Watch these two monsters of the Octagon square off tomorrow night at UFC 131 .Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc-131/ufc-131-weigh-in-highlight-dos-santos-vs-carwin-video_bbf20ac89.html
Thursday, December 22, 2011
UFC 131 Weigh In Highlight: Dos Santos vs Carwin - UFC 131
Watch these two monsters of the Octagon square off tomorrow night at UFC 131 .
Alistair Overeem Recruits Wrestling Standout Jared Rosholt to Prepare for UFC 141
Alistair Overeem refused to talk about who he has brought in to help him train for Brock Lesnar on yesterday's episode of The MMA Hour, but apparently he doesn't mind if his training partners let the cat out of the bag.Jared Rosholt, the winningest heavyweight in the storied history of Oklahoma State University wrestling, tweeted a picture of himself and Overeem Monday morning, confirming that the three-time All-American was one of the big wrestlers "The Reem" flew to Holland to help him prepare for Lesnar.
Rosholt, the younger brother of former UFC middleweight Jake Rosholt, has made a successful transition to MMA, thus far. The 25-year-old debuted in February and since then has gone 4-0, finishing all of his opponents in either the first or second round. Rosholt finished his collegiate career in 2010 with an overall record of 125-27.
More Coverage: UFC 141 Fight Card | UFC 141 Results
Overeem recently had to move his camp from Las Vegas back to Holland to take care of his cancer-stricken mother. This is his first fight since severing ties with his long-time team at Golden Glory.
UFC 141, headlined by Overeem vs. Lesnar, airs live on pay-per-view on Friday, Dec. 30.
?Lil? Nog? pulverizes Ortiz?s ribs to score easy stoppage, Tito wants one more fight before retiring
Tito Ortiz has fought a lot of battles, but there's only so much the body can take.
For the second straight fight, Ortiz's midsection gave out as he lost to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a first round stoppage due to strikes at the 3:15 mark of the first at UFC 140 in Toronto.
Ortiz was emotional following the fight saying he wanted to fight one more time before walking off into the sunset.
"Im going to take a little time off. I'm going to enjoy Christmas with my family," Ortiz told UFC analyst Joe Rogan. "I have one more fight left on my contract so hopefully Dana [White] will let me honor that out, get me one more fight."
Ortiz went down on a huge knee from "Lil Nog" with 3:36 left in the first. On the ground, Nogueira pounded away at Ortiz's body. He got off 67 shots, many of the vicious elbows and punches to Tito's right side.
He did major damage on the 53rd and 54th shots. On strike No. 60, Ortiz winced and rolled to his side. Two more heavy shots to the ribs and Ortiz stopped defending himself. He had to be saved. When the former UFC light heavyweight champ sat up, he immediately grabbed the area around the ribs on his left side.
Ortiz, 36, set a record tonight walking into the UFC's Octagon for the 26th time. He's never fought for another MMA promotion.
"My goal in my career was to go 15 years, be the longest UFC figher in this cage. I've done that tonight. I'm gonna get one more. I'm going to give it my all, get a W and that'll be all for me."
Whether Nogueira was trying to or not, he found a weak area on Ortiz. Tito admitted it after the loss.
"He caught me clean in the same place I got hit versus Rashad [Evans]," Ortiz said. Evans essentially ended their fight at UFC 133 by landing a knee on Ortiz's sternum. "He hurt me. I tried to get up. Everytime he hit me there I felt the wind go out of me."
Nogueira, a big star in Japan with PRIDE, is starting develop a strong reputation with the UFC. The 35-year-old is 20-5 and 3-2 in the UFC. He needed this one badly having lost to Phil Davis and Ryan Bader in his last two fights.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
UFC 140 wrap video: With ?horsepower meeting technique? Frank Mir treated ?Big Nog?s? arm like a ?bag of potato chips?
Knockout punchers traditionally get the most love from fight enthusiasts. Rightly so. There's something scary watching an Anderson Silva fight knowing something devastating is going to happen any second.
Frank Mir certainly isn't in Silva's league with his striking, but it's tough to argue that he shouldn't be feared on a similar level. At UFC 140, for the second time in his career, he snapped a limb in the Octagon.
Mir described the finish of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as horsepower meeting technique.
"When I grabbed it and started cranking it. It just crushed like a bag of potato chips," Mir told Sherdog in this video.
To watch Mir speak about snapping a limb in such calm fashion is scary stuff.
