu-Jitsu is the key to victory,
and Marcello hopes his opponent will try to take the fight to
the ground.
Off
the back, there are several opportunities for Marcello to shine.
Against a wrestler, the chances of a takedown are greater, and
the Jiu-Jitsu practitioner is banking on that very thing happening.
“His
background is wrestling, so I hope he puts me down,” he
said. “He’s the kind of guy that goes wherever you
put him. Whatever situation you put him in a fight, he goes forward.
He’s the kind of guy I like to fight.
“I
train a lot of wrestling back at my academy, so I don’t
have any fear about any situation in the fight … I’m
going to put him in a bad situation.”
As
for himself, when in a fight, Marcello likes to entertain the
fans. Submissions and knockouts are what he’s looking for,
and the UFC fan base can’t get enough them. Marcello is
more than willing to provide that for the Tokyo crowd that will
be in attendance at the Saitama Super Arena.
Leaving
it up to judges just isn’t Marcello’s style. He’d
prefer not to let someone else decide the outcome of a fight
he’s in.
Cristiano
Marcello punches Reza Madadi during their lightweight fight at
UFC 153 inside HSBC Arena on Oct. 13, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro.
“MMA
for me, every time I step in the Octagon, I go to submit or for
a knockout,” he explained. “I don’t ever want
to leave the fight in the hands of the judges.”
Leaving
it up to the officials has caused Marcello some controversy in
the past. In his last outing against Reza Madadi, the Brazilian
won a close split decision. Much of the fallout from that fight
included buzz about whether or not he truly won the contest,
with some fans and media saying Madadi should have won the decision.
That’s
all nonsense, according to Marcello. He’s confident he came
out on top in the bout, and anyone who says otherwise can’t
argue against the stats.
“The
numbers, you can never go against them,” he said. “All
the math says I hit him more than he hit me. Everybody knows
his game. Everybody’s scared to go to the ground with me.
I won the fight.”
But
regardless of past decisions, Marcello plans on finishing Tokudome
in Japan. It’ll be his 27th time visiting the country, but
only the second time fighting in it. The crowd will be quite
— as Japanese MMA crowds always are — and Marcello
will enter the cage like, as he referred to himself, a professional.
But
if Tokudome doesn’t respect the black belt, the tone will
change and Marcello will look to teach him a lesson.
“I
grew up inside the Gracie family and I learned a lot from these
guys about lifestyle and the way you have to keep respect,”
he said. “I have a line. My respect begins where yours starts.
So if you [don't respect me], I’m going to be happy to beat
you.”
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Mark
Hunt wants top-five foe after knocking out Stefan Struve
Mark
Hunt isn't playing around.
The
New Zealand native made the biggest impression of his UFC career
Saturday night, both literally and figuratively, when he knocked
out 7-foot-tall Stefan Struve with a brutal two-punch combo in
the third round of their co-main event bout at UFC on Fuel 8.
The
victory at Japan's Saitama Super Arena was Hunt's fourth in a
row. After spending a year on the sidelines -- Hunt vs. Struve
was initially slated for UFC 146 -- the 38-year old Hunt doesn't
want to wait around much longer.
"I'd
like to fight as soon as possible," Hunt said at the post-fight
press conference. "Top five or whatever, man."
The
Hunt-Struve fight's finish was a bit strange, as it appeared
referee Herb Dean wanted the bout to continue after Hunt dropped
Struve. After the fight, Struve tweeted "I wanted Herb to
take the tooth out of my cheek and continue but then it turned
out my jaw was broken."
Hunt
gave his version of events at the press conference.
"[Dean]
told me to keep going, so I went in to try and finish it,"
he said. "I don't know, whatever, I was kind of banged up,
you know?"
Either
way, Hunt was happy just to be able to get back into the Octagon
and figure out an opponent who had over a foot of height on him.
"Look
man. after a year without fighting, it was hard to get somewhere
even close to Stefan," Hunt said. "It's hard to gauge
someone especially with a year off, and timing, and everything
was off. ... Timing and a few other things, it went right."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 8 Results: Mark Hunt KO’s Stefan Struve for Fourth
Straight Win
Stefan
Struve had been rocketing up the heavyweight division prior to
UFC on Fuel TV 8, looking to make Mark Hunt his fifth consecutive
victory, forcing the UFC brass to put him in with the top contenders.
Often
counted out, Hunt once again proved the naysayers wrong.
When
the UFC’s parent company purchased Pride Fighting Championships,
Hunt was one of the fighters from the promotion that the UFC
didn’t want. He was on a five-fight losing streak. The company
tried to buy him out, but Hunt would have none of that. He wanted
to prove himself.
He
lost his first UFC bout, to Sean McCorkle, but then proved his
resilience by winning three consecutive bouts before stepping
in the Octagon with Struve in Japan.
Hunt
and Struve went back and forth through the first two rounds,
Hunt chopping away with his power punches, often staggering Struve,
but not putting him down. Struve countered by taking Hunt to
the mat whenever possible, attacking with a variety of submissions
and mixing in some solid ground and pound.
Struve
even had full mount late in round two, raining down punches and
elbows, but couldn’t put the New Zealander away.
Hunt
in the final round found the punches he had been searching for,
hurting Struve early, but not immediately recognizing that he
had. Once he did, however, Hunt’s killer instinct kicked
in. He landed a big right hand to Struve’s temple and then
sent him crashing to the mat with a wicked left hook.
Hunt
turned away from Struve, thinking no further damage was necessary,
but referee Herb Dean directed him to continue fighting.
Dean
then took a second look at Struve, who lay defenseless on the
mat, and waved off the fight before Hunt returned to the attack.
Hunt
isn’t likely to be considered a title contender just yet,
but having nearly been written off before he ever got an opportunity
in the Octagon, his hopes to someday be considered a contender
are still alive.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on FUEL 8 Results: Silva vs. Stann
MMA
Fighting has UFC on FUEL TV 8 results for the Silva vs. Stann
fight card March 2, plus live blogs of all the fights and live
UFC on FUEL TV 8 twitter updates.
In
the main event, Wanderlei Silva will square off against Brian
Stann. In the co-main event, Mark Hunt will battle Stefan Struve
in a heavyweight encounter.
Check
out the full UFC on FUEL TV 8 results below.
Main
card:
Wanderlei Silva def. Brian Stann via second-round TKO (live blog)
Mark Hunt def. Stefan Struve via third-round KO (live blog)
Diego Sanchez def. Takanori Gomi via split decision (live blog)
Yushin Okami def. Hector Lombard via split decision (live blog)
Rani Yahya def. Mizuto Hirota via unanimous decision (live blog)
Dong Hyun Kim def. Siyar Bahadurzada via unanimous decision (live
blog)
Undercard:
Brad Tavares def. Riki Fukuda via unanimous decision (live blog)
Takeya Mizugaki def. Bryan Caraway via split decision (live blog)
Kazuki Tokudome def. Cristiano Marcello via unanimous decision
(live blog)
Alex Caceres def. Kyung Ho Kang via split decision (live blog)
Hyun Gyu Lim def. Marcelo Guimaraes via second-round KO (live
blog)
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 8 Results: Yushin Okami Takes Split Decision Over
Hector Lombard
Yushin
Okami and Hector Lombard were both looking to their UFC on Fuel
TV 8 bout in Japan to set up 2013 for a run towards title contention.
It
was clear from the opening bell what each man’s game plan
was for this fight. Lombard walked Okami down, looking to land
the knockout punch, while Okami shot on Lombard, wanting to keep
him on the mat.
It
was Okami’s tack that bore fruit, however.
Lombard
was aggressive from the opening bell, walking Okami down, looking
for an opening for his knockout power. Okami did a good job avoiding
danger, using his jab to keep Lombard at bay, and set up his
takedowns.
Okami
put Lombard on his back often in the first two rounds, not doing
a lot of damage once he did, but doing enough with his ground
and pound to keep Lombard on the defensive.
Lombard
knew he had to go for broke in round three and he did. He immediately
stormed Okami, swinging for the fences. Lombard hurt the Japanese
fighter, dropping him briefly to the mat, and staying on top
of him, unrelenting with his combinations, but couldn’t
find the opening he needed.
Lombard
sprawled a couple of Okami takedowns in the final round, but
instead of forcing Okami to stand and trade, he pushed Okami
to his back and got caught up in a ground game that saw Okami
able to do enough to slow Lombard down and avoid a fight-finishing
attack.
It
was a close fight, but in the end, two out of the three judges
scored the bout in Okami’s favor, awarding him a split decision
victory.
Okami
has now won three consecutive fights after failing to wrest the
UFC middleweight title from Anderson Silva and then losing to
Tim Boetsch. He’s working his way back into “the mix,”
while Hector Lombard is left to go back to the drawing board,
hoping that he doesn’t become the latest high profile fighter
to be released from his contract.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 8 Results: Rani Yahya Dominates Fast Finishing Mizuto
Hirota
Rani
Yahya (18-7) increased his winning streak to two fights with
a dominant unanimous decision win over Mizuto Hirota (14-6-1)
on the main card at UFC on Fuel TV 8 from the Saitama Super Arena
in Tokyo, Japan.
All
three judges scored the fight 29-28 to the Brazilian, Yahya.
Yahya’s
dominant grappling was on display throughout the opening two
rounds, as he took Hirota, who decided to grapple with Yahya,
down with ease as the Brazilian outworked Hirota on the mat.
Yahya
quickly secured a takedown in the second frame and looked for
an arm-triangle finish, but as it looked like Hirota was about
to tap, he was given room and escaped, but from guard Yahya stayed
active landing strikes until the bell.
Hirota,
who was fighting at Featherweight for the first time, put in
a spirited performance in the final round, scuffing Yahya’s
early takedown attempts. Hirota looked to give Yahya a taste
of his own medicine locking in an arm triangle but Yahya was
able to escape and despite being gassed he held on for the decision.
The
victory was Yahya’s third in four fights since joining the
UFC, while for Hirota it was his second loss in two fights, but
first inside the UFC Octagon.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|
Keenan
confirms move to Atos JJ, JT Torres follows
Keenan
in his way to Atos JJ
It’s
official!
Keenan
Cornelius just confirmed to GRACIEMAG.com that he will be training
with Andre Galvão, the Mendes Brothers and will be competing
at the upcoming Boston Open and Pan Championship under the flag
of Atos JJ.
When
asked, Keenan wrote: “I don’t know how officially joining
a team works but I don’t really want to jump into another
team without really getting a feel for the coach. For obvious
reasons. I do still need to register for competitions so I am
asking professor Galvao if I can do that for the Boston Open
and Pan.”
Earlier
this week, we have talked with Andre Galvão and Guilherme
Mendes about the contact with Keenan.
Gui
told us that it was Keenan who first got in touch: “I later
called him and we talked a bit,” said Mendes, making sure
that at that point (last Wednesday) nothing was 100 percent yet.
Galvão
said almost the same thing: “He got in touch with me. I
don’t know him personally very well but he seems to be an
upright kid besides being obviously a very good athlete and competitor.
If he complies with the rules of our team like everybody else,
he will be very welcome to train with us.”
In
an update, another former Team Lloyd Irvin star decided to join
Atos JJ.
A
few moments ago, Andre Galvão posted in his Facebook Fan
Page a picture of JT Torres with a welcoming message.
GRACIEMAG.com
is trying to get in contact with Galvão to learn the details
of JT’s arrival.
Source:
Gracie Magazine |
With
hard times behind him, heavyweight Mark Hunt credits his faith
for his UFC resurgence
There
was a time in his life when Mark Hunt was angry. He was upset
by what he didn't have and was consumed by this feeling that
the world owed him something.
He
looks back now and is thankful that he didn't do something extraordinarily
violent, because it was something he was capable of doing.
New
Zealand native Mark Hunt , left, faces a tall order against Stefan
Struve. (Getty Images)"Had I not found martial arts,"
he says, calmly, "I'd probably be in jail or who knows where
right now. Fighting saved my life, I believe."
The
change in Hunt's life has been so dramatic that now, as he's
become one of the top mixed martial arts fighters in the world,
he says there is nothing material that much interests him.
Even
the UFC heavyweight title belt draws a sigh from the New Zealand
native.
"I
don't care much about a title," Hunt said, only a few days
before he's to meet Stefan Struve on Saturday (Sunday in Japan)
in the co-main event of UFC on Fuel TV 8 at the Saitama Super
Arena outside of Tokyo. "A belt, things like that, are meaningless
to me."
The
38-year-old's lack of interest in things that greatly motivate
his peers is because he has, he said, surrendered his life to
god.
A
one-time K1 kickboxing world grand prix champion, Hunt turns
nearly every question on virtually every topic into a discussion
of his faith. Now that his eyes have been opened to God, he said,
he realizes how useless things that once seemed important to
him were.
He
lives his life now, he said, not to accumulate wealth and material
things but to please God. The result, he said, is a happier and
more successful person.
"The
reason why I do things is because I have surrendered my life
to God, man, and that's it, really the easy way of saying why
I do what I do. … People say I can't do something; it goes
in one ear and out the other," Hunt said. "I know,
it's kind of funny.
"The
things that were important and really mattered to me in my life
before I was a follower of Christ, Jesus Christ, they don't matter
that much any more. It's kind of crazy, but it's like I was in
the darkness walking around and someone turned the light on.
Money doesn't matter; a lot of things don't matter any more.
It's just funny. I don't know how better to explain it, but my
life is now all about God and understanding more completely what
He wants."
The
UFC acquired Hunt's contract when it purchased the PRIDE Fighting
Championship in 2007. It's no secret that UFC president Dana
White had little interest in Hunt, who had lost five fights in
a row in PRIDE when the UFC bought the company.
Hunt
had three fights remaining on the contract that the UFC purchased,
and White was willing to buy out the deal and let Hunt walk.
Hunt, though, wasn't so willing.
He
wanted to earn what he'd worked for and so he asked White to
allow him to fight.
He
was coming off consecutive losses to Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko,
Alistair Overeem, Melvin Manhoef and Gegard Mousasi, but Hunt
felt he should earn his money. White agreed, and matched him
with Sean McCorkle.
McCorkle
submitted Hunt at UFC 119 on Sept. 25, 2010, and it seemed that
Hunt's MMA career was over. But he was given another shot and
hasn't lost since.
He
knocked out Chris Tuchscherer and Cheick Kongo and won a decision
from Ben Rothwell. Suddenly, improbably, Hunt was in the title
mix.
Hunt
said it was simply a mental adjustment.
"After
I won the K-1 World Grand Prix title [in 2001], I was pretending
like I trained and pretending as if I was preparing properly,
but I wasn't doing it," Hunt said. "It was a mental
thing, I guess. I tried to get on the right track by changing
my training and all that jazz. It kind of feels like my first
fight."
A
win over Struve, one of the UFC's hottest heavyweights, will
put him squarely in the title mix.
Hunt,
though, sloughs off the significance.
"My
job is to go out there and fight, and I'm going to fight with
everything I have," Hunt said. "[Struve] is just a
human being and what he has doesn't really matter to me. The
fight will be what the fight will be. Whatever it is, it is.
Win, lose or draw, it doesn't matter. What will matter is to
give the people an entertaining show and for me to continue to
give glory to God."
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Diego
Sanchez Wants to Fight Nate Diaz Following UFC on Fuel TV 8 Victory
Diego
Sanchez may have won a controversial split decision over hometown
hero Takanori Gomi at UFC on Fuel TV 8 in Tokyo, Japan, but the
31-year-old American also feels lucky just to be back in the
Octagon injury free.
“First
of all, I just feel fortunate to be back in the cage and off
the injury list and doing what I love. I know I only have so
much time left in the sport and I want to make the most of it,”
Sanchez told Fuel TV post-fight.
“I
feel I earned the victory. I went out there, did more damage,
got the first round and Takanori Gomi, taking nothing away from
him, he is a legend for a reason. This was the Japan version
of Gomi. This is Gomi fighting in front of his people, his crowd,
and that is the legend that was the Pride Champion.”
Coach
Greg Jackson’s departing words to Sanchez before he went
out for the final round was “go fight for your family,”
and Sanchez revealed that it helped him to get the win.
“That
was big time man. I’m about to get all choked up. I got
my wife and she’s pregnant with a baby girl, so that’s
what this victory was for,” Sanchez said.
He
returned to lightweight for his fight with Gomi, but despite
missing weight by two pounds and being fined 20-percent of his
earnings, he wants to remain at 155 pounds and challenge Nate
Diaz.
“He
has a fight lined up, but the fight I want is Nate Diaz. I want
to be the first one to say I beat both Diaz brothers and I have
got the bigger brother on my resume already, so now I want the
little brother. Our styles make for an awesome, awesome fight.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Stefan
Struve Suffers Broken Jaw in UFC on Fuel TV 8 Loss to Mark Hunt
Mark
Hunt is known for his punching power and he added evidence to
that claim at UFC on Fuel TV 8 with a knockout win over Stefan
Struve, breaking Struve’s jaw in the process.