"That aspect of being able to devastatingly finish people, that's something to be fearful of," Mir said. "[...] Trust me, the guys who got knocked out tonight they're at the after party right now. People that are going to the hospital that are having rods put in their arm and get things casted up, not so much."
Mir also gained a lot of satisfaction out of submitting the guy who had the reputation as the best jiu-jitsu practitioner in the history of the sport at heavyweight, but the cherry on top was not wilting when he got blasted and nearly finished by "Big Nog's" fists.
"It showcased a few things people always draw into question. My ability to want to keep on pushing in a fight when it's going bad," Mir told Sherdog on this video.
Mir's description of the sequence of events that lead to the submission is a few minutes of must-watch video. So is the beginning when he talks about not being ready to fight at the start. It took Nogueira crushing him on the chin to go in auto-pilot mode.
"His warm up and mindset was much better than mine. When I got in there it was weird. I was looking around. I just did not feel activated. I didn't feel sharp," said Mir.
A warning to the rest of the heavyweight division, if you rock Mir, you better finish him because a 50-percent Mir in survival mode is about as scary as it gets in the big boy division.
Alistair Overeem Recruits Wrestling Standout Jared Rosholt to Prepare for UFC 141
Alistair Overeem refused to talk about who he has brought in to help him train for Brock Lesnar on yesterday's episode of The MMA Hour, but apparently he doesn't mind if his training partners let the cat out of the bag.Jared Rosholt, the winningest heavyweight in the storied history of Oklahoma State University wrestling, tweeted a picture of himself and Overeem Monday morning, confirming that the three-time All-American was one of the big wrestlers "The Reem" flew to Holland to help him prepare for Lesnar.
Rosholt, the younger brother of former UFC middleweight Jake Rosholt, has made a successful transition to MMA, thus far. The 25-year-old debuted in February and since then has gone 4-0, finishing all of his opponents in either the first or second round. Rosholt finished his collegiate career in 2010 with an overall record of 125-27.
More Coverage: UFC 141 Fight Card | UFC 141 Results
Overeem recently had to move his camp from Las Vegas back to Holland to take care of his cancer-stricken mother. This is his first fight since severing ties with his long-time team at Golden Glory.
UFC 141, headlined by Overeem vs. Lesnar, airs live on pay-per-view on Friday, Dec. 30.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Ben Askren has one challenge left on wrestling mat
Ben Askren defended his Bellator belt with a decision win over Jay Hieron in October. He's wrestled in the Olympics, won two multiple championships for the University of Missouri, and his next challenge should be Douglas Lima, when Bellator's next season starts in March.
But Askren may have one more wrestling match in him. The idea of a one-time match with current world champ Jordan Burroughs has been proposed to Askren, and he likes what he hears.
"He's a great competitor. He's the world champ. It would be a blast," Askren told Cagewriter. "We have uniquely different styles. I have the scrambling, and am a great mat wrestler, and he's very good on his feet. I think it will be a blast. You don't get to see too many contrasting styles that often."
His contract with Bellator allows Askren to participate in wrestling events. His sponsor, Cage Fighter, also sponsors Burroughs, and is working to make this match happen, possibly in Chicago the weekend of the UFC on Fox 2.
Askren is known for letting his opponents know exactly what he thinks of them, which can often result in harsh words. With Burroughs' credentials, Askren has nothing but respect for his possible opponent.
"He's one of the few people I actually respect. I can't talk [expletive.] I've got a lot of respect for him. If you look post-Cael [Sanderson], me and Burroughs are the two most dominant wrestlers as far as we both had undefeated seasons, we both won the Hodge Trophy, we both had very, very few close matches in the last couple years."
In the meantime, Askren is continuing to focus on an MMA career. Though next year is an Olympic year, he is definitely sticking with MMA and preparing for his next Bellator title defense. He describes his training at Duke Roufus' gym in Milwaukee as awesome, and has no plans to take a break during Bellator's hiatus.
"Training hard. I don't have an off-season, so I'm in the gym five days a week. Well, six, really. "
UFC sets the line on rape jokes, Torres gone while Griffin and Evans stay
Dana White had to make a tough decision on Thursday.
Miguel Torres, one of the guys who helped build the business for the WEC and lower weight divisions, was fired by the UFC.
Early Wednesday morning, Torres tweeted what appeared to be a rape joke (that may or may not be a line from the television shows "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" or "Workaholics"). By Thursday night, the former 135-pound champ was without his job.
What makes the situation dicey is that it wasn't the only "rape joke" made by a fighter on Wednesday.
During the UFC on Fox 2 press conference in Chicago, White watched Rashad Evans drop a line about the Jerry Sandusky/Penn State child-rape tragedy.
On the heels of a rape joke from Forrest Griffin in November, it put White in a position where he had to do something.
The UFC president told MMAFighting's Ariel Helwani that questionable speech by fighters will be handled individually. He accepted the explanations from Griffin and Evans, but not Torres.
White spoke with SI.com where he first revealed the disciplinary action for Torres.
[...] He said he hadn't heard what happened to Forrest. Really? Where do you live? What business are you in? How do you not hear about these things? You should have paid more attention. It's to the point now where, there's going be times when things happen and mistakes are made. I cannot defend Miguel Torres. I cannot defend what he said. What he said makes no sense other than when he says, "It was a joke." Well, I don't think that's a funny joke. I think it's disturbing. [...]
It's being announced right now to you. You're the only one that knows. Miguel Torres has been cut from the UFC and his career with us now is over.
White said it was different when Griffin got in hot water.
"When Forrest tweeted something like that, his explanation was dead on, and it made absolute sense," said White (8:45 mark).
Before the Torres decision had come down, White explained his take on�Evans' joke.
"We're dealing with intelligent people here. It's one thing if you're in a sport that's full of stupid people. Guys that are really dumb. You can't fix stupid," White said. "We're dealing with educated guys here, guys who went to college ? handle their own businesses. Guys are going to say stupid stuff and depending on what you say, and how you say it, that's how I'm going to handle this."
Due to microphone issues during the Chicago presser, White didn't really hear the Evans' line clearly.
"Rashad made a mistake yesterday and I talked to Rashad about it after. Rashad was like 'I don't know why I said it. It came out of my mouth and it shouldn't have.' I deal with these guys like normal human beings," White said (7:50 mark)."
White said he was annoyed by some media members and fans, who he thought were coming down hard on Evans and Griffin.
"I hate this holier than thou attitude with people. It makes me sick. Yes, guys are going to make mistakes. They're going to say stupid stuff and depending on what you say and how you say it. People will be punished for things that they say," said White.
The UFC boss said the last thing he wants is a sanitized crew of fighters. He doesn't believe people want to see him become vanilla either.
"Listen if you want me to come out and read a statement from our lawyer [during press conferences]," White said. "[...] I'd be more than happy to come out on camera [and do that]."
Welcome to the world of David Stern, Roger Goodell and Bud Selig. The major-league commissioners from the NBA, NFL and MLB have to make judgment calls on insensitive speech all the time.
In 2011, Stern had to deal with on-court homophobic slurs from Kobe Bryant and several other players. As a face of the league, Bryant received a $100,000 fine while the others got a slap on the wrist or no penalty. Stern had his reasons, but chose to barely explain them. Give White credit, at least he made an attempt to explain his rationale.
With a bigger spotlight for the UFC and its fighters comes more scrutiny and attention on the athletes. Hopefully in the future, the fighters get the message that referencing rape in any sort of joking or sarcastic manner is simply off limits.
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Diaz camp says Condit is a tougher fight than GSP; Zahabi says champ rushed too hard into training
The shock of no Georges St-Pierre for another year is beginning to settle in around the MMA world.
UFC president Dana White tweeted earlier today that the promotion's 170-pound champ "blew out his ACL."
GSP's opponent at UFC 143, Nick Diaz found out that he's now facing Carlos Condit in what will be a UFC welterweight interim title fight.
MMAjunkie caught up with Diaz's manager Cesar Gracie for his take on the new fight:
"I believe he's better than GSP standing and not as good a wrestler, and [he doesn't have] as good of a top game," Gracie said. "I believe standing up, Condit is actually a more formidable opponent. So Nick is not known to force a takedown, so it's actually a harder fight, as far as standing."
St-Pierre's trainer Firas Zihabi said everyone is disappointed about the torn ACL, but also said the fighter suffered the injury by rushing back from his previous knee injury.
"I've been telling him to take it easy now and let his knee heal 100 percent, and he just always tries to find a way to work around it," Zahabi said. "But now, he's going to require surgery, so there's just no way around a surgery. You've got to do it, you've got to rest, and that's the bottom line."