The
news of Stuve’s broken jaw was confirmed during the UFC
on Fuel TV 8: Silva vs. Stann post-show on Fuel TV.
Struve,
the seven-foot tall heavyweight, was unable to keep the much
shorter Hunt on the outside. Struve was expected to have an advantage
on the ground against the former kickboxer, but Hunt showed he’s
been working on his ground game.
Hunt
held his own, and then some, on the ground with Struve, but it
was his striking that proved to be the difference.
Early
in the third round, Hunt landed a right hand to the temple and
a left hook immediately followed. The hook caught Struve flush
on the jaw as he was moving away. Hunt walked away, knowing the
fight was over. Referee Herb Dean then moved in and realized
Struve was in no condition to continue and stopped the fight.
“Thanks
for the support everybody. I wanted Herb (Dean) to take the tooth
out of my cheek and continue, but then it turned out my jaw was
broken,” said Struve on Twitter following the event.
The
knockout extended Hunt’s winning streak to four, ending
Struve’s four-fight run.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 8 Results: Wanderlei Silva Turns Back the Clock, KOs
Brian Stann
Thirty-six-year-old
Brazilian, Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1) turned back the clock to
knock out “The All American” Brian Stann (12-6) in
a “Fight of the Night” performance in the main event
at UFC on Fuel TV 8 from the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Both
fighters came out without a care in the world as they swung for
the fences from the opening bell. Both Stann and Silva were able
to rock each other in the opening onslaught, as a cut opened
on Stann’s nose, but he was able to rock Silva before catching
him low with a kick.
On
the restart, Stann backed Silva up, but was caught with an overhand
right. Stann tagged Silva, who hit the mat, but was caught almost
straight away as Silva returned to his feet sending Stann to
the ground with a flurry of punches. Stann fought back and put
Silva on his back in the closing stages of the round, peppering
Silva with short shots.
Stann
started the second frame more conservatively, as he tagged Silva
in the early stages, but was caught with a counter shot as he
attacked Silva’s leg. Silva landed with a straight right
down the pipe, but Stann responded with a big right hand. Late
in the round, Stann was caught coming in. Silva dropped him with
a right hand followed by an overhand left and after landing ground
strikes the fight was waved away at 4:08 of round two.
“I’m
so proud. Thanks to Dana White and the UFC for giving me this
opportunity to fight here for my brothers,” Silva said post-fight.
Stann
was full of respect for Silva, saying as much as it hurt losing
he was glad he took the fight.
“I
knew what I had to risk when I signed on the dotted line next
to that man,” Stann said. “Wanderlei has always been
one of my favorite fighters ever. He’s one of the fighters
who inspired me to start this sport and I’m very proud to
be apart of his career as much as this hurts right now. I’m
still proud I put my name on the line and fought him.”
UFC
president Dana White awarded both Stann and Silva $50,000 bonuses
for Fight of the Night honors, as well as an additional $50,000
Knockout of the Night bonus to Silva.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Sara
McMann vs. Sheila Gaff Slated for UFC 159 in April
With
the UFC’s women’s division starting to pick up speed,
Olympic medalist Sara McMann will face Sheila Gaff at UFC 159,
GRACIEMAG.com learned on Friday afternoon.
Sources
close to the fighters confirmed that McMann and Gaff have agreed
to the bout, which will take place in Newark, N.J. on April 27.
McMann
(6-0) transitioned to MMA in 2011 following successful career
as a wrestler that included a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics
in Athens. She’s kept a perfect record since the move to
MMA, most recently earning a decision-win at Invicta FC 2 over
Shayna Baszler.
Gaff
(10-4) makes her American debut in the pending match-up. She
was last seen knocking out Jennifer Maia in the CFCW promotion
to earn her third consecutive win.
UFC
159 will be the UFC debut for both fighters.
Women’s
MMA had their first fight in UFC last weekend when women’s
champion Ronda Rousey defeated Liz Carmouche in the main event
at UFC 157 in Anaheim, Calif. A second UFC women’s bout
between Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano is scheduled to take place
at the TUF 17 Finale on April 13.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
|
After
another brutal fight, should Wanderlei Silva walk away from mixed
martial arts?
After
nine minutes and eight seconds of unmitigated violence Saturday,
Wanderlei Silva was, once again, on top of the mixed martial
arts worlds.
Silva
isn't about titles or decision wins or game plans. He's as fierce
a fighter who has ever stepped foot into a cage, a guy who cares
more about bringing the fans from their seats than having his
arm raised. Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann trade punches during
their bout.
He
managed to do both on Saturday, sending the crowd at the Saitama
Super Arena in Tokyo into delirium with a brutal knockout of
Brian Stann at 4:08 of the second round in one of the great slugfests
in UFC history.
Returning
to the arena where he made his reputation as one of the sport's
most exciting fighters while starring in the PRIDE Fighting Championship,
Silva survived a back-and-forth shootout with the ex-Marine hero
by landing an overhand right and a left hook with about a minute
left in the second.
Stann
went down and Silva landed four punches from the top before referee
Marc Godard stepped in to halt it.
If
Silva had lost, it likely would have been his final fight. He
hasn't won two in a two since 2005-2006 and he's taken a brutal
amount of punishment en route to becoming one of the sport's
most beloved warriors.
Instead
of going out on a loss, though, perhaps it's time for the 36-year-old
to walk away on his own terms. He'd be leaving after one of his
most memorable wins, won while standing and trading toe-to-toe
with one of the sport's most heavy-handed punchers.
Silva
loves to fight – and entertain – so much that he'll
probably never go willingly. Retiring is likely the last thing
on his mind.
It
would be, however, a wonderful way to go out, winning in Japan
in a typically brutal Silva style.
"I'm
so happy," said an emotional Silva, who wrapped himself
in the Brazilian flag and jumped into the stands to embrace several
fans before heading back to the locker room. "Thanks to
[UFC president] Dana White; thanks to the UFC for the wonderful
opportunity to fight here."
It
was a show from the minute the bell rang until the second that
Godard jumped in to stop it. For the most part, it wasn't technique
or strategy. It was guts, heart, power and courage, as they stood
in front of each other and fired haymakers.
Stann
seemed to badly hurt Silva twice in the first round, but Silva
got in plenty of his shots and appeared to break Stann's nose.
Blood was gushing from Stann's nose from the early moments of
the fight.
The
end came when, with both men standing square to the other, their
feet wide apart, Silva fired a looping right that caught Stann
on the cheek. He quickly followed with a left hook and Stann
fell to the canvas.
Silva
landed four shots on the ground to prompt the end.
The
loss continued a disappointing trend for Stann, who has lost
the majority of his most significant matches in the UFC. Stann
has now lost three of his last four fights, with a knockout of
Alessio Sakara his only win compared to losses to Chael Sonnen,
Michael Bisping and Silva.
Stann,
though, played a big role in the entertaining match and was classy
as usual afterward. Wanderlei Silva celebrates after his win.
"I
knew what I had at risk when I signed on the dotted line to face
Wanderlei, fighting here in Japan," Stann said. "Wanderlei
is one of my favorite fighters ever. He inspired me to start
in this sport. I'm proud to be a part of his career, as much
as this hurts. My heart is broken, but I'm proud I fought him."
Stann
landed hard, and hurt Silva several times. Silva has been hurt
far too often in his career, knocked cold on many occasions.
He's one of the classiest guys away from the cage and one of
its grittiest competitors inside of it.
It
would be great to see him walk away, his health intact, and go
out on top.
Much
like one-time rival Chuck Liddell, though, it's that love of
the fight and the gunslinger's mentality that will bring him
back.
It
may not end pretty for Wanderlei Silva, but it was a wonderfully
violent nine minutes on Saturday.
Source:
Yahoo Sports |
Despite
turning back clock for surprise KO, time ticks away on Wanderlei
Silva
Wanderlei
Silva is a man caught in the margins. He's too big to comfortably
make 185, and too small to really compete with the monsters of
205. He's powerful enough to knock out Brian Stann at his advanced
age, yet he's shown enough vulnerabilities through aging that
you're nearly forced to watch his fights with clenched teeth.
He wins enough to remain relevant, yet not enough to truly be
a contender.
It's
all kind of head-scratching, even though when fight time comes,
we never seem to have a problem pushing those things aside for
the entertainment value he provides. Silva has been a major name
in mixed martial arts for well over a decade, and he's produced
some of the sport's great moments. In his heyday, he was good
enough that he was willing to go head's up with heavyweights
like Mirko Cro Cop. He knocked out Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson twice. He held the PRIDE belt for nearly six years. Yet
we've watched him begin his fade before our eyes.
Before
UFC on FUEL 8, he'd plodded along to a 3-5 UFC record, with brutal
knockouts at the hands of Chris Leben and Jackson. He also had
the disappointment of losing bouts at 185, 195 and 205 pounds
in a four-fight span. He's been maddeningly inconsistent and
spectacularly exciting.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Yushin
Okami Wants to Fight Michael Bisping Next; Bisping Says Get In
Line
Michael
Bisping at UFC on Fox 2UFC middleweight Michael “The Count”
Bisping seems to be on everyone’s radar. Following Yushin
Okami’s UFC on Fuel TV 8 win over Hector Lombard, Okami
said he’d like to fight Bisping next.
“Join
the back of the line is all I’m going to say,” responded
Bisping during the UFC on Fuel TV post-show following the event.
“Everybody seems to call me out at the moment. I’m
happy with that. It means I’m going to have a job for a
long, long time.”
Okami
is on a three-fight win streak and is currently ranked one spot
below Bisping on the UFC Rankings at No. 4.
Bisping
is scheduled to face Alan Belcher in the co-main event of UFC
159: Jones vs. Sonnen on April 27, but he is open to a fight
with Okami at a later date.
“I’m
fighting Alan Belcher and all my attention goes to him,”
said Bisping. “Yushin is an incredible opponent, and of
course I’d like to fight him some day. I think I can beat
him. I’ll just throw that out there.”
Okami
holds two wins over Belcher. The two met at UFC 155 in December
with Okami won by unanimous decision. The outcome was the same
as when the two fought several years ago at UFC 62.
Bisping
is coming off a knockout loss to Vitor Belfort.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 8 Gate and Attendance
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Japan on Saturday
(Sunday local time at Saitama Super Arena), and what better way
to do it than headlining with one of Pride FC’s brightest
stars… Wanderlei Silva.
Silva
headed a cast that include several standouts from the Japanese
fight scene, including Mark Hunt, Takanori Gomi, Yushin Okami,
Mizuto Hirota, and several others.
The
strategic planning of UFC on Fuel TV 8 fight card paid off with
an announced attendance of 14,682 at Saitama Super Arena. The
gate was not announced.
That
is a strong number, especially for a UFC on Fuel TV event, which
are usually a little more akin to drawing UFC Fight Night numbers
instead of UFC pay-per-view type attendance.
Silva
and his opponent, Brian Stann, wowed the crow with a brawling
two-round affair. Silva tapped into the “Axe Murderer”
of yore, surviving some brutal combinations from Stann before
knocking him out late in round two.
Although
there has been talk of the UFC starting up a series of smaller
events in Japan, the current trajectory has them on a return
to Japan at least once per year in the first quarter.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|
Rodolfo
Vieira: ‘I’ll be one of the first to be tested, I’m
clean’
World
champion Rodolfo Vieira is in Australia for a series of seminars
in the company of GF Team leader, professor Julio Cesar. Across
the world, the heavyweight knew about another tough fight he
will face.
Humorous,
Rodolfo talked about the Copa Podio duel against Ricardo Abreu,
Demente, on May 1st, at Hebraica, in Rio de Janeiro:
“I
think Jeferson [Maycá, Copa Podio creator and organizer]
screwed me up with this fight (laughs)! The only advantage I
have over Demente is that I’ve been fighting with the gi
more than him. Lately, he was more focused on MMA”.
After
the joke, Rodolfo analyzed the opponent: “He is a great
athlete and a great person, my friend. I’m sure we’ll
make a great fight for Copa Podio audience.”
Besides
Copa Podio, where he also faces Leo Nogueira in the triple GFTeam
vs. Alliance challenge, Rodolfo is getting ready for the major
IBJJF championships.
He
did not confirm his presence in Pan at the end of the month,
but he will be in the world championship in the last days of
May and early June. The double heavyweight world champion did
not omit his opinion about drug testing:
“It’s
a great IBJJF initiative, although we still have doubts if it
will really happen. But if it does, I know I’ll be one of
the first to be tested. I’m clean and I will prove it to
everybody. They can test me whenever they want, before, during
or after the World Championship, which is the most important
tournament of the year.”
To
finish, he had to ask about the other great name of Jiu-Jitsu
today, Marcus Almeida, Bochecha. Rodolfo is eager to meet his
rival (and friend) once again. He commented on the duel between
Bochecha and Roger Gracie from late 2012, and told us what he
expects in a new meeting with the absolute world champion:
“Yes,
I saw the fight, and what a fight! I think that better than that
one with Roger, only our fight in the quarterfinals of the absolute
in the 2012 World Championship. Our fights will always be like
that, great to watch, because he is a guy who plays forward,
without fears, and he has a great heart. And I’m the same!
I hope this time we do a fight equal or better than the last
one. And preferably I will be the champion”.
And
you, reader? Are you ready for another Rodolfo vs Bochecha episode,
in the World Championship or even before in Abu Dhabi this Apil?
And what about Copa Podio? Will Demente stop the champ?
Source:
Gracie Magazine |
|
Wanderlei
Silva: ‘I Know Sooner or Later I'm Gonna Need to Stop'
At
36 years of age, the question of retirement comes at Wanderlei
Silva almost daily.
He
knows the day that he will have to hang up his gloves for the
final time is drawing ever nearer, but fights like the one he
had with Brian Stann at UFC on Fuel TV 8 continue to feed the
fire that burns inside.
The
two went toe-to-toe and fist-for-fist in a brutal 9:08 war, Silva
eventually knocking Stann out.
“Brian
Stann is a tough opponent. He has a strong punch,” said
Silva at the post-fight press conference. “I hit him and
he hit me, and I felt out a little bit in that moment, but this
is the kind of fight I like to do. He's a strong guy, a warrior;
he came to fight, no going away, no run around. He's there to
do the job.”
“Doing
the job” fulfills Silva. He may have earned his moniker
of the “Axe Murder” with the way he fights, but the
man could hardly be anything further from that outside of the
cage.
Silva
is an athlete that fights very much for his fans. It’s what
sustains his youthful energy for the fight game. It’s what
keeps him going, and what may keep him going beyond the time
when he really should – like the NFL quarterback chasing
one more Super Bowl – call it a day.
Silva
has been in many wars over the years, his health taking a beating
at times.
The
day is coming, but the day is not today.
“I
fight one fight at a time right now,” Silva stated. “I
feel healthy, but I know sooner or later I'm gonna need to stop
the job, but I'm happy for getting this feeling, this energy
from my fans, make the show for my fans, make my fans happy.”
Saturday’s
fight with Stann was the realization of one of Silva’s dreams,
a dream that takes him one step closer to retirement.
He
has been fighting professionally since 1996, nearly 17 years,
pushing up on two decades. Silva began his career in Brazil and
reached its apex fighting for Pride FC in Japan.
Having
fought the past several years in the UFC, and mostly in the United
States, Silva wanted to fight at least one more time each in
Brazil and Japan before his day is done.
He
fought Rich Franklin at UFC 147 in Brazil and Brian Stann at
UFC on Fuel TV 8, fulfilling his wish.
“I'm
so glad the UFC gave me the opportunity for me to fight one last
time in Brazil and fighting here,” he said, but left the
door open for more. “If UFC gives me the opportunity to
come back here, I'm happy to fight in Japan again.
“I
have the best moments of my life here and today is one more.”
How
many more todays does Silva have? Only Silva will be able to
answer that question, and even he can’t answer it just yet.
Source:
Yahoo Sports |
Fortunes
changed for five at UFC on FUEL TV 8
It was a storybook ending for Wanderlei Silva and Mark Hunt as
they returned to the site of past glories on Saturday night for
UFC on Fuel 8 at the Saitama Super Arena.
It
was a dozen years ago, in the same arena, when Silva (35-12,
1 no-contest) went from being a regular fighter known for his
aggressive style, to being a mainstream sports star in Japan.
At the time, Kazushi Sakuraba had become a Japanese national
hero for wins over four different Gracie family members, and
was the biggest name in the sport in Japan. But Silva overwhelmed
Sakuraba in 1:38 in their March 25, 2001, main event. In doing
so, he became an instant superstar. This led to a rematch later
that year, the first time an MMA event had legitimately sold
out the Tokyo Dome.
But
it had been more than six years since Silva last fought in Japan.
It was a period where he had lost six of nine fights.