"It's hard to get Georges to take time off and rest. It's a very challenging thing to do as his trainer. He's very motivated to train, and sometimes too much is too much. The mind is stronger than the body, so sometimes the body can't keep up, and I feel that that's what happened with Georges."
Anyone else worried about St-Pierre returning at 100 percent for the next few years? If he suffered a full ACL tear, that's a rough injury to return from in just 10 months.
Frank Mir breaks Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira?s arm to win at UFC 140
Frank Mir was the first man to ever knock out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. At UFC 140 on Saturday night, he also became the first man to submit Nogueira.
Nogueira started the bout by landing short punches, then moving in for a takedown attempt. The two clinched, but it was Mir who got the takedown. Nogueira worked his way back to his feet, and the two continued to clinch against the fence.
The fight took a turn when Nogueira unloaded several strikes, knocking down Mir. It appeared that Mir was close to being finished when Nogueira rolled to try and get a submission. Instead, Mir got the submission, rolling into a Kimura and breaking Nogueira's arm. The fight was stopped at 3:38.
[UFC 140 video highlights: Mir vs. Nogueira]
Mir, the one-time heavyweight champion, is on a three-fight win streak which includes a KO, submission and a decision. His record is 16-5. Nogueira's last bout was a thrilling knockout at UFC 134, but the loss gives him a record of 33-7-1.
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Strikeforce Results: Melendez vs. Masvidal
Filed under: Strikeforce, Results
MMA Fighting has Strikeforce results of Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal and the rest of Saturday's Strikeforce on Showtime card happening at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.Melendez will defend his Strikeforce lightweight belt against Masvidal. Meanwhile, Cris Cyborg is back in action as she defends her women's 145-pound title against Hiroko Yamanaka.
Strikeforce results are below.
More Coverage: UFC 141 Fight Card | UFC 141 Results
Showtime Bouts
Gilbert Melendez def. Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision (live blog)
Cris "Cyborg" Santos def. Hiroko Yamanaka via first-round KO (live blog)
Gegard Mousasi def. Ovince St. Preux via unanimous decision (live blog)
K.J. Noons def. Billy Evangelista via unanimous decision (live blog)
Undercard
Caros Fodor def. Justin Wilcox via first-round knockout
Roger Bowling def. Jerron Peoples via first-round knockout
Devin Cole def. Gabriel Salinas-Jones via unanimous decision
Eddie Mendez def. Fernando Gonzalez via majority decision
Herman Terrado def. Chris Brown via submission (armbar)
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/17/strikeforce-results-melendez-vs-masvidal/
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Demian Maia Prepares for UFC 131 - UFC 131
Demian Maia's journey to Vancouver starts in his home country of Brazil. Take a quick glimpse into his life as he prepares to face Mark Munoz at UFC 131Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc-131/demian-maia-prepares-for-ufc-131-video_bd49f1b7a.html
UFC 140 postfight: Bonuses, Lesnar-Overeem rumors and flyweight division debuts on Mar. 3
With all the superlatives you can say about the fights this year in the UFC, tonight's event in Toronto may have produced the most spectacular set of finishes on the pay-per-view we've seen over the 12 months.
Chan Sung Jung knocked out Mark Hominick in just seven seconds and got the Knockout of the Night. Frank Mir posted a brilliant comeback and either broke and dislocated Antonio Rodrigo� Nogueira's arm. He got Submission of the Night. The main event between Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida was called the Fight of the Night. All bonus winners got $75,000. On top of that, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira appeared to have broken some ribs on Tito Ortiz during his big win.
- There was a rumor reported by Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole that Alistair Overeem was going to drop out of his Dec. 30 fight against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. Dana White strongly denied the report and said he hadn't heard anything. Keep in mind, the possibility still exists. Last week, Overeem left his new training camp in Las Vegas to tend to his ailing mother back in the Netherlands. He's due at a Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing on Monday in Las Vegas.
- White announced the official start of the flyweight era begins Mar. 3, 2012. There will be two fights with the winners meeting for 125-pound title at a later date. Joe Benavidez will face Yasuhiro Urushitani and Demetrious Johnson battles Ian McCall. Urushitani will be making his Zuffa debut.
- Tito Ortiz wants one more fight in the UFC. He was beaten badly by "Lil' Nog," but wants to go out a winner. White was non-committal when asked if he would give another fight to the UFC legend.