Instead,
it was a scene reminiscent of the night when it looked like Tito
Ortiz was going to bid farewell to UFC after a series of losses,
and he shocked the entire MMA world by beating a heavily-favored
Ryan Bader.
Silva,
in a fight many were speculating would be his last in UFC, got
the "Ortiz" moment.
Silva
was knocked down three times in a first round by the favored
Brian Stann (12-6), that brought back memories of the legendary
Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama brawl. But he came back in round
two, with a hard right that may have finished Stann on its own.
But he insured the deal with a follow-up left hook, and punches
on the ground.
"I'm
so proud," said an emotional Silva in the ring. "Thanks
Dana White, thanks Joe Silva for giving me the wonderful opportunity
to fight here in Japan."
While
Silva was becoming the legend killer in Pride with his first
two wins over Sakuraba, that same year Hunt was also becoming
a big star in Japan. Hunt first made his name as a kickboxer,
winning the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix tournament. In those days,
the K-1 tournament was so big that in Japan it was probably the
equivalent of a Final Four or a World Series in the U.S.
Hunt
(9-7), a New Zealand native known a "The Super Samoan,"
a short, stocky, super heavyweight known for knockout power and
an iron chin, has remained a celebrity. Even 11 years after his
big triumph, Hunt was brought to Japan at the end of the past
year for sports celebrities arm wrestling and tug-of-war tournaments,
featuring celebrity athletes from a number of sports in Japan.
To show his raw power, Hunt won the tug-of-war, beating huge
sumos, football players and even 330-pound Bob Sapp.
But
as an MMA fighter, Hunt has had mixed results. Between 2006 and
2009, he lost five fights in a row. He was under contract to
Pride when it folded and UFC had no interest in him. The only
reason he got into UFC was due to a lengthy legal battle where
the company was forced to honor his Pride contract.
Now,
one month shy of 39, Hunt has the longest winning streak among
the top UFC heavyweights. His knockout win over Stefan Struve
(29-6) made four in a row.
Both
Silva and Hunt were both sizeable underdogs, although stylistically
it would have been foolish to believe they didn't stand a chance
because punching power is still the last physical attribute for
fighters to go.
It
was a big night, both good and bad, for several, so let's look
at how the fortunes changed for five:
MARK
HUNT - With consecutive wins over Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell,
Cheick Kongo and Struve, suddenly Hunt has earned the right to
be put in with a top level heavyweight.
The
very idea something like this would have been possible would
have been preposterous when he made his UFC debut, where he was
submitted in 1:03 to Sean McCorkle, someone long gone from the
UFC.
Hunt's
stand up game makes him dangerous for any heavyweight in the
game. But his training with the American Top Team over the past
year since he last fought has made a major difference. Hunt was
always going to be dangerous for anyone standing, but the book
on him was he was a turtle on his back.
But
Saturday, Hunt survived being mounted and pounded in both the
first and second rounds, as well as a number of submission attempts.
And Struve is top shelf on the ground, with 16 submission wins
in his career.
If
you've got a Mark Hunt who can stay out of trouble on the ground,
you've got someone who can be dangerous for almost any heavyweight
on the roster.
DIEGO
SANCHEZ - Sanchez (26-5) scored a split decision over Takanori
Gomi, in a fight he was heavily favored in.
But
the fight was close enough that the returning stars of Pride
trio booked in the top three matches nearly had a clean sweep.
Sanchez
missed weight by two pounds in his return to the lightweight
division. He did not look like himself during the fight. With
Stephan Bonnar and Kenny Florian retired, Forrest Griffin near
the end of his career, and Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, and Chris
Leben having bad performances their last time out, it hits home
that we've seen the rise to the top and going back down of most
of the stars of that first year of The Ultimate Fighter.
Now
31, the best that can be said is he got his hand raised and can
move forward, Sanchez is small by today's welterweight standards,
but there is a question now about where he now stands as a lightweight.
HECTOR
LOMBARD - Nobody lost more on Saturday than Lombard (32-4-1,
1 no contest), in dropping a close split decision to Yushin Okami.
Lombard had stumbled, losing a close decision to Tim Boetsch
in his UFC debut. But he claimed to have been seriously injured
before the fight, and he didn't fight like he normally did. But
he rebounded in December with a first-round knockout of Rousimar
Palhares.
Lombard
was given a fat contract to come into UFC. He was Bellator's
middleweight champion and hadn't lost in his previous 25 fights.
The feeling is with one win, and his streak, he could be a legitimate
contender to Anderson Silva. After the win over Palhares, it
was easy to dismiss the Boetsch fight, and that he could be a
viable title contender.
But
with the loss to Okami, even though close, it's very questionable,
at 35, whether Lombard really can get to that level. He's far
from a title match. He was taken down repeatedly by Okami, who
is good at takedowns, but far from the best in that aspect in
the division. And with his high salary, given because of the
feeling he was going to be fast-tracked for Anderson Silva, one
wonders what his future is, particularly after Jon Fitch was
cut, and Lombard has a far higher salary and is every bit as
far from title contention.
WANDERLEI
SILVA - If Wanderlei Silva's career was a movie, there could
be no better final scene. Brian Stann proved to be the perfect
opponent to have a match reminiscent of Silva's wars in Japan
during hie heyday. And even though losing, Stann all week talked
about the historical significance, noting he would never be the
fighter Silva was in his prime.
"Wanderlei's
always been one of my favorite fighters ever," said Stann
moments after the loss. "He's one of the fighters who inspired
me to start in this sport. I'm very, very proud to have been
part of his career, as much as this hurts and my heart is broken.
I'm still proud I put my name on the line and I fought him."
Silva,
36, is probably never going to be in the title picture. And given
the excitement in the match, and the setting, it's hard to believe
he'll have another moment that will top this.
Silva,
like former rival Chuck Liddell, has a certain respect from the
fans for what he's done. It seems no matter how many times he
loses, he remains one of the most popular fighters in the sport.
He's aware his clock his ticking, but for one night, he got to
be what he once was.
"I'll
fight (again)," he said. "I feel healthy, I've had
a couple of injuries. Sooner or later I need to stop. I'm happy
for having the energy to make this show for my fans. I like to
make my fans happy around the world."
BRIAN
STANN - People may say that in a fight as exciting as Silva vs.
Stann that there are no losers. And from a marketability standpoint,
Stann didn't hurt himself. If anything, he'll gain in popularity
his performance in losing. And Stann has a lot going for him,
between a usually exciting fighting style, his background and
his speaking ability.
But
as far as being a meaningful opponent for the top middleweights,
the division he's moving back into, it's going to be tough. Since
his Memorial Day weekend win over Jorge Santiago, a fight of
the night where he came across as a rising superstar both physically
and verbally, Stann has now lost three out of four fights. Granted,
the losses have been all to big names, Silva, Chael Sonnen and
Michael Bisping.
His
next fight may not be a must-win for his job. Stann has enough
going for him that the frequent three losses in a row and you're
gone rule may not apply, even in these times of major roster
cuts. But for him to be considered anything more than a popular
guy to have on the card, and be able to be a strong featured
fighter, he's desperately in need of a win.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
TUF
Winners Robert Whittaker vs. Colton Smith Confirmed for UFC 160
Whittaker
thumb TUF: The Smashes welterweight winner Robert Whittaker from
Australia will face TUF 16 winner Colton Smith in a welterweight
match-up at UFC 160 in Las Vegas.
News
Ltd. initially reported the bout, which was confirmed by UFC
Australia.
The
fight will be the first for both Whittaker and Smith since claiming
their TUF titles late last year. Whittaker got past tough Brit
Bradley Scott in the TUF-Australia vs. UK finale on the Gold
Coast, while just one day later Smith caused an upset defeating
Mike Ricci.
“To
get this news is unbelievable, dumfounding,” Whittaker told
The Daily Telegraph. “Before The Ultimate Fighter, I was
appearing before a couple of hundred people at most. Now I’m
on the card of a Las Vegas blockbuster. This is every Australian
fighter’s dream.”
The
fight is expected to take place on the preliminary card on the
May 25 show headlined by Cain Velasquez defending his UFC heavyweight
title against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
157: Rousey vs. Carmouche Stays the Course for FX Prelim TV Ratings
Saturday’s
UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche marked a historic weekend for women
in fighting, but didn’t exactly drive TV ratings into the
stratosphere.
That’s
not to say that they did poorly either. The UFC 157 Prelims on
FX were actually right in line with the historical average of
preliminary bout telecasts that began with UFC 142 in January
of 2012.
The
UFC 157 Prelims drew an average audience of 1.267 million viewers
to the two-hour telecast. A heavyweight showdown between Brendan
Schaub and Lavar Johnson headlined the prelims.
The
average draw of the 15 pay-per-view prelims broadcasts on FX
is 1.26 million.
Those
broadcasts peaked at 1.9 million viewers for UFC 148: Silva vs.
Sonnen II, while the low point was the very first broadcast.
The UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes prelims from Brazil in January 2012
drew 880,000 viewers.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Urijah
Faber, Scott Jorgensen Tapped for ‘TUF 17’ Finale Headliner
on April 13
By Mike
Whitman
Bantamweights
Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen will compete in the new headliner
of “The Ultimate Fighter 17” Finale.
UFC
officials revealed the news Wednesday after announcing Tuesday
night that an injury to Demetrious Johnson forced the cancellation
of the show’s original main event between the UFC flyweight
king and challenger John Moraga. The “TUF 17” finale
takes place April 13 in Las Vegas and will also see former Strikeforce
champion Miesha Tate square off with Cat Zingano in the UFC’s
second-ever women’s bout.
Faber,
33, has gone 5-3 since losing his WEC featherweight belt to Mike
Thomas Brown in 2009. “The California Kid” dropped
to 135 pounds in 2010, unsuccessfully challenging Dominick Cruz
for the bantamweight belt in 2011 before coming up short in a
bid for the interim strap against Renan Barao last year. Most
recently, Faber finished veteran Ivan Menjivar in a rematch of
their 2006 showdown, dispatching “The Pride of El Salvador”
with a standing rear-naked choke last Saturday at UFC 157.
Jorgensen,
30, posted five straight wins in the WEC cage before falling
to Cruz in a 2010 title bid. Since that setback, “Young
Guns” has posted three wins against two losses, besting
Ken Stone and Jeff Curran while stumbling against Barao and Eddie
Wineland. Jorgensen was last seen at UFC on Fox 5, where he submitted
“TUF 14” vet John Albert with a rear-naked choke on
Dec. 8.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Overeem's
UFC 156 blood test clean – with testosterone levels below
normal range
A
blood test administered to heavyweight Alistair Overeem following
his loss at UFC 156 earlier this month has come back clean, and
with testosterone levels below the normal testing range.
Overeem
(36-12 MMA, 1-1 UFC) fought Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva
(18-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on the main card of the pay-per-view event
at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. He suffered a third-round
knockout loss, which spoiled his chance at a heavyweight title
shot against champion Cain Velasquez.
MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com) on Tuesday requested and received the test
results from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which oversaw
the Feb. 2 fight.
Overeem,
along with the other 21 fighters on the UFC 156 card, tested
clean for performance-enhancing drugs, recreational drugs and
drugs of abuse in a post-fight drug test. But Overeem was required
to take a blood test in addition to the standard urinalysis.
Overeem
was licensed for UFC 156 by the NSAC, but he was denied a license
this past April after failing a pre-fight drug test for UFC 146.
During a commission hearing, he said he took a mixture of vitamins
from a doctor that unknowingly contained testosterone, which
caused his test to come back with elevated levels.
At
the April hearing, the commission did not suspend Overeem, but
kept him from applying for a license again for nine months from
his positive test.
But
with his blood test form his UFC 156 fight, his testosterone
total level actually fell below the normal range of 250-1,100
nano grams per deciliter (ng/dL). Overeem's total testosterone
came in at 179 from the test, which was administered the morning
after the fight at 8:25 a.m. on Feb. 3.
All
other levels within the blood test came back within the normal
reference range.
Overeem
controlled the first two rounds of his fight with Silva, but
in the third, "Bigfoot" stormed to the center of the
cage and quickly had Overeem in trouble up against the fence
with punches. After eating several big punches, the Dutch former
Strikeforce champion finally went down as Silva celebrated the
major upset.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Morning
Report: Dana White says Rashad Evans' next opponent could be
Dan Henderson, not Shogun Rua
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
Rashad
Evans may have wanted to fight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua,
but it looks like he'll have to settle for another of the division's
elder statesmen instead.
"That
fight's probably not going to happen. If any fight happens, it
would probably be Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson," UFC President
Dana White revealed on Tuesday edition of UFC Tonight.
Both
Evans (17-3-1) and Henderson (29-9) are looking to right their
ship after suffering listless defeats this past month; Evans
to Antônio Rogério Nogueira and Henderson to Lyoto
Machida.
Prior
to his most recent stumble, Evans saw a four-fight win streak
snapped at the hands of his former training partner, UFC light
heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Likewise,
Henderson rode his own four-fight streak before a last-second
knee injury spoiled a meeting with Jones and sunk UFC 151's entire
card. Henderson ultimately sat on the sidelines for 14 months
before falling to Machida on Saturday.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
Releases Statement Confirming Matt Riddle’s Termination
Following Positive Drug Test
Matt
Riddle came out of UFC on Fuel TV 7 with a split decision victory
over Che Mills, or so he thought.
A
post-fight drug test revealing a positive result for marijuana,
however, changed the scenario. The result was Riddle’s and
marked the second time in his last three fights that Riddle had
won, but tested positive.
Both
positive test results changed the results of those bouts from
a win for Riddle to a no contest, the latest of which also led
to the UFC terminating Riddle’s contract.
Matthew
Riddle tested positive for marijuana metabolites following his
bout at UFC on FUEL TV 7 in London, England on February 16, 2013.
This is Riddle’s second failed drug test for marijuana within
the past seven months. Riddle previously failed a post-fight
drug test due to marijuana following his UFC 149 victory over
Chris Clements.
As
such, the UFC organization is exercising its right to terminate
Riddle for breach of his obligations under his Promotional Agreement
as well as the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy. The UFC organization
has a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal
and/or performance-enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents.
The outcome of the bout against Che Mills was changed to a no
contest and the results of the positive test will be reported
to the official Association of Boxing Commissions MMA record-keeper.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Melvin
Manhoef vs. Brock Larson Added to ‘One FC: Kings & Champions’
ONE
Fighting Championship announced today that knockout specialist
Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef (27-9-1) will square off
against Brock Larson (36-7-0) at ONE FC: KINGS & CHAMPIONS
which takes place live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium on April
5, 2013.
ONE
FC: KINGS & CHAMPIONS will be broadcast live on STAR SPORTS
across Asia. This historic moment will mark the first time ever
a live Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event will be broadcast on the
network. ONE FC: KINGS & CHAMPIONS will be available live
in 28 countries to an estimated 500 million viewers.
Fans
from around the world can also witness the action online via
livestreaming at www.onefc.livesport.tv. The undercard fights
are available for viewing free-of-charge and the main card fights
will be available for purchase at just $9.99.
CEO
of ONE Fighting Championship Victor Cui stated, “ONE FC:
KINGS & CHAMPIONS will be the biggest in ONE FC history and
features the biggest names in MMA. I’m beyond excited to
see two of the most thrilling middleweights in the world square
off at the state-of-the art Singapore Indoor Stadium. Melvin
Manhoef vs. Brock Larson has all the ingredients for a possible
Fight of the Night with one of the world’s most-feared strikers
squaring off against a grappler who has submitted 24 opponents
in his career. I know fans cannot wait to watch these warriors
collide on April 5.”
Manhoef
is an MMA legend and KO artist who finished 25 opponents with
his thunderous punches. He is a hard-hitting fighter who always
looks for the knockout. His reputation inside the cage has been
built over the years by defeating some of the world’s best
fighters. Be prepared for some exciting action when this experienced
fighter lets loose his stunning knockout power and seeks to bring
the fight to an early end when he meets Brock Larson at ONE FC:
KINGS & CHAMPIONS.
Larson
is the latest top North American fighter to sign with ONE FC
and is one of the most experienced MMA fighters to enter the
ONE FC middleweight division. Larson holds notable wins over
John Alessio, Carlo Prater and Mike Pyle. He has worked his way
to the top of the North American Welterweight division and is
now stepping up a weight-class as he seeks to make a name for
himself on the largest stage in Asian MMA. Currently, he is on
a three fight win streak and will look to make it four when he
locks up with Manhoef on April 5.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Alexis
Davis: Since I'm higher ranked, give me UFC champ Ronda Rousey
next
by Steven
Marrocco
Six
years after she started fighting in the cage, Alexis Davis went
to her first UFC event.
"It
was awesome," she told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
"I could almost spit at the cage."
To
Davis, who grew up in a small town in Ontario, Canada, and nine
others in her bantamweight class, the octagon had been a dream
of what was possible and a reminder of something out of reach.
She could buy a ticket but never fight within its links. Women
weren't allowed.
That
is, until this past Saturday, when Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche
headlined UFC 157 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. She watched
the pay-per-view show from just behind press row with her cohorts
and several male UFC fighters. Out of all of them, she got a
kick out of seeing Ian "Uncle Creepy" McCall.
She
wasn't just a spectator, though. She has a four-fight contract
that would put her in the cage, hopefully soon.
Davis
(13-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was both a fan and a fighter that night.
She got caught up in the arena's energy and cheered, and her
feet twitched when Carmouche tried to take away Rousey's UFC
belt (she failed when the champ stopped her with an armbar late
in the first round). She was happy that both represented the
sport so well.
"The
way the crowd was with that energy blasting through the walls,
I think we've probably got a million more fans," Davis said.
But
she is more anxious than ever to meet Rousey, whom she feels
is getting away with moves she shouldn't inside the cage. In
particular, Davis said opponents are giving away position when
they fight the women's champ.
"[Rousey]
does a white belt get to mount where she just throws that leg
over and everybody lets her have it," she said. "There's
no knee on belly. She just chucks it over. I guess it's hard
to think clearly in that position. That's the only thing I can
think of. She keeps doing it. This is not the first time she's
gotten away with it."
Davis
also took note of Carmouche's ability to take Rousey's back,
which also happened when the champ took on Miesha Tate (and badly
armbarred her in the first round). Carmouche threatened with
a neck and face crank but ultimately was bucked off and wound
up on her back, where the tables turned.
Rousey
is expected to meet the winner of an upcoming bout between Tate
and Cat Zingano at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, which takes
place April 13 in Las Vegas. But Davis feels she's the best matchup
for the champ.
"That's
why I tweeted (UFC President) Dana White," she said. "You
have a wrestler with Tate. You just had a Marine fight her, and
you've got a striker with Sarah Kaufman. I'm a [Brazilian jiu-jitsu]
black belt. C'mon. Give me that chance.
"It's
killing me, too, because my last couple victories I won by rear-naked
choke. I get to the back all the time. I wish I was there."
For
now, though, she awaits her next fight. She doesn't know whom
she'll face first inside the octagon. Hints at a bout with Olympic
silver medalist Sara McMann died down in recent weeks, and UFC
matchmakers haven't updated her on their plans.
Davis
most recently appeared under the banner of Invicta FC, which
provided a large portion of the women's talent that's now making
its way to the UFC. She choked Shayna Baszler unconscious this
past month, and this past July, she tapped out Hitomi Akano with
a rear-naked choke. She boasts seven career wins by submission.
Professionally,
that's on par with Rousey, who's tapped out all seven of her
opponents by armbar. Davis, of course, has lost fights by TKO
and decision, but she boasts twice the champ's prizefighting
experience.
What
Davis doesn't have is public bad blood with Rousey, whose rivalries
with Tate and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos give them priority
in the eyes of most fans.
Davis
went into a recent training session with a renewed sense of purpose.
She currently trains with the Cesar Gracie Fight Team, whose
standouts Nick and Nate Diaz have trained with Rousey.
"I
was so disappointed that Dana was saying they might give the
(Zingano vs. Tate) winner (a title shot)," Davis said. "I'm
like, 'What?' I'm higher ranked than both these girls.' Miesha
already had her chance. I don't know if that's going to happen,
but I'm hopeful that he reconsiders."
For
more the latest UFC schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section
of the site.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Frankie
Edgar vs. Cub Swanson was considered as TUF Finale replacement
main event
By Ariel
Helwani
The
UFC booked Urijah Faber vs. Scott Jorgensen as the new The Ultimate
Fighter Finale main event on Tuesday, but that wasn't their original
choice to replace the canceled Demetrious Johnson vs. John Moraga
title fight.
The
organization first approached featherweights Frankie Edgar and
Cub Swanson about headlining the show, but the fight never materialized
after Swanson told the UFC he wasn't healthy enough to take the
fight.
"I'm
still a little banged up from my fight with (Dustin) Poirier
and five weeks isn't enough time to prepare for a five-round
fight," Swanson wrote via text message.
After
Edgar's manager Ali Abdel-Aziz told "UFC Tonight" on
Fuel TV last week that Edgar wanted to fight Swanson in a five-round
main event, the fighters went back and forth on Twitter about
the potential fight.
"I'm
a little surprised Frankie Edgar is still picking fights with
us WEC boys," Swanson wrote.
"Don't
flatter yourself. You are on a streak and I want in is all,"
Edgar replied.
Both
Edgar and Swanson are still interested in fighting each other
next, however, a new date has not been set for the fight.
The
Johnson-Moraga tilt was scrapped after "Mighty Mouse"
suffered an injury. No word just yet on when he'll return to
action.
The
TUF 17 Finale will take place Saturday, April 13 at Mandalay
Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Report:
Former Muay Thai World Champion Ramon Dekkers Dead at 43
By Mike
Whitman
Multi-time
world muay Thai champion Ramon Dekkers died Wednesday at the
age of 43, according to a report from Dutch newspaper BN DeStem.
The
Dutchman reportedly collapsed while riding his bike in his hometown
of Breda, and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Regarded
by many as a western pioneer in the muay Thai world, Dekkers
began his training as a teenager in 1986 and would go on to post
a career record of 186-33-2 before hanging up his gloves for
good in 2006. Known as “The Diamond” and “The
Turbine from Hell,” Dekkers distinguished himself with an
aggressive, boxing-heavy attack and retired with 95 knockouts
to his credit.
Late
in his career, Dekkers competed in one mixed martial arts bout
-- a short-notice showdown with Genki Sudo under the K-1 Hero’s
banner that saw Dekkers submit to a heel hook in 2:54. A longtime
representative of the Netherland’s Golden Glory gym under
vaunted trainer Cor Hemmers, Dekkers also became a coach for
the fight team in his later years.
Source
Sherdog
|
Gabi
Garcia: “Watching Ronda in the UFC has thrilled me! I really
want to fight MMA!”
Ivan Trindade
Gabi
Garcia is ready for new challenges in 2013 and in life.
The
first female MMA fight in UFC history, on Saturday, moved a very
special TV viewer. The three times Jiu-Jitsu absolute world champion,
Gabi Garcia, saw the victory of Ronda Rousey by armbar over Liz
Carmouche and now she is really eager to wear the gloves too.
In this interview for GRACIEMAG.com, Gabi reveals she has already
received invitations to train and she is preparing to meet this
next challenge in life. Moreover, she spoke about getting ready
for big Jiu-Jitsu championships in 2013, on the novelty about
drug tests and the reference she became to other women who practice
the gentle art.
As
a competitor, how will Gabi Garcia in 2013 be better than Gabi
Garcia in 2012 and what are your big goals for this year?
Gabi
Garcia will be the same, full of desire to win and break records.
I want to win another absolute world title and write my name
in the history of Jiu-Jitsu. Sometimes it is very difficult to
keep motivated, stay on top is much harder than getting there.
I started to work with the trainer James Heck seeking more power
and explosion. I’m much stronger, and one of the things
that motivate me the most is to know that the girls are training
to beat me. Many girls want to hold the fight against me at 0-0,
and let the referee to decide. This is something I do not want
to happen in 2013! And the goals are the same, always strive
forward and go after the gold medals.
What
did you think of the debut of women’s MMA in the UFC with
the victory of Ronda Rousey? Will we see Gabi in the octagon
one day?
I
loved Ronda’s fight with Liz Carmouche. It really moved
me because I always raised the women flag and seeing women coming
in the UFC is really exciting. It’s nice for women at home
to watch where they can get. This is very good, I’m sure
that new fights and new categories will come. I have received
some invitations to train MMA and I really want to. I hope new
categories are created, because I’m working with my nutritionist
Rodolfo Peres and my doctor Paulo Muzy to lose as much weight
as I can. I will strive to participate in this phase that women
are going in MMA. I want new challenges in my life.
IBJJF
added a drug test for Pan 2013 and should do it in other big
events. What did you think of the measure? What changes have
you done in your athlete routine to avoid a positive result in
case you are tested?
I
haven’t changed anything in my routine, I’m just being
careful with medications, other than that it’s a lot of
training and willingness. I find it interesting to make Jiu-Jitsu
more professional and take away the doubts of many people, but
I think the IBJJF is thinking only about itself and not the athletes.
They plan on showing a clean image to profit from it, rather
than thinking about the athletes, rewarding them by providing
a better structure. They could use that money to reward the girls
in IBJJ Pro League, which had no female categories last year.
Many people want Jiu-Jitsu to become an Olympic sport, but Olympic
athletes have transportation, accommodation, meals in the tournament,
doctor, nutritionist, all paid by the confederation of each sport.
We have to pay for everything, in a sport that has no sponsorship.
In
the last two years, you have become a reference for women practitioners
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. How it is like to carry this responsibility?
I
do not carry it as a responsibility, but as a reward for my effort
and my dedication. Many people judge me, don’t like my Jiu-Jitsu,
but these people have to realize that after I started up the
female Jiu-Jitsu has grown a lot. People watch my fights because
I draw their attention, and it draws attention to the female
Jiu-Jitsu! Once I started to showcase my training, many girls
have appeared, started to train hard and dedicate. They look
at me and think that if I got where I am today, if I earn my
living with Jiu-Jitsu, they can too. I think I was very important
for the growth of women in the sport, and I have that feedback
every day. My fans are intense, they make shirts, hats, tattoos,
send me messages, get excited when they talk to me, they cry,
it is priceless. Criticisms disappear when I receive the affection
and motivation of fans and people who like me and I’m sure
I can do much more for the sport.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Jake
Shields vs. Tyron Woodley targeted for June 15 Canada event,
likely UFC 161
by Steven
Marrocco
A
welterweight matchup between onetime welterweight title challenger
Jake Shields (27-6-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Tyron Woodley (11-1 MMA,
1-0 UFC) is in the works for this summer, sources told MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com).
The
fight is being targeted for a yet-unnamed event, likely UFC 161,
on June 15 in Canada. A host city is not yet finalized.
Woodley
recently called out Shields upon signing a new UFC fight contract,
which followed his impressive first-round knockout of Jay Hieron
in his promotional debut at UFC 156.
The
win put the fighter back on track following a fourth-round KO
at the hands of UFC vet Nate Marquardt, who claimed the Strikeforce
welterweight title at an event this past July for the now-defunct
promotion. It was Woodley's first professional loss in 11 outings.
The
former Missouri wrestler earned wins over Andre Galvao, Paul
Daley and Jordan Mein in his time with Strikeforce.
Shields,
a former Strikeforce middleweight champ, makes his return to
welterweight after a decision over 185-pound fighter Ed Herman
at UFC 150, which was overturned when he tested positive for
a banned substance. The Cesar Gracie-trained fighter was suspended
six months and fined for the infraction.
Prior
to Herman, Shields earned a unanimous decision over Yoshihiro
Akiyama at UFC 144, which put him back on the right track following
back-to-back losses to champ Georges St-Pierre and Jake Ellenberger,
respectively.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 8 Preview
By Tristen
Critchfield
UFC
on Fuel TV 8 marks the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s
first trip to the Land of the Rising Sun since UFC 144, and the
promotion has put together a made-for-Japan fight card. Headlining
the bill is Wanderlei Silva, who was the most feared fighter
in the sport during his heyday in the Pride Fighting Championships.
“The Axe Murderer” is paired with Brian Stann, a foe
who figures to be willing to oblige the Brazilian in a crowd-pleasing
standup slugfest at the Saitama Super Arena.
Additionally,
seven-foot-tall Dutchman Stefan Struve squares off with knockout
artist and Pride veteran Mark Hunt in the heavyweight co-feature,
while a host of national standouts such as Yushin Okami, Takanori
Gomi and Mizuto Hirota, to name a few, are also set to compete
on the main draw.
Here
is a closer look at UFC on Fuel TV 8, with analysis and picks:
Light
Heavyweights
Brian
Stann (12-5, 6-4 UFC) vs. Wanderlei Silva (34-12-1, 4-7 UFC)
The
Matchup: Stann returns to 205 pounds for a bout with Silva, a
matchup for which he had initially angled a couple years back.
A former World Extreme Cagefighting light heavyweight champion,
the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product has emerged as
a top 10 talent at middleweight, although his wrestling deficiencies
have been exposed in losses to Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping.
Silva
was perhaps the most feared competitor in the world during his
Pride Fighting Championships prime, going unbeaten in the Japanese
organization during a 20-fight period from September 1999 to
October 2004. The former Pride middleweight king has fought inside
the Saitama Super Arena 13 times, so he should be well-received
in his first bout in Japan since a loss to Mirko Filipovic in
2006.
Now
36 years old, Silva is clearly slowing down after taking part
in so many memorable slugfests, but he is still capable of vintage
bursts of offense.
In
his rematch with Rich Franklin at UFC 147, “The Axe Murderer”
struggled to land much in the way of meaningful offense with
the exception of a flurry in round two, where he unleashed a
stream of unanswered punches that nearly finished the former
UFC middleweight titleholder. Prior to that, Silva earned a stoppage
of the still-dangerous Cung Le at UFC 139. While he might not
be the wrecking machine he once was, Silva only needs a slight
opening to inflict serious damage.
For
Stann, rounding out his game remains an ongoing process. While
he wobbled Bisping briefly with a right hand in the opening round
of their UFC 152 matchup, he was neutralized by a pair of takedowns
from the Brit in each of the final two frames. Fortunately, the
Naval Academy graduate will not have to worry about the threat
of a takedown here. Though Silva’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu black
belt would likely be useful against someone like Stann, who has
not shown great submission defense in the past, the Brazilian
knows his legion of Japanese fans did not come to see him engage
in a ground battle.
Silva
does not usually throw a great volume of strikes, but each punch
is attempted with murderous intent. The Brazilian is also vicious
and accurate in the clinch, and a barrage of knees from Silva
in close quarters can still finish most any opponent.
Stann’s
improvement in the standup has been evident as he has progressed
from the WEC to the UFC. The wild brawling style he employed
early in his career would play right into Silva’s hands,
but the former Marine is now a far more technical, patient version
of what he once was. Stann’s power and athleticism remain
his greatest assets, though he now has a better understanding
of when to go for a finish and when to pull back. His ability
to use angles and change levels on his strikes -- as well as
mixing in the occasional kicks to the legs and body -- should
allow him to land more consistently than his opponent. Keeping
Silva off-balance could force the Brazilian to be more tentative
as the bout advances.
The
Pick: This is a great fight for the fans, and it also allows
Silva another chance to compete in Japan. Stann will spoil the
festivities, however, winning via technical knockout in round
two.
Heavyweights
Stefan
Struve (25-5, 9-3 UFC) vs. Mark Hunt (8-7, 3-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: Having won four straight fights and six of his last
seven overall, Struve has quietly emerged as a person of interest
in the heavyweight division. He displayed improved power against
Stipe Miocic at UFC on Fuel TV 5, recovering from a slow start
in the opening stanza to finish the Ohio native with uppercuts
and hooks in the second frame. While memories of brutal knockout
losses to Junior dos Santos, Roy Nelson and Travis Browne still
linger, the seven-foot-tall Struve has proven to be resourceful
and resilient in matchups against heavy-handed foes since then.
If
the 25-year-old Dutchman can figure out how to use his considerable
reach more effectively -- a recurring issue in his career thus
far -- and continue to add muscle to his lanky frame, he can
potentially become the top 5 big man UFC President Dana White
proclaimed him to be after his victory over Miocic.
It
has been an interesting journey for Hunt, who entered the UFC
on a five-fight skid and was promptly submitted by the unheralded
Sean McCorkle in his Octagon debut. It appeared that the New
Zealand native was simply playing out the string, getting fights
because the promotion had to fulfill a contractual obligation.
Hunt has been revitalized since that opening effort, however,
notching victories over Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell and Cheick
Kongo in his past three bouts.
In
a matchup that was originally scheduled to take place at UFC
146, Struve must avoid an extended standup battle with the 2001
K-1 World Grand Prix winner. Kongo, who had not been finished
by strikes in nearly eight years prior to UFC 144, elected to
tempt fate against Hunt and paid the price in the form of a first-round
technical knockout loss. Despite owning a nine-inch reach advantage,
Struve has yet to demonstrate the ability to control range with
his jab or with kicks, as multiple foes have been able to get
inside on him and land heavy shots.
Hunt
is a master of luring opponents into striking range before unleashing
numbing power punches. Struve has a tendency to start slowly,
but his chin cannot hold up against an onslaught from Hunt. While
Hunt’s knockout ability and durability give him plenty of
confidence to stand and trade, he is a largely one-dimensional
commodity. Although he showed some decent ground skills in an
oxygen-starved contest against Rothwell at UFC 135, six of Hunt’s
seven career MMA losses have come via tapout.
Struve
has never been shy about pulling guard in the face of heavy fire,
and that will ultimately be the safest route for him to take
here. On the mat, his long limbs allow him to control opponents
as he transitions from one submission attempt to another.