- Ortiz went to the hospital where he was joined by "Big Nog." He's a tough guy. Anyone who saw his arm snap would be surprised to see the same guy smiling in an ambulance.
Update: White said he still hadn't gotten official word on the nature of injury, but damage to both the shoulder and elbow would require surgery.
- The event at the Air Canada Centre hauled in a gate of $3.9 million and a total of 18,303 fans.
- Jones said he'd like four or five months off.
"Fighting three times in 2012 would be nice. My goal is to be a company guy. Please Dana gimme a break, though," laughed Jones. "I am actually going to take time off. My parents did a great job of raising me and my brothers. I want to give them magical vacation."
Jones was a go-to guy for the promotion this year fighting in February, March, October and December.
- Mir stirred the pot a bit in reference to the Overeem rumors saying he feels healthy and three weeks is plenty of time to get ready for UFC 143. He'd also like a shot against new UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos and thinks the door is still open even though the Lesnar-Overeem winner has been promised the next shot.
"If Brock goes out there and lays on Overeem for three rounds, maybe I'll get it," said Mir.
- Mir commented on the duel of jiu-jitsu skills showcased his fight against the legendary Nogueira.
"He tried to do BJJ move for BJJ move with me, and the guys I train with are pretty good.� I'm used to guys trying to roll through on my kimura. I had a strong inclination Nog wouldn't tap," said Mir.
The Las Vegan also said Nogueira would submit nine out of 10 guys caught in a guillotine, but he's No. 10.
- White said he told UFC matchmaker Joe Silva that he'd like a quick turnaround for the Korean Zombie.
Strikeforce Main Event Breakdown: Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal
Filed under: Strikeforce
During a recent interview with the press, Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez voiced his displeasure with some of the people who discounted his next challenger, Jorge Masvidal."A lot of people have been talking nonsense; that Jorge, like he's no good. That you're going to run by him," Melendez said. "And that talk kind of bothers me because some people are ignorant. They don't really follow the game that much. If you don't fight in the UFC, they think you're no good."
Like most fighters, Melendez is much more attuned to the subtleties of an opponents' fight style and skills than most observers, and he understands he's truly in for a fight in Saturday night's Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal main event. And he probably understands he's in a no-win situation as well.
If he does emerge victorious, that's exactly what he was supposed to do, and if he loses, detractors will say his consensus No. 2 lightweight ranking was never quite deserved.
Masvidal (22-6) is a crafty fighter with a style Melendez hasn't really experienced in the cage. He keys his offense off a long jab that lengthens his reach and moves his opponent backward, an important strategy that plays into his preference for counter-fighting. Overall, though, he's a very complete fighter.
Despite having no real base in wrestling, he's proven his excellence in that department through the most recent part of his career. For example, his last fight was against KJ Noons, who loves to strike and uses his wrestling to keep the fight upright where he thinks he has an advantage. That has largely been a successful strategy for him. According to FightMetric, Noons has successfully defended 71 percent of takedown tries against him, but Masvidal took him down on seven of nine attempts en route to a dominant win.
So that's one thing for Melendez (19-2) to be concerned about. The other is Masvidal's striking. As mentioned, Noons has a reputation as a striker but Masvidal had a field day against him on the feet, knocking him down once and out-landing him 73-38 in signature strikes. That's a fairly common outcome for Masvidal, who has one pro boxing fight under his belt and prides himself on his offensive skills and defensive movement.
Masvidal lands about 50 percent of his strikes while his opponents land less than 30, according to FightMetric. In addition to his jab as a favored weapon, he is one of few fighters who takes advantage of criminally underused body punching, occasionally firing off left hook liver shots. His easy motion and comfort level in his standup often lull his opponents into a false confidence, and then he can use his speed to strike or shoot in for the takedown. But other times, he himself might slow things down, too. That's good in some matchups, but it's not the best idea for this one.
Melendez's style is much more well known than Masvidal's. Melendez has refined his boxing over the last few years, adding power along the way (four of his last six wins are by KO or TKO). Coupled with an effective wrestling game and ability to create a grinding match, he often forces opponents into a fight that favors his skills. Melendez is also one of those fighters who can take his foe's best weapon away and turn the bout into his favor that way.
But really, Melendez's most important single trait is his conditioning, a quality that allows him to push the fight in any direction he wants with little fear of running out of gas. Particularly in five-round bouts, many fighters will pace themselves early, aware that they might need reserve fuel in case they still find themselves fighting 20 minutes or so later. Melendez doesn't have to think about that.