The
Pick: This will be entertaining while it lasts. If Hunt cannot
rock and finish Struve quickly, the Team Schrijber representative
will figure out a way to get this to the mat, where he will win
via submission late in round one.
Lightweights
Diego
Sanchez (23-5, 12-5 UFC) vs. Takanori Gomi (34-8, 3-3 UFC)
The
Matchup: Sanchez returns to 155 pounds for the first time since
2009, when he absorbed a serious beating in a title bout against
then-champion B.J. Penn at UFC 107. “The Dream” went
2-2 during his most recent stint at welterweight, besting Paulo
Thiago and Martin Kampmann while falling to John Hathaway and
Jake Ellenberger. Undersized at 170 pounds, Sanchez figures to
be able to better impose his relentless wrestling game at lightweight.
Gomi
gave perhaps the most complete performance of his Ultimate Fighting
Championship career against Mac Danzig at UFC on Fuel TV 6. While
he had been hesitant to pull the trigger in previous bouts, “The
Fireball Kid” threw punches and kicks with power and confidence
against Danzig, dropping his foe with a right hand in the third
round en route to earning a split decision victory. Gomi is not
the knockout machine he was during his Pride Fighting Championships
prime, but he still has enough power in his hands to give opponents
pause when trading strikes in the pocket.
Sanchez’s
performance against Ellenberger more than a year ago was par
for the course for the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product.
After absorbing some heavy punches from Ellenberger early, Sanchez
finished the contest as the dominant fighter, pounding away with
punches from his adversary’s back in the waning moments
of the third frame; had it been a five-round headliner, the outcome
might have turned out differently.
Thanks
to his heart and durability, Sanchez is never out of a fight.
The New Mexican has never been stopped by strikes in his 28-bout
career -- the Penn loss was a doctor’s stoppage -- and he
has shown a good ability to recover when rocked.
Sanchez
has just enough standup skill to keep Gomi honest, but he will
win the fight by constantly pressuring with tie-ups and takedowns.
Sanchez’s relentless approach allows him to bully foes to
the mat, as he scores takedowns through power rather than superior
technique. He is persistent with ground-and-pound, and his rapid
pace allows him to have the edge in the majority of scrambles
and transitions.
The
Pick: Unless Gomi can score a big knockout early, he is going
to wear down under a stream of clinches, takedowns attempts and
ground strikes. Sanchez wins by decision.
Middleweights
Yushin
Okami (28-7, 12-4 UFC) vs. Hector Lombard (32-3-1, 1-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: After a tepid and puzzling performance against Tim Boetsch
in his UFC debut, Hector Lombard reminded everyone what all the
hype was about with a first-round knockout of leg lock specialist
Rousimar Palhares at UFC on FX 6. The former Bellator MMA middleweight
king has won 21 of his last 22 fights and would be an attractive
title contender for the promotion if he is able to string a few
quality victories together.
Okami
is no mere steppingstone, however. Back-to-back victories over
Buddy Roberts and Alan Belcher have helped to erase the memory
of the Japanese fighter’s shocking come-from-ahead loss
to Boetsch at UFC 144. Okami was in prime form against Belcher,
as he used ground-and-pound and positional dominance to capture
a unanimous verdict.
Ideally,
Lombard would like this bout to end swiftly. The American Top
Team product prefers to control the center of the cage, stalking
his opponent while throwing vicious power strikes. If “Lightning”
senses Okami is hurt, he will swarm with punches. Lombard scored
three knockdowns against Palahares and closed the bout with a
devastating series of left and right hooks followed by heavy
standing-to-ground punches.
Despite
high-profile knockout losses to Boetsch and 185-pound kingpin
Anderson Silva, Okami is not nearly as easy to hit as Palhares.
He is adept at punching his way into the clinch with his jab
and then forcing takedowns from there. From top position, Okami
constantly works to pass guard, and while he is not likely to
finish fights with his offense from above, he remains diligent
with his ground-and-pound.
The
fight will be won based on who can impose his will in tie-ups.
Okami will not allow Lombard to find a comfortable striking range,
as he will apply constant pressure against the Cuban judoka.
Both men have judo backgrounds, so it will be interesting to
see who will be able to get the fight to the floor with his array
of throws and trips.
Okami
is big middleweight, but Lombard’s tremendous upper body
strength and base will allow him to fend off his foe’s advances,
at least temporarily. Lombard’s cardio will be tested by
constantly defending clinches, and takedowns should come easier
for Okami in the bout’s later stages.
The
Pick: Okami makes this ugly, frustrating Lombard and grinding
out a decision victory.
Welterweights
Siyar
Bahadurzada (21-4-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (16-2-1, 7-2
UFC)
The
Matchup: Two men with very different approaches to mixed martial
arts face off here, and nowhere was that contrast in styles more
evident than the method each used to dispatch Paulo Thiago.
Bahadurzada
needed just 42 seconds to stop Thiago, dropping the Brazilian
with a short, counter right hand at UFC on Fuel TV 2 in April.
The Afghan fighter has been sidelined since then, as an injury
forced him out of a spot on the UFC 149 card. Meanwhile, Kim
smothered the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt at UFC on Fuel TV
6, landing takedowns and controlling the action in each frame
en route to a unanimous decision win.
Following
that victory, Kim expressed a desire to rematch Demian Maia,
who earned a TKO victory over Kim at UFC 148 when the Korean
suffered a rib injury 47 seconds into their bout. Kim professed
his disappointment when it was announced that he would get Bahadurzada
instead, perhaps giving the Blackzilians member some added incentive
to perform heading into this matchup.
Bahadurzada
has won seven fights in a row, finishing six of them by knockout
or technical knockout. The former Shooto light heavyweight champion
is a heavy puncher, but he does tend to leave himself open to
counters. Although he would prefer to keep the fight standing,
Bahadurzada has proven to be active inside his opponent’s
guard, but his aggression there also leaves him vulnerable to
losing position and submission attempts.
Kim’s
striking has improved from when he first entered the UFC, but
in this instance it will serve him primarily to close the distance
against Bahadurzada’s heavy artillery. “Stun Gun”
is an accomplished judo practitioner who lands takedowns primarily
through trips or throws. Once on the mat, he is adept at holding
position and neutralizing his opponent’s guard. He is not
especially offensive-minded from top position, however.
The
Pick: Bahadurzada’s ability to maintain enough distance
to unleash his strikes will be pivotal here. Carlos Condit proved
that Kim can falter against a dynamic striker when he hurt the
Korean with a flying knee at UFC 132, and the Afghan has a similar
flair for the dramatic. Bahadurzada displays enough clinch savvy
to avoid being blanketed and eventually lands a counter to win
via technical knockout in round two.
Featherweights
Rani
Yahya (17-7, 2-1 UFC) vs. Mizuto Hirota (14-5-1, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Yahya’s ability to suffocate foes on the ground
surfaced in UFC wins over Mike Thomas Brown and Josh Grispi.
However, the Constrictor Team product faltered in his meeting
against Chad Mendes, a superior wrestler, as the American was
able to dictate the location of the fight in cruising to a unanimous
decision triumph at UFC 133.
Hirota
is not an elite wrestler, so he will have to combine his trademark
aggression on the feet with timely takedown attempts to keep
Yahya off-balance. The Deep lightweight champion has made an
admirable return from a nasty broken arm that came courtesy of
a Shinya Aoki hammerlock at a K-1 event in 2009, but the 31-year-old
is still looking to recapture the form that saw him earn each
of his six victories prior to the injury by knockout or technical
knockout. Since then, “Pugnus” has earned a pair of
unanimous decision wins under the Deep banner before being worn
down by the grinding style of Pat Healy at Strikeforce “Rockhold
vs. Kennedy” in July.
Yahya’s
standup is erratic, but the 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission
Wrestling World Championships gold medalist uses his striking
primarily as a means to force grappling exchanges. With 15 submission
victories among his 17 career victories, the 28-year-old Brazilian
understands what works for him in MMA. Yahya works methodically
to advance position on the mat and will chain together multiple
submission attempts -- including a multitude of dangerous chokes
-- in pursuit of the finish.
Hirota
has decent takedowns and ground-and-pound, but he does not want
to find himself on his back against a grappler as skilled as
Yahya. The Japanese fighter must expose the holes in his opponent’s
striking by landing crisp jabs and hard hooks. Hirota will often
risk exposing himself to damage in order to push forward and
land flurries, though Yahya is hardly consistent enough to punish
him for such an approach. Clinches will become a key factor,
as Hirota will look to work his dirty boxing while avoiding body
locks and trip takedowns from Yahya.
The
Pick: Yayha makes Hirota pay for his aggression by changing levels
and scoring takedowns, wearing down his foe to earn a third-round
tapout or decision victory.
Middleweights
Riki
Fukuda (19-6, 2-2 UFC) vs. Brad Tavares (9-1, 4-1 UFC): Tavares
has blended his brawling standup with effective wrestling to
quietly compile a solid resume in the Octagon. Meanwhile, Fukuda,
a former Deep titlist, used his clinch game and ground-and-pound
to take a workmanlike decision over Tom DeBlass at UFC on Fuel
TV 6 in his last outing. Fukuda’s versatility in close quarters
carries him to a narrow decision win.
Bantamweights
Bryan
Caraway (17-5, 2-0 UFC) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (16-7-2, 3-2 UFC):
Recent history indicates that Mizugaki is due for a loss, as
the Japanese fighter has alternated wins and losses in each of
his last 10 bouts, most recently besting Jeff Hougland at UFC
on Fuel TV 6. He will have to have his submission defense ready
against Caraway, who has tapped Mitch Gagnon and Dustin Neace
in his two Octagon appearances thus far. Mizugaki has only been
submitted once in 25 career bouts, however, and he makes this
one ugly to earn a decision.
Lightweights
Cristiano
Marcello (13-4, 1-1 UFC) vs. Kazuki Tokudome (11-3-1, 0-0 UFC):
A Pride Fighting Championships veteran and vaunted ground specialist,
Marcello displayed his striking arsenal in his most recent outing
at UFC 153, blending punches, kicks and knees to take a controversial
split verdict over Reza Madadi. An Octagon newcomer, Tokudome
has won six of his last seven fights, all while competing for
the Japan-based Pancrase promotion. Marcello wins by submission.
Bantamweights
Alex
Caceres (8-5, 3-3 UFC) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (11-6, 0-0 UFC): After
a rough start with the promotion, Caceres has won three of his
last four bouts in the Octagon, combining creative striking from
a southpaw stance with an active guard. Kang, who withdrew from
a proposed meeting with “Bruce Leeroy” at UFC on Fuel
TV 6 due to injury, has finished eight of his 11 victories by
way of submission. Caceres is improved, but he is far from dominant.
Using takedowns and a measured approach on the mat, Kang takes
a decision.
Welterweights
Marcelo
Guimaraes (8-0-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Hyun Gyu Lim (10-3-1, 0-0 UFC):
Guimaraes won his UFC debut against Daniel Stittgen by controlling
the action in the clinch. A Korean Top Team product, Lim has
shown a penchant for the quick finish of late, stopping each
of his last five opponents inside of a round. Lim takes this
one by knockout in round two.
*
* *
TRACKING
TRISTEN 2013
Overall
Record: 44-23
Last Event (UFC 157): 9-3
Best Event (Strikeforce “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine): 9-2
Worst Event (UFC 156): 5-6
Source
Sherdog
|
Dominick
Cruz to Drive Pace at Phoenix International Raceway for Subway
Fresh Fit 500
by Press
Release
Phoenix
International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber announced in
November that the track would sponsor UFC bantamweight champion
Dominick Cruz during his upcoming title fight expected to take
place this summer. Sperber announced that PIR’s logo will
be visible on Cruz’s trunks and on his sponsorship banner
that will be posted in the Octagon prior to the start of the
fight.
Cruz,
who served as Honorary Pace Car Driver for the Nov. 11 AdvoCare
500 at Phoenix International Raceway, will perform the same duties
during this weekend’s SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 on March 3.
“We
are very excited to be sponsoring Dominick Cruz in his upcoming
championship fight to retain the UFC bantamweight title,”
said Sperber. “We believe this is the first time that a
track has sponsored a UFC fighter and the fact that Dominick
is both an Arizonan and a NASCAR fan made this a great opportunity
for us to support him.”
Born
and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Cruz, 27, has compiled a 19-1-0
professional record and has ascended to the top of his profession
with wins over Demetrius Johnson, Urijah Faber, Scott Jorgensen,
Joseph Benavidez and Brian Bowles. Outside of the Octagon, Cruz
considers himself a NASCAR fan and has attended races at Phoenix
International Raceway.
“I’m
excited to have a legendary venue like Phoenix International
Raceway in my corner as I prepare for my next fight,” said
Cruz. “Being from Arizona and being a NASCAR fan, it’s
going to be an honor to wear the PIR logo on my trunks when I
step into the Octagon.”
Additional
information on race weekend activities is available on Phoenix
International Raceway’s official website at www.phoenixraceway.com.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Bellator
91: What to Watch For
By Mike
Whitman
Bellator
MMA’s eighth season rolls on this Thursday from the Santa
Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M., as Bellator 91 airs live
on Spike TV.
While
the uninitiated might view the prospect of setting aside several
hours to catch this card live with the same enthusiasm that they
would for a midnight showing of “Side Out,” I can assure
you that this card, much like the aforementioned cult classic
starring American hero C. Thomas Howell, will surprise you with
its campy quality.
Here
is what to watch for at Bellator 91:
Heavier
Than You Think
Star
power? We don’t need no stinking star power.
I
know, I know, Christian M'Pumbu and Attila Vegh are not exactly
names likely to make a crowd salivate with anticipation, but
I implore you to look past their lack of popularity and see the
fighters deep down inside, much like Superman uses his X-ray
vision to select only the most delicious nougats in a See’s
variety box.
True,
M’Pumbu’s last performance -- which took place about
16 months ago, by the way -- left something to be desired. In
less delicate terms, it was a big pile of garbage. Bellator’s
champion was totally powerless to stop Travis Wiuff’s takedowns
en route to a non-title defeat at Bellator 55. Even so, we should
not forget the unexpected trio of knockouts that the undersized
205-pounder posted earlier that year to win the light heavyweight
title.
Vegh,
meanwhile, has won eight straight heading into his title shot,
capturing the 2012 Summer Series tournament by besting Zelg Galesic,
Emanuel Newton and the aforementioned Wiuff. The Slovakian can
end a fight as quickly as anyone in Bellator’s light heavyweight
division, and it would behoove viewers to recall Vegh’s
stoppages of Galesic and Wiuff, which took 60 and 25 seconds,
respectively.
This
is not a fight between two lumbering light heavies; both of these
men are skilled and mobile, and I think they are worth your time.
Lightweight
Lookout
Much
like the headliner, the Season 8 lightweight tournament semifinals
also appear lacking on the surface. Upon seeing this lineup,
casual Spike TV observers will likely put down their Axe Body
Spray, rip off their tank tops and turn to their violence-obsessed,
chain-smoking grandmothers with a collective look of exasperation.
“Settle
down,” Grandmother will mumble through her breathing apparatus
and Affliction-brand grave robber bandana. “These boys can
really scrap.”
Right
you are, Gram-Gram, because Will Brooks, Saad Awad, David Rickels
and Jason Fischer are nothing if not exciting 155-pounders. In
Brooks, viewers can watch a potential star with a tear-jerking
backstory grow up right before their eyes. Awad, meanwhile, jumped
from eleventh-hour injury replacement to possible frontrunner
with a beautifully violent 31-second beatdown of Guillaume DeLorenzi
in the quarterfinals.
A
former welterweight, Rickels looked like he could fight for about
20 rounds in his lightweight debut against the highly regarded
Lloyd Woodard, and Fischer is a man who will likely fight with
little to lose when he steps in for the injured Alexander Sarnavskiy
to face “The Caveman” in a rematch of their November
contest, which ended in a unanimous decision and resulted in
the first loss of Fischer’s career.
Basically,
if these four guys do not tear down the house, I will pull a
Chael Sonnen and lick Rashad Evans’ shoe, provided that,
you know, Evans is down with having his shoe licked twice.
Hurt
’Em, Holm-Girl
A
Bellator undercard getting some run in the preview? You bet your
britches. This is a special occasion, for Holly Holm is in the
house.
For
those not in the know, Holm is one seriously bad individual.
A multi-division world champion under the WBF, IBA and WBA banners,
the pugilist also won Ring Magazine’s “Female Fighter
of the Year” honor in 2005 and 2006.
The
southpaw has competed just twice in mixed martial arts, posting
technical knockout wins over Christina Domke and Strikeforce
vet Jan Finney in 2011. However, “The Preacher’s Daughter”
displayed some well-rounded skills in those bouts, fending off
takedowns while punishing her opponents with punches and kicks.
Now
representing Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts, the Albuquerque,
N.M., native returned to the boxing ring in 2012 and was brutally
knocked out by Frenchwoman Anne Sophie Mathis. Ever seen the
tape of Rocky Marciano blasting Joe Louis through the ropes?
Yeah, it was that kind of knockout.
Holm
immediately asked for a rematch and received her wish, this time
stinging Mathis for 10 rounds and taking home a runaway unanimous
decision to recapture three titles. Now, she once again steps
into the cage, making her Bellator debut against the 1-0 Katie
Merrill.
With
the departure of champion Zoila Frausto Gurgel, Bellator certainly
has designs on another women’s tournament down the road.
Can Holm perform impressively and throw her hat into that proverbial
ring?
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
157 medical suspensions: Henderson, Koscheck among possible six-month
terms
All
fighters from this past weekend's UFC 157 event received medical
suspensions, with eight receiving longer than the standard seven-day
term.
MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com) recently requested the list of suspensions
from the California State Athletic Commission, which regulated
the event. The commission on Wednesday released the card's official
results, including the medical suspensions.
UFC
157 took place Feb. 23 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The
main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.
Of
note, co-main event fighter Dan Henderson is suspended for six
months unless he is cleared earlier for a possible fracture in
his right hand. Henderson dropped a split decision to former
champ Lyoto Machida, who advanced to a light heavyweight title
shot with the win.
Former
title challenger Josh Koscheck could be out as long as six months,
as well, unless a doctor clears him before that for a possible
injury to his right rotator cuff. In addition, he's out for 45
days minimum for his TKO loss to Robbie Lawler to open the pay-per-view
main card.
Josh
Neer received a six-month term for a possible broken nose, though
he can be cleared by a doctor and return before that. And preliminary-card
fighter Brock Jardine is out six months unless a doctor clears
him early for an injury to his left thigh.
Other
medical suspensions of note include 60 days for Brendan Schaub,
Dennis Bermudez and Yuri Villefort, though they can be cleared
early by physicians.
In
Saturday's main event, inaugural women's bantamweight champion
Ronda Rousey defended her title with a first-round armbar submission
against Liz Carmouche. Both women received the CSAC's standard
seven-day minimum precautionary suspension.
The
full list of UFC 157 medical suspensions includes:
Ronda
Rousey: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Liz Carmouche: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Lyoto Machida: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Dan Henderson: six-month suspension unless cleared by physician
for possible right hand fracture
Urijah Faber: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Ivan Menjivar: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Court McGee: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Josh Neer: six-month suspension unless cleared by physician for
possible nasal fracture
Robbie Lawler: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Josh Koscheck: 45-day suspension, 30 days no contact; in addition,
six-month suspension unless cleared by doctor for possible right
rotator cuff injury
Brendan Schaub: 60-day suspension unless cleared by physician
for upper lip laceration
Lavar Johnson: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Mike Chiesa: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Anton Kuivanen: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Dennis Bermudez: 60-day suspension unless cleared by physician
for left eyebrow laceration
Matt Grice: 45-day suspension with 30 days no contact; in addition,
60-day suspension unless cleared by physician for front scalp
laceration
Sam Stout: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Caros Fodor: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Kenny Robertson: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Brock Jardine: six-month suspension unless cleared by physician
for left thigh injury
Neil Magny: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Jon Manley: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Nah-Shon Burrell: seven-day minimum suspension (precautionary)
Yuri Villefort: 60-day suspension unless cleared by physician
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Diego
Sanchez living out dream by fighting Takanori Gomi in Japan
By Dave
Doyle
Like
many others who went on to become mixed martial artists, Diego
Sanchez was a fan of the Pride Fighting Championship before he
decided to head down to his nearest gym and see if he had what
it takes.
Eleven
years and 29 fights into his career, the Albuquerque-based fighter
will finally get a chance to fight in Pride's most famous arena.
Sanchez will face one of Japan's most famous homegrown MMA stars,
former Pride lightweight champion Takanori Gomi, on the main
card of UFC on Fuel 8 at the Saitama Super Arena.
And
Sanchez, who has always been known to wear his heart on his sleeve,
can't hide his excitement for Saturday's showdown.
"Coming
to Japan was always a great goal and a dream of mine," Sanchez
said. "Growing up, fighting through King of the Cage and
even before the UFC and being on The Ultimate Figher, I always
had a dream of coming to fight in wherever fighting most prominent
in Pride."
Somewhere
along the way, Sanchez figured he might never get the chance
to live out that dream.
"It
was something that I always dreamed of doing, and I was always
like, well, my career kept going and going and going, I guess
I'm just never going to make it out there," he said.
But
when Sanchez, who hasn't fought in just over a year, decided
he was going to drop back down to the lightweight division, the
planets aligned and his long-sought opportunity came to fruition.
"I
guess when I decided to make the move back to 155, I looked at
opponents, and I figured, what's a better opportunity than to
come out here to Japan, live one of my dreams, and fight one
of the greatest fighters to come out of Japan in his own hometown?"
Sanchez asked.
Sanchez
(23-5) won't make a prediction for the match with Gomi (34-8),
who has won his last two fights. The only thing he promises is
the type of fight for which both fighters have long been known.
"That's
a perfect situation for war and a great battle and that's what
I live for and that's what I came out here to do," Sanchez
said.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
157 Fighter Salaries: Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida Top $1,173,300
Payroll
The
UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche fighter salaries were released
to MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday by the California State Athletic
Commission.
Ronda
Rousey and Liz Carmouche made history at the event, becoming
the first women to ever compete in the Octagon and headline a
UFC event. Rousey successfully defended her UFC women’s
bantamweight championship in the main event on Saturday, Feb.
23, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners’ bonuses.
Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters’ salaries are still public record,
just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any
undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but
does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically,
pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are
not included in the figures below.
UFC
157 Rousey vs. Carmouche Fighter Salaries
Ronda
Rousey: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
def. Liz Carmouche: $12,000
Lyoto
Machida: $200,000 (no win bonus)
def. Dan Henderson: $250,000
Urijah
Faber: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus)
def. Ivan Menjivar: $17,000
Court
McGee: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Josh Neer: $16,000
Robbie
Lawler: $105,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Josh Koscheck: $78,000
Brendan
Schaub: $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus)
def. Lavar Johnson: $29,000
Mike
Chiesa: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
def. Anton Kuivanen: $8,000
Dennis
Bermudez: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Matt Grice: $8,000
Sam
Stout: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus)
def. Caros Fodor: $15,000
Kenny
Robertson: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Brock Jardine: $8,000
Neil
Magny: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Jon Manley: $8,000
Nah-Shon
Burrell: $12,600 (includes $7,000 win bonus)
def. Yuri Villefort: $6,700*
*Burrell
missed weight and a percentage of his fight purse, totaling $700,
went to Villefort; another $700 went to the athletic commission.
UFC
157 Rousey vs. Carmouche Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $1,173,300
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on FX 7 Hinders ADCC 2013 in Brazil; Event Might Go to China
or Abu Dhabi
Marcelo
Dunlop
Opponents
Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping face off before in their middleweight
fight at the UFC on FX event on Jan. 19 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium
in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
via Getty Images)
With
a good chance of being scheduled for November, ADCC 2013 will
no longer be in Sao Paulo, like the organizers of the event created
by Tahnoon biz Zayed from Abu Dhabi, had planned. And the reason
for it is connected to UFC on FX 7.
On
Jan. 17, when the octagon for UFC event already began to be built
at Ibirapuera, the city of Sao Paulo was questioned by the State
Public Prosecutor about the amount spent on the event –
approximately $2.5 million, according to the prosecutor. After
the investigation, the city of Sao Paulo needed to review all
of its investments for sporting events, including ADCC 2013.
After
that, another gigantic metropolis gained ground in the race to
host the tournament created in 1998: Shanghai, China.
“We
had a complete sponsorship package from Sao Paulo City Mayor’s
office approved and confirmed,” said the ADCC Committee
on Sunday in letter first published by Kid Peligro. ”However,
recently, we were informed that the agreement has been revoked.
Therefore, we are forced to change venues. Brazil has the strongest
tradition in our sport and due to this very unfortunate turn
of events we have to seek a different location for the ADCC 2013
event. As of now we are deciding whether to hold ADCC World Championships
in either Abu Dhabi or China. We are very excited with the possibilities
that each place offers and are looking forward to another great
edition of our event.”
While
the exact dates for ADCC 2013 are not confirmed, the trials in
Brazil are from April 19 to 21. The venue is not 100 percent
confirmed, but organizers targeting to hold the event at Maracanãzinho.
Registration
opens on Monday, February 25. Visit the official website of the
event in Brazil so you don’t lose time and miss a slot for
ADCC 2013: www.adccbrazil.com.br.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
vet Jacob Volkamnn signs World Series of Fighting deal
A
week after his UFC release, veteran lightweight Jacob Volkmann
has found a new home in the MMA world.
Volkmann
(15-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has signed a multi-fight with the upstart
World Series of Fighting promotion. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com)
today confirmed the deal, which MMAFighting.com first reported.
Terms
of the deal were not disclosed.
According
to MMAFighting.com, Volkmann is likely to debut at WSOF 3 in
April. The events, which feature a mix of big-show vets and prospects,
currently air on NBC Sports Network.
Despite
a 6-4 record in the organization, including a recent 6-2 run
and wins over notables such as Danny Castillo and Efrain Escudero,
Volkmann recently was part of a massive roster purge that saw
many names, including former title challenger Jon Fitch, axed
from the UFC roster.
Volkmann,
a three-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at the University
of Minnesota, made his pro debut in 2007 and signed with the
UFC in 2009 after a 9-0 start to his career. Six of the wins
had come via submission, though stoppage victories became rarer
once he got in the octagon.
After
back-to-back losses to welterweights Paulo Thiago and Martin
Kampmann in his first two UFC fights, Volkmann dropped to lightweight
and won five consecutive fights. However, all of the victories,
including those over Castillo and Escudero, came via decision.
Additionally, his wrestling-oriented style and smothering top
game drew the ire of many fans. However, he vowed he wouldn't
change his style and said critics just didn't appreciate the
technical expertise his style required.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Wanderlei
Silva not retiring; predicts third-round knockout of Brian Stann
By Dave
Doyle
Wanderlei
Silva has a specific finish in mind for his return to Japan's
Saitama Super Arena, home of some of his greatest moments in
his five-year reign as Pride 205-pound champion.
At
a press conference promoting Saturday's UFC on Fuel 8 main event
against Brian Stann, Silva told the world how he envisions the
fight ending: "I promise I'll knock him out in the third
round," he said.
But
that wasn't the only bold statement "The Axe Murderer"
made. At this stage of the game, every time the 36-year-old Silva
steps into the Octagon, the question of whether this will be
his final MMA appearance isn't too far behind.
With
his first fight at the Super Arena since 2006, the questions
are even louder. So Silva made it clear he's not about to quit:
"Not yet," he said.
This
is Silva's fight fight at 205 pounds since his knockout loss
to Quinton Jackson at UFC 92. Since then, he's primarily fought
at middleweight, along with the occasional catchweight bout.
Silva wouldn't say the move back to light heavyweight -- where
he's meeting Stann, another 205-pounder-turned-middleweight --
is permanent. But he hinted he's had has fill of cutting all
that weight.
"It's
too hard, you know?" Silva said. "My opponent fights
185, he accepts to fight 205,. It's better now, because my diet's
hard."
Asked
specifically if he's going to stay at 205, he said "I don't
know, maybe."
Stann,
meanwhile, understands that Silva is likely to be the overwhelming
favorite in the arena on fight night, at the scene of so many
of Silva great victories. The way Stann sees it, that's okay,
because he, too, is a Wanderlei Silva fan.
"The
popularity of my opponent, Wanderlei Silva, is very well deserved,"
Stann said. "I myself, when I first thought about coming
into this sport, my favorite fighter was Wanderlei Silva. I would
watch his fights in Pride and I would just marvel at the tenacity
that he brought inside of the ring and how he fought. Not only
that, but the way he treated other people and the way he conducted
himself, I've always admired all of those qualities in him."
"So
for me to come into this fight, obviously I'm not going to be
the more popular fighter, but Wanderlei's earned that, he deserves
that right, and I'm so happy that he gets the opportunity to
return to Japan, where he had some of his greatest accomplishments,
and I'm glad that I get to be his opponent. "
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Broken
Hand Knocks Daniel Straus Out of Bellator 95 Title Fight with
Pat Curran
By Mike
Whitman
Daniel
Straus has suffered a broken hand in training and will be unable
to rematch featherweight champion Pat Curran at Bellator 95.
Sources
close to the situation confirmed the development with Sherdog.com
on Tuesday. It is currently unknown if Curran will still compete
at the April 4 event, which takes place at Revel in Atlantic
City, N.J. MMAJunkie.com first reported Straus’ injury.
Curran and Straus first met in 2009 under the Xtreme Fighting
Organization banner, with Curran snatching a second-round knockout.
Since that defeat, Straus has won 17 of his last 18 fights. The
28-year-old earned his shot at Bellator’s featherweight
title by winning the promotion’s Season 6 tournament last
spring, taking decisions from Jeremy Spoon, Mike Corey and Marlon
Sandro. Known for his grinding style and superior fitness, the
Ohioan was last seen on Oct. 26, when he finished UFC veteran
Alvin Robinson with a rear-naked choke at Bellator 78.
Three
years younger than Straus, Curran defended his featherweight
title for the first time against Season 4 tournament winner Patricio
Freire on Jan. 17, earning a split decision while simultaneously
setting a promotional ratings record at Bellator 85. The victory
marked the fifth straight triumph for Curran since dropping to
the featherweight division, where he won the 2011 Summer Series
and then captured the 145-pound title by knocking out Joe Warren
nearly one year ago.
Source
Sherdog
|
Sam
Sicilia vs. Maximo Blanco added to TUF 17 Finale in April
A
featherweight bout between Sam Sicilia (11-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and
Maximo Blanco (8-4-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has been added to the TUF
17 Finale in April.
UFC
officials late Tuesday announced the fight booking for the card
at the same time it was made official that event headliner and
flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was off the card and his
title defense with John Moraga with an injury.
The
TUF 17 Finale takes place April 13 at Mandalay Bay Events Center
in Las Vegas.
Sicilia,
a cast member of "The Ultimate Fighter Live" a year
ago, won his UFC debut at the TUF 15 Finale this past June with
a second-round knockout of Cristiano Marcello. That fight was
his debut at 145 pounds after competing at lightweight on the
show.
But
he followed that performance up with a second-round TKO loss
to Rony "Jason" Bezerra at UFC 153 in October. That
loss snapped his seven-fight win streak.
Blanco
also will look to get back in the win column after a loss in
his promotional debut at UFC 145 this past April. The split-decision
setback to Marcus Brimage gave him two straight losses after
a submission defeat to Pat Healy in his Strikeforce debut in
September 2011. The Venezuelan hasn't won since a December 2010
victory in Japan that gave him a six-fight win streak.
The
latest TUF 17 Finale card now includes:
TBA
vs. TBA - "TUF 17" tournament final
Travis Browne vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano
Cole Miller vs. Bart Palaszewski
Justin Lawrence vs. Daniel Pineda
Maximo Blanco vs. Sam Sicilia
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Jeremy
Stephens Drops to Featherweight, Takes on Estevan Payan at UFC
160
by Jeff
Cain
A
featherweight bout between Jeremy Stephens and Estevan Payan
has been added to Memorial Day weekend’s UFC 160 event.
UFC
officials announced the match-up on Wednesday.
UFC
160 takes play on May 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las
Vegas. The card is headlined by the rematch between Cain Velasquez
and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva for the UFC heavyweight
title.
Stephens
(20-9) will be making his featherweight debut. He’s dropped
his last three fights as a lightweight and will likely be fighting
for his job against Payan.
Payan
(14-3) is riding a seven-fight win streak and will make his UFC
debut against Stephens. Payan is a Rage in the Cage veteran.
He’s fought under the Bellator MMA banner, and most recently
competed in Strikeforce.
The
UFC 160 fight card is taking shape. You can keep track of the
latest fight announcements, cancellations and rumors in the MMAWeekly.com
Rumors Section.
UFC
160 Fight Card:
-Cain
Velasquez (11-1; #1 Heavyweight) vs. Antonio “Bigfoot”
Silva (18-4; #9 Heavyweight)
-Alistair Overeem (36-12) vs. Junior dos Santos (15-2; #2 Heavyweight)
-Glover Teixeira (20-2; #7 Light Heavyweight) vs. Ryan Bader
(15-3;#8 Light Heavyweight)
-Gray Maynard (11-1-1; #4 Lightweight) vs. T.J. Grant (20-5;
#10 Lightweight)
-Abel Trujillo (10-4) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (19-0; #9 Lightweight)
-Donald Cerrone (19-5) vs. K.J. Noons (11-6)
-Stephen Thompson (6-1) vs. Amir Sadollah (6-4)
-Jeremy Stephens (20-9) vs. Estevan Payan (14-3)
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
If
Jose Aldo Moves To 155, He Stays at 155, Says UFC President Dana
White
by Jeff
Cain
Following
the UFC 157 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White
told a group of media that Jose Aldo was refusing to fight Anthony
Pettis, citing Pettis not deserving the title shot.
White
announced on Tuesday that Aldo had relented, agreeing to face
Pettis and that the fight would take place as planned on Aug.
3, and that if Aldo won, he would get a crack at the lightweight
title.
On
Tuesday night’s edition of UFC Tonight, the UFC president
said that if Aldo goes to the 155-pound division that he’d
have to stay there. White added that if Pettis defeats Aldo,
Pettis would have to say in the featherweight division and defend
the title.
“It
wasn’t difficult to get the fight. I called (Aldo’s
manager) Andre (Pederneiras) yesterday and it took two minutes
to get the fight done. He said that after Aldo beats Pettis,
he wants to move up to 155 and fight there. I said that was fine,
but one of the matchmakers called and said there was a misunderstanding,
that he wants to go to 155, win the title, and go back to 145.
That’s not happening,” said White.
“If
he moves to 155, he stays at 155 and he holds that belt. If Pettis
wins the fight, Pettis is going to have to stay at 145 and defend
that belt a couple of times.”
Following
Aldo’s recent victory over Frankie Edgar at UFC 156, Pettis,
the No. 1 contender in the lightweight division, requested the
fight with Aldo.
When
Aldo and Pettis meet on Aug. 3, it will be two fights in a row
that a top lightweight dropped down to the 145-pound division
to face the reigning champion, Edgar being the first.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Sherdog’s
Top 10: Black Mixed Martial Artists
By Tristen
Critchfield
Black
History Month originally began as Negro History Week in 1926
before eventually expanding to a full-month February tribute
to the accomplishments of prominent African-Americans 50 years
later. In honor of this yearly tradition, a panel of Sherdog.com
staff has selected its Top 10 Black Mixed Martial Artists.
The
list comes with its own twist: considering the diversity of the
mixed martial arts population, this Top 10 has been adapted to
include black fighters of all nationalities, not just African
Americans. Several of the fighters who appear below have stories
that are not yet complete, while others are close to -- or have
already -- ridden off into the sunset. All have had significant
roles in making the sport what it is today.
1.
Anderson Silva
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder grew
up in Curitiba, Brazil, where the majority of the populace is
of fair-skinned, European descent. Since he came from a poor
family, Silva first learned jiu-jitsu by rolling with neighbors
who could afford the training. In the professional mixed martial
arts realm, Silva’s resume speaks for itself. Regarded as
the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, “The Spider”
debuted in the Octagon with a knockout of Chris Leben on June
28, 2006. In his next fight, he defeated Rich Franklin to become
the promotion’s 185-pound king -- a title he has not relinquished
in 14 bouts since, all while making the difficult look ridiculously
simple. Outside of surviving a harrowing four-plus rounds against
antagonist Chael Sonnen at UFC 117, Silva’s greatest challenge
has been combating boredom. Some potential major hurdles loom
on the horizon, including super fights against Jon Jones or Georges
St. Pierre -- or both.
2.
Jon Jones
The
Jones clan is a talented group indeed. While “Bones”
has been dominant in his reign as light heavyweight champion,
older brother Arthur recently earned a Super Bowl ring as a defensive
lineman with the Baltimore Ravens, and younger brother Chandler
turned heads as a rookie pass rusher with the New England Patriots.
Despite his considerable skills and a ledger that includes victories
over former titlists Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida,
Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort, Jones has not quite caught on
with fans in the manner he should. The anti-Jones sentiment reached
its apex in 2012, when his refusal to face Chael Sonnen on short
notice forced the cancellation of UFC 151. Winning cures all
ills, however, and Jones gets the chance to continue to do what
he does best against Sonnen on April 27.
3.
Quinton Jackson
Jackson
is no angel, but that may very well be part of his appeal. With
an entrance that includes a menacing glare, howling and a chain
around his neck, “Rampage” became a fan favorite while
competing in Japan for Pride Fighting Championships. After joining
the UFC, the Memphis, Tenn., native promptly ended the title
reign of perhaps the promotion’s most popular fighter at
the time, Chuck Liddlell. Jackson did not remain champion for
long -- he lost a unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin at UFC
86 -- but he did post notable victories over Dan Henderson, Wanderlei
Silva and Lyoto Machida before his tenure with the Las Vegas-based
promotion concluded earlier this year. Outside of the cage, “Rampage”
has made headlines for his reprisal of B.A. Baracus in “The
A-Team” remake, questionable interactions with female reporters
and a high-speed chase with law enforcement officials.
4.
Rashad Evans
Evans’
introduction to the MMA world came on Season 2 of “The Ultimate
Fighter,” where he drew the ire of his coach, Matt Hughes,
for what the former welterweight king perceived to be showboating
during a preliminary bout on the reality show. Things improved
from there for the former Michigan State University wrestler.
He joined forces with the famed Jackson’s Mixed Martial
Arts team at the urging of castmate Keith Jardine and eventually
captured light heavyweight gold by defeating Forrest Griffin
at UFC 92. “Suga” had a highly publicized split with
the New Mexico-based fight camp in 2011 shortly after then-teammate
Jon Jones won the UFC 205-pound strap. The Evans-Jones feud reached
its climax at UFC 145, where “Bones” defeated Evans
via five-round unanimous decision. Now entrenched as one of the
founding members of the Blackzilians camp in Florida, Evans remains
a perennial Top 10 light heavyweight, but a head-scratching loss
to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156 put a halt to talks of
a potentially lucrative middleweight showdown with Anderson Silva.
5.
Maurice Smith
Smith
first made his name on the professional kickboxing circuit by
winning the World Kickboxing Council and World Kickboxing Association
titles in 1983. With his striking prowess firmly established,
the Seattle native entered the MMA realm in 1993. He experienced
limited success during his early years in the sport, compiling
a 4-7 record while competing for Japanese organizations Pancrase
and Rings. Smith made his UFC debut against heavyweight champion
Mark Coleman as a huge underdog. It was an era in which grapplers
and wrestlers ruled the Octagon, and Smith’s penchant for
submission defeats did not inspire confidence. Smith had worked
to improve his ground game by forming a partnership with Frank
Shamrock called The Alliance, and “Mo” scored a victory
for standup artists everywhere by shocking Coleman at UFC 14.
Smith had one successful title defense against David Abbott at
UFC 15 before dropping the belt to Randy Couture. More recently,
Smith earned a third-round knockout triumph -- at age 50 -- over
Jorge Cordoba at a Resurrection Fighting Alliance event in March.
6.
Benson Henderson
The
son of a Korean-American mother and an African-American father,
Henderson currently sits atop the UFC’s lightweight division,
arguably the most competitive and difficult weight class in the
promotion today. Known for his ubiquitous toothpick and Christian
values, “Smooth” rose to prominence in the now-defunct
World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, where he became the lightweight
champion and took part in memorable five-round battles against
Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis. The MMA Lab standout seems
to get better with each passing fight. After a pair of contentious
decision triumphs in title bouts against Frankie Edgar, Henderson
was thoroughly dominant in dispatching Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox
5 in December. Perhaps even more impressive than the victory
was the fact that Henderson had some members of the media believing
he had concealed a toothpick in his mouth for the duration of
the fight.
7.
Demetrious Johnson
“Mighty
Mouse” became a pioneer of sorts in 2012, when he defeated
Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152 to become the promotion’s inaugural
flyweight ruler. Then, Johnson silenced any doubts about his
staying power as champion by wearing down No. 1 contender John
Dodson over the course of five rounds at UFC on Fox 6. Before
the UFC decided to add the 125-pound division, the AMC Pankration
product was also one of the top bantamweights in the world. The
size discrepancy at 135 pounds proved to be too much, however,
as Johnson came up short in his title bid against Dominick Cruz
at UFC Live 6. Johnson’s most notable attribute is his blinding
speed, but it does not appear that he will be too quick to move
from his perch atop the flyweight division.
8.
Kevin Randleman
A
three-time NCAA All-American and two-time national champion wrestler
at Ohio State University, Randleman relied on his power and athleticism
while competing in the UFC’s heavyweight and light heavyweight
divisions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. “The Monster,”
who was part of Mark Coleman’s Hammer House team, won the
promotion’s heavyweight crown by defeating Pete Williams
at UFC 23. Randleman successfully defended the belt against Pedro
Rizzo before losing the crown to Randy Couture at UFC 28. He
exited the UFC following a 205-pound triumph against Renato Sobral
in 2002. During a 10-fight stint with Pride Fighting Championships,
Randleman fought a who’s who of MMA royalty, squaring off
with the likes of Murilo Rua, Mirko Filipovic, Quinton Jackson,
Kazushi Sakuraba and Fedor Emelianenko, to name a few; his 2004
knockout of Filipovic in the 2004 heavyweight grand prix was
his most memorable win with the Japanese organization.
9.
Jose Landi-Jons
Landi-Jons,
more commonly known as “Pele,” was born in Cuba but
moved to Brazil at age 7. It was there that he developed a reputation
on the Vale Tudo scene as a fearsome muay Thai specialist, winning
the Brazilian Vale Tudo Fighting 5 tournament with a trio of
first-round finishes in 1996. The Chute Boxe Academy stalwart
later developed a rivalry with Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner
Jorge Patino, and, by beating “Macaco” in back-to-back
bouts, Landi-Jons was integral in helping to make a name for
his camp. Stateside, “Pele” also scored memorable victories
over Pat Miletich and Matt Hughes, the latter of which came when
the Brazilian landed a devastating knee as Hughes shot for a
takedown. The later portion of Pele’s career was marred
by a less-than-amicable split with Chute Boxe due to a financial
dispute; the two parties later reconciled. An early training
partner of Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva, Landi-Jons is
still known as one of the first stars of the legendary Brazilian
camp.
10.
Josh Koscheck
“Kos”
grew up as a mulatto -- half-black, half-white -- in the primarily
white town of Waynesburg, Pa. According to a 2010 piece published
by Fight! Magazine, the fighter, who was raised by his grandparents,
used the racial slurs hurled his way during childhood as motivation
in future endeavors. Koscheck established himself as a villain
early on in his MMA career by conspiring with roommate Bobby
Southworth to hose down a slumbering Chris Leben on the initial
season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The former national
champion wrestler at Edinboro University has never shied away
from his bad-guy persona, parlaying it into a coaching stint
opposite welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre on “The
Ultimate Fighter 12.” The Californian came up short in his
title bid against GSP at UFC 124, suffering a fractured orbital
in the process. A recent -- and bitter -- split with the American
Kickboxing Academy has Koscheck situated at the Dethrone Base
Camp, where he remains a top 10 talent in the welterweight division.
Source:
Sherdog
|
For
UFC on FUEL TV 8's Brian Stann, it’s about making peace
with the fear
by Ben
Fowlkes
Say
you're a UFC fighter lurking somewhere beneath the top ranks
of your division, but well above the Facebook prelim zone of
near total anonymity. Say you're a known fighter, even a popular
fighter, and you can feel pretty confident that the UFC brass
isn't watching your fights with a Sharpie in hand, ready to draw
a big black line through your name the moment you slip up.
Say,
in other words, that you're Brian Stann. Say you're coming off
a decision loss to Michael Bisping, and you're trying to find
a way to move forward with your career without becoming so fixated
on wins and losses that it screws up the fighting style fans
love you for. How do you do that?
We
know the UFC prioritizes two things from its fighters: victorious
performances and exciting ones – and not necessarily in
that order. Losing is a good way to fall all the way out the
bottom of your division, but winning too conservatively can be
counterproductive to your long-term career goals. If you're a
fighter trying to make your way on a UFC roster that's 100 fighters
over capacity, how are you supposed to balance all that in your
mind?
According
to Stann (12-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC), who will try to bounce back into
the win column when he takes on Wanderlei Silva (34-12-1 MMA,
4-7 UFC) in the main event of this weekend's UFC on FUEL TV 8
event in Saitama, Japan, you have to start by telling yourself
that you might lose. You have to know it and really believe it,
and yet not be afraid of it.
"I
always walk in there prepared for that," Stann told MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com). "I make peace with the fear of defeat."
That
might sound simple, but it really isn't. It's actually pretty
complicated, and maybe even impossible for the vast majority
of the population.
Think
about it: You spend a solid eight weeks essentially living in
the gym, training so hard and so often that by the end of each
day you can't do much more than come home and enjoy the brief
sensation of not moving. You do this because you want to win.
You do everything because you want to win, because only an idiot
walks into a professional cage fight figuring he'll just wing
it and see how it goes. Add to that the fact that you make twice
as much money with a win. Also add that, at least in most cases,
winners move up the ladder while losers fall down. Winners get
to grin their way through the post-fight press conference while
losers sit around with ice packs on their faces. Winners hoist
a beer to celebrate. Losers drown their sorrows.
The
point is, it's better to win a fight than to lose it. Losing
is something you want to avoid, especially in this business and
in this hyper-competitive environment. And yet, as Stann explained,
it's the fear of losing that makes bad fighters and bad fights.
"I
think that fear holds you back from putting forth your best performance,"
Stann said. "If you walk out there thinking to yourself,
'I have to win,' you almost fight with that mental emergency
brake on. It holds you back, and you fight not to lose instead
of going for it."
One
of the problems with fighting not to lose is that you might lose
anyway. That's part of making peace with the possibility of defeat,
Stann said. What you have to come to terms with is the fact that
the result doesn't always reflect the process. You can want it
and work for it and do everything in your power to earn it, but
that doesn't guarantee you'll get it. You have to find a way
to be all right with that, as difficult as that is.
"In
the fights I've had where I've gone for the win and just got
caught or made some mistakes or whatever, I still get frustrated,
but I can live with that," Stann said. "I can make
those adjustments. In fights that you lose where you defeated
yourself before you went out there and didn't put forth your
best effort, those are the ones that haunt you. That's why I
try to make peace with the fact that, hey, I may lose this fight.
But they're paying me to go out there and fight hard. That's
the only thing I have to do."
Against
Silva, a violent and exciting fight seems like a given. Especially
fighting him in his old stomping grounds inside Saitama Super
Arena, Stann can feel secure in the knowledge that he's probably
not in for a wrestling match. If anything, he said, he has to
accept the fact that, even if he wins, he's probably going to
have to take some lumps in the process.
"One
thing he has, no matter how old he gets, is a right hand that
he throws heavy and throws often," Stann said of Silva,
who's coming off a decision loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 147.
"Even in the fights that he's lost, he's severely hurt his
opponents at some point or another."
That
doesn't mean Stann is expecting Silva to come out flinging wild
haymakers in the bout's opening seconds. Then again, he said,
"If he does that, I would certainly feel comfortable doing
that with him." What he expects instead is a smart, aggressive
fight from a savvy veteran. After losing two of his past three
and suffering through a difficult year in 2012 – both personally
and professionally – Stann also knows that his immediate
future may hinge on the outcome.
When
I talked to him this time last year, I remember Stann saying
that he didn't want to hang around in the UFC as just another
slugger who can be counted on to produce "fun fights."
If he's not moving closer to a title shot, he said, he might
have to think about doing something else with his life. But now
he finds himself in what he describes as a "one-off"
in the light heavyweight division – as Stann explained it,
"To me, it's a middleweight fight and we just have a gentleman's
agreement that we're not going to cut weight" – and
against an aging legend who's definitely closer to the end of
his career than the beginning.
Doesn't
that make this exactly the type of "fun fight" Stann
didn't want to hang around just to participate in?
"For
me, coming off a loss, I don't know," Stann said. "It's
a one-off outside of 185 [pounds], but the bottom line is, does
a win over Wanderlei Silva mean something? My biggest focus is
I need to go undefeated in 2013. I need to finish Wanderlei Silva
and then fight a top 10 opponent next. ... It's a big fight,
an important fight for me. I think a good performance here helps
me get co-main events and possibly main events in the future."
That
is, if he wins. There's always the chance that he won't, and
he knows it. The question is, can he know it and accept it without
fearing it? It's a lot harder than it seems, especially when
so much is riding on where you end up and how you get there.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Tarec
Saffiedine explains why he turned down Carlos Condit, says Dan
Henderson fought hurt at UFC 157
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
Dan
Henderson isn't accustomed to fighting under a shower of boos,
but that's exactly what happened when he dropped a tepid split
decision to former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida
at UFC 157.
The
disappointing co-main event earned the scorn of fans inside Anaheim's
Honda Center, along with that of UFC President Dana White, and
afterward Henderson even took to Twitter to apologize for what
he termed a "boring" performance. Although according
to Henderson's Team Quest teammate, Strikeforce welterweight
champion Tarec Saffiedine, the stakes may have been tilted in
Machida's favor from the outset.
"Dan
is always 100-percent in his mind. But his body, you know, his
body wasn't -- I don't know if I can say it -- but it wasn't
100-percent healthy," Saffiedine revealed on Monday's edition
of The MMA Hour." But Dan, whatever is going on with his
body, is always 100-percent going into a fight mentally."
Saffiedine
refused to go into further detail regarding Henderson's condition,
however the Belgian has had his own problems to worry about as
of late.
By
now it's apparent that any UFC fighters with the audacity to
turn down a fight should expect to hear their decision aired
publicly, and Saffiedine is no exception. After Rory MacDonald
dropped out of UFC 158's co-main event with a neck injury, promotion
officials revealed that Saffiedine rejected a proposed bout against
Carlos Condit, which would have taken place on three weeks notice.
"The
main reason basically was I'm not 100-percent healthy,"
Saffiedine explained. "I have a couple injuries that have
been nagging and I have to take care of them. I'm doing [that]
right now. So I had to unfortunately turn down the fight. It
was too short to heal my injuries and be ready for the fight.
With a healthy and longer camp, I would love to take the fight."
Saffiedine
is currently undergoing physical therapy to return to full strength,
while Condit, the UFC's No. 2 ranked welterweight, ultimately
found himself matched-up against Johny Hendricks. And although
Saffiedine's injury is minor -- he prefers not to disclose any
details -- the 26-year-old admits that even if he were 100-percent,
he still would've been hesitant to accept the fight.
"On
such short notice, I think I would have to say no," Saffiedine
explained. "I don't know, man. It was a tough call because
I wasn't in the best shape right now. It was a tough call to
say yes, and at the same time it was a great opportunity. It
was the opportunity I was looking for.
"I
know he's a big name and he's a really tough opponent, but he's
not somebody that I can take lightly. It was hard because I'm
really looking forward to my first fight in the UFC."
Fairly
or unfairly, accusations of cowardice are often flung in the
direction of any fighter that dares turn down a fight. Saffiedine
admits to receiving his fair share, though he says the pendulum
swung the other way as well.
"I
had a lot of support. A lot of people understood [why] I turned
down the fight. Of course you have people that don't understand
and don't agree, but you always have both sides, whatever decision
you make. I think if I would have taken the fight, I would have
people saying that I shouldn't have taken it, and other people
would've been happy with the decision. That's something you have
to deal with.
"For
the people that disagree with it, I'll make sure that they enjoy
my next fight."
Saffiedine
has yet to speak to White or UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean
Shelby, but he expects to return in either April or May for his
Octagon debut, hopefully against "anybody in the top-10"
of the 170-pound division. Coincidentally, No. 5 ranked welterweight
Demian Maia has already lobbed a public challenge his way.
Saffiedine
calls the match-up exactly "what I'm looking for."
Though in the meantime, he simply must wait, able to do nothing
but experience the UFC vicariously through his former Strikeforce
stablemates.
"We
didn't fight as much as we wanted to before in Strikeforce,"
Saffiedine concluded. "I guess we are really hungry to show
what we are capable of doing, and that we've really come to the
UFC to fight and put on good shows.
"Watching
that event [on Saturday] gave me goosebumps. So many people watching,
so many people there screaming and booing at the same time; it
was really exciting and I can't wait to be there and fight."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
MMA
Top 10 Rankings: Ronda Rousey Solidifies Spot as Top Pound-for-Pound
Woman
The
updated MMAWeekly.com World MMA Rankings were released on Wednesday,
Feb. 27. This system ranks the Top 10 MMA fighters from across
the world in each of the seven most widely accepted men’s
weight classes and the Top 10 pound-for-pound women fighters.
Taken
into consideration are a fighter’s performance in addition
to win-loss record, head-to-head and common opponents, difficulty
of opponents, and numerous other factors in what is the most
comprehensive rankings system in the sport.
Fighters
who are currently serving drug-related suspensions are not eligible
for Top 10 consideration until they have fought one time after
the completion of their suspension.
Fighters
must also have competed within the past 12 months in order to
be eligible for Top 10 consideration unless they have a bout
scheduled within a reasonable time frame.
Notes:
Brian Bowles and Dominick Cruz are ineligible for consideration
because they haven’t fought in more than a year.
(Fighter’s
previous ranking is in parenthesis.)
Below
are the current MMAWeekly.com World MMA Rankings:
WOMEN’S
POUND-FOR-POUND (all weight classes)
1. Ronda Rousey (1)
2. Miesha Tate (2)
3. Jessica Aguilar (3)
4. Sarah Kaufman (4)
5. Megumi Fujii (5)
6. Marloes Coenen (6)
7. Jessica Penne (7)
8. Alexis Davis (9)
9. Liz Carmouche (8)
10. Carla Esparza (n/a)
HEAVYWEIGHT
DIVISION (over 205 pounds)
1. Cain Velasquez (1)
2. Junior dos Santos (2)
3. Daniel Cormier (3)
4. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (9)
5. Alistair Overeem (n/a)
6. Fabricio Werdum (4)
7. Frank Mir (5)
8. Josh Barnett (6)
9. Stefan Struve (7)
10. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (8)
LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205-pound limit)
1. Jon Jones (1)
2. Lyoto Machida (3)
3. Alexander Gustafsson (5)
4. Dan Henderson (n/a)
5. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (n/a)
6. Rashad Evans (2)
7. Phil Davis (4)
8. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (6)
9. Glover Teixeira (7)
10. Ryan Bader (8)
MIDDLEWEIGHT
DIVISION (185-pound limit)
1. Anderson Silva (1)
2. Vitor Belfort (2)
3. Chris Weidman (3)
4. Michael Bisping (4)
5. Mark Munoz (5)
6. Brian Stann (6)
7. Costa Philippou (7)
8. Tim Boetsch (8)
9. Yushin Okami (9)
10. Hector Lombard (10)
WELTERWEIGHT
DIVISION (170-pound limit)
1. Georges St-Pierre (1)
2. Johny Hendricks (2)
3. Carlos Condit (3)
4. Martin Kampmann (4)
5. Jake Ellenberger (5)
6. Rory MacDonald (6)
7. Demian Maia (n/a)
8. Robbie Lawler (n/a)
9. Josh Koscheck (7)
10. Jon Fitch (8)
LIGHTWEIGHT
DIVISION (155-pound limit)
1. Benson Henderson (1)
2. Gilbert Melendez (2)
3. Anthony Pettis (3)
4. Gray Maynard (4)
5. Nate Diaz (5)
6. Michael Chandler (6)
7. Eddie Alvarez (7)
8. Jim Miller (8)
9. Khabib Nurmagomedov (9)
10. TJ Grant (10)
FEATHERWEIGHT
DIVISION (145 pound-limit)
1. Jose Aldo (1)
2. Ricardo Lamas (2)
3. Chad Mendes (3)
4. Frankie Edgar (n/a)
5. Chan Sung Jung (4)
6. Cub Swanson (8)
7. Pat Curran (7)
8. Dustin Poirier (5)
9. Erik Koch (6)
10. Clay Guida (9)
BANTAMWEIGHT
DIVISION (135 pounds or less)
1. Renan Barão (1)
2. Michael McDonald (2)
3. Urijah Faber (3)
4. Eddie Wineland (4)
5. Bibiano Fernandes (5)
6. Brad Pickett (6)
7. Raphael Assuncao (7)
8. Mike Easton (8)
9. Erik Perez (9)
10. Tyson Nam (n/a)
FLYWEIGHT
DIVISION (125 pounds or less)
1. Demetrious Johnson (1)
2. Joseph Benavidez (2)
3. John Dodson (3)
4. John Moraga (6)
5. Ian McCall (4)
6. Jussier da Silva (5)
7. Darrell Montague (7)
8. Louis Gaudinot (8)
9. John Lineker (9)
10. Tim Elliot (10)
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Friendship
with Anderson Silva Took Andre Galvao Out of San Francisco Open
Marcelo
Dunlop
While
enrolled in the San Francisco Open, a championship by IBJJF this
weekend, Andre Galvao did not fight in California.
Galvao,
who teaches his favorite techniques in LESSON PLAN on this month’s
GRACIEMAG print edition, said he is sorry for his absence, and
explained what UFC champion Anderson Silva and coach Ramon Lemos
have to do with his decision. The black belt also spoke about
a possible return to MMA, the ADCC 2013 superfight with Braulio
Estima and other instructice topics.
GRACIEMAG.com:
The other day you said that “the show must go on” and
that you would fight the SF Open. You are not going?
ANDRE
GALVAO: I was going to motivate my students here in California
and get a competition rhythm. But it turns out Anderson (Silva)
inaugurated his new gym in Los Angeles this weekend, and I (was)
there with him. And also, Ramon Lemos (came), too, and I haven’t
seen him for a while. I miss them, I gotta see my friends, right?
ADCC
2013 may no longer be in Sao Paulo. What is your excitement today
for the super-fight with Braulio?
I
am very excited. I’ll certainly be ready for this superfight,
and I’m sure that Braulio will also train very hard. The
winner will be the one who is better on that day, and it will
be a great fight for the fans. It’s been a long time since
two absolute champions have faced each other … and it will
thrill the crowd. I intend to surprise and do everything right.
I just want to get out of there with my arm raised.
After
ADCC, do you plan to return to MMA soon?
Yes,
I do. I really want to do it, someday. For now I’m just
working for the gym, but I want to go back. I feel that I didn’t
show the world my full potential as an athlete in MMA.
As
a coach and observer, what have you seen that you find interesting
in MMA compared to Jiu-Jitsu?
Back
attacks. There’s always someone on the opponent’s back
in UFC, you can notice it. I think this is now the best option
for those who like to fight Jiu-Jitsu in the octagon. If you
have a lethal back attack, you will do well. Everyone ends up
turning his back for a moment in the fight, even for just a moment
– either by fatigue, to raise or defend a takedown. We always
see the back of someone there ready to be taken … And the
neck ready to be devoured!
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Dinsdale
replaces Bahari, meets Carvalho in Cage Warriors 52 main-card
bout
An
injury has forced Mohsen Bahari (5-0) out of next month's Cage
Warriors 52 bout with Bruno "B.C." Carvalho (14-6),
and promotional newcomer Steve Dinsdale (5-0) has taken his spot.
Officials
today announced the change to the welterweight bout.
It's
slated for the Cage Warriors 52 main card, which streams live
and free on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) from HMV Forum
in London.
The
nature and extent of Bahari's injury were not disclosed.
Dinsdale,
who was on standby as a potential alternate on "The Ultimate
Fighter: The Smashes," made his pro debut in late 2010 and
has won four of his five fights via stoppage.
"I've
been trying to get a fight on Cage Warriors for a while, so I
jumped at this chance when it came," the Englishman stated.
"I've taken the fight with only two weeks' notice, but I'm
ready to fight. I'm feeling confident, and I'm hungry for the
victory."
Carvalho,
a Brazilian, recently suffered a decision loss to Cathal Pendred
in his Cage Warriors debut. That spoiled a 9-1 run for the M-1
vet.
The
full Cage Warriors 52 card includes:
MAIN
CARD (MMAjunkie.com, 4 p.m. ET)
Gael Grimaud vs. Cathal Pendred - for welterweight title
Fouad Mesdari vs. Graham Turner
Bruno "B.C." Carvalho vs. Steve Dinsdale
Matt Inman vs. Jack Mason
Paul Marin vs. Paul McVeigh
Liam James vs. Alan Philpott
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 2:15 p.m. ET)
Chris Fishgold vs. Steve O'Keeffe
Alex Enlund vs. Martin McDonough
Paul Redmond vs. Alexei Roberts
Dan Hope vs. Gary Kono
Merv Mulholland vs. Brad Wheeler
PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised, 1:30 p.m. ET)
Anthony Ferguson vs. Ben Hajir
Richard Griffin vs. Shah Hussain
Olly Battell vs. Shaj Haque
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Matt
Riddle released from UFC following second failed marijuana drug
test
By Ariel
Helwani
Matt
Riddle's UFC career has come to unceremonious end.
The
welterweight was released from the UFC recently after he failed
a post-fight drug test for marijuana following his UFC on FUEL
TV 7 split decision win over Che Mills earlier this month, MMAFighting.com
confirmed with sources close to the situation. MMA Junkie first
reported the news Tuesday.
Riddle
wasn't available to comment on the situation when contacted by
MMAFighting.com. No word just yet on whether his win will now
be overturned.
This
marks the second time in less than a year that Riddle tested
positive for marijuana following a fight. His July UFC 149 win
over Chris Clements was changed to a no contest after he failed
his post-fight drug test in Calgary.
The
27-year-old Riddle has a medical marijuana license from the state
of Nevada, and he said on a recent episode of The MMA Hour that
he smokes for legitimate medical reasons.
"I
do smoke but I'm not smoking to get stoned," he said. "I'm
smoking so I can finally relax, sit back and just not worry about
things. People, maybe they did it in college one way, but for
a guy like me, for a professional athlete that goes through what
we go through, it’s medicine for me. Maybe for some little
stoner sitting on the couch playing XBox, for him, it's a drug.
For me, it's medicine."
The
UFC acted as the governing body in London since there isn't an
athletic commission in place there.
Riddle
(8-3, 1 NC) made his UFC and MMA debut in June 2008 following
a stint on the seventh season of "The Ultimate Fighter."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
157 officially draws 13,257 attendance for $1,350,191 gate
This
past weekend's UFC 157 event officially drew a 13,257 attendance
figure and a $1,350,191 live gate.
UFC
157 took place this past Saturday, Feb. 23, at Honda Center in
Anaheim, Calif. The night's main card aired on pay-per-view following
prelims on FX on Facebook. Inaugural women's bantamweight champion
Ronda Rousey submitted Liz Carmouche in the night's main event.
California
State Athletic Commission officials on Wednesday released the
official figures to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
The
numbers mark a decrease in attendance from the 15,525 fans reported
on fight night. The live gate estimate of $1.4 million was down
only slightly from the initial estimate.
Of
the 13,257 attendees, 11,116 paid for tickets, and 2,141 received
complimentary admission. That produces an average paid ticket
price of $121.546 compared to a figure of $101.85 per ticket
issued.
UFC
157 marked the UFC's sixth trip to Anaheim. Only the promotion's
home base of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., have hosted more
shows in the United States.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
CFA
Celebrates Second Anniversary with Women’s 145-Pound Tourney
by Mick
Hammond
For
the second anniversary of the Florida-based Championship Fighting
Alliance, promoter Jorge De La Noval decided to do something
different.
Along
with a great card of male fights, the CFA will launch the first
round of a women’s 145-pound tournament on their upcoming
show this Saturday night to be streamed live via UStream from
Coral Gables, Fla.
De
La Noval says the inspiration for the tournament came after watching
one of the participants train. From there it was decided that
to legitimize a champion in the division, the tournament would
be the best way to go about it.
“To
be honest, Kelsey De Santis was kind of the inspiration for it,”
said De La Noval. “She is the type of fighter we were looking
for and we’re very excited to have her.
“We
need a champion. That’s why every time we do a tournament
is to have a champion. We’re going to have eight girls and
then the finalist will walk away with $20,000 and the championship
belt. It’s a great way for them to showcase their skills,
to get known and make some money.”
With
help from managers such as Jason Ellis, De La Noval was able
to put together a great mix of talent that will showcase a broad
spectrum of skills in the tournament.
“A
lot of these girls are on top of the game,” he said. “Some
of great wrestlers, great boxers, great with jiu-jitsu; it’s
a really mixed bag and we’re really excited to bring something
different to the show.
“Any
of these eight girls has the potential to win this tournament.
Most of them have incredible amateur careers and some of them
have really good pro (experience). I think whoever is more ready
to move on and take on this challenge (will win the tournament).”
Along
with the women’s 145-pound tournament, De La Noval told
MMAWeekly.com he’s excited for the evening’s main event
between James McSweeney and Dion Staring, as well as a couple
fights on the undercard that could steal the show.
“You
talk to these (main event) guys and they are like, ‘Jorge,
I’m not going to hold back. I’m going to rip his head
off.’ They both feel the same way,” said De La Noval.
“They’re both strong guys and hit very hard, so I don’t
see this fight going past the first round.
“Joey
Rodriguez versus Shah Bobonis is kind of like new breed vs. old
dog; they’re both hungry and want to prove a point, so I
expect that to be a great fight. Oscar Delgado and Byron Bird
I expect to be fireworks because neither holds back, they go
in for the kill.”
As
for the remainder of the year, De La Noval is targeting growth
so that not only does the promotion do well, but the fighters
will as well.
“We
want to build some stars, we want to build the brand and have
a network (deal), but to do that we have to have more fights,”
said De La Noval. “If we can have eight or nine events that
would be my goal, but if we can do seven solid events, I’ll
be happy.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|