He's also trained for five-round title fights multiple times. This will be his seventh straight time preparing for the 25-minute distance, while Masvidal is doing it for the first time.
From a pure skill level, Masvidal is certainly capable of the upset, but it's hard to overlook some of his past uneven performances. In a fight against Paul Daley that took place in Sept. 2010, for example, the win was there for the taking in round three after the two split the first two rounds, and Masvidal never showed a sense of urgency to seal the deal, allowing Daley to steal it on the scorecards. Given Melendez's aggression, any kind of passivity may be Melendez's undoing.
Masvidal has to be more offensive than usual and push forward, but that's not really not his style, and it's not likely he'll change that overnight. If he sits backs and waits to counter, Melendez's more straightforward style will make a bigger impact with the judges. Masvidal has the chin and boxing skills to bring this fight into the late rounds, but Melendez's stamina will be the edge to get him to the finish line first. Expect this one to be closer than the wide odds indicate, but Melendez holds on to the belt with a decision win.
Fedor returns to Japan to fight Ishii on NYE
Fedor Emelianenko is heading back to the place that made one of the biggest stars in MMA history. The long rumored fight against Satoshi Ishii is on. DREAM just confirmed its Dec. 31 fight card via email.
Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri are also featured on a card that is loaded with Japanese stars. Bibiano Fernandes, Rodolfo Marques Diniz, Masakazu Imanari and Antonio Banuelos will also finish off the DREAM bantamweight tournament.
Fedor was released from his deal with Zuffa/Strikeforce back in August after a loss to Dan Henderson. Including that loss, he'd dropped three straight. He returned on Nov. 20 to defeat Jeff Monson in Russia.
In Ishii, he faces a fighter with just six pro MMA fights under his belt. Ishii, the heavyweight Judo gold medalist at the 2008 Olympics, was the prize of a bidding war between Japan and the UFC. He chose to turn down the American promotion's offer. Since then he's fought a slew of underwhelming opponents. His most recent fight was down at light heavyweight, where he fought Paulo Filho to a draw in Brazil.
FIGHT FOR JAPAN "Genkidesuka!! Oomisoka!! 2011!
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii
Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi "Lion" Inoue
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
*Yuichiro "Jien-Otsu" Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno
Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques Diniz
Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
**Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Peter Aerts
*Mixed rules match (1R - 3min kickboxing rules, 2R - 5min MMA rules)
**IGF rules
Michael Bisping gets short turnaround, added to UFC on Fox 2; Spike plans to counterprogram
If this wasn't already clear, it looks like Spike television isn't happy with the way its relationship ended with the UFC.
The Viacom-owned television network still has plans to stay in the mixed martial arts game. According to MMAWeekly, Spike is presenting an eight-hour marathon on UFC programming up against UFC's second big show on Fox.
Spike TV officials, however, still have access to a library of UFC programming, including past event broadcasts, until the end of 2012, and they're using said material as artillery to counter-program UFC on Fox 2.
Spike TV is countering the Jan. 28 fight card with a UFC Unleashed marathon. Spike is pulling no punches with the Jan. 28 marathon, airing from 4 p.m. to 12 midnight ET/PT on Spike TV, titling it UFC Unleashed: Evans vs. Davis.
UFC Unleashed: Evans vs. Davis leans heavily on the major players from UFC on Fox 2, predominately featuring Rashad Evans fights, but also including bouts featuring Phil Davis, Chael Sonnen, Mark Munoz, and Michael Bisping.
That's right, Bisping is part of the mix. It was confirmed this morning that the brash Brit will be fighting on less than eight weeks notice against Demian Maia in Chicago on Jan. 28.
Bisping's won four straight while Maia is 9-3 in the UFC. His only losses came against Nate Marquardt, Mark Munoz and the middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
The addition of Bisping gives the UFC three polarizing personalities (Bisping, Sonnen and Evans) to handle the prefight media work in advance of UFC on Fox 2.
Never accuse Urijah Faber of running from a bet
Urijah Faber is a busy man. In addition to running Team Alpha Male and training, he's also been spending time at the hospital as his sister recovers from a serious car accident. (He tweeted that she's alert, aware and rapidly improving.)
But even with all that on his plate, Faber still met the obligations of a bet he made with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Faber bet that his teammate T.J. Dillashaw would beat John Dodson, Jones' teammate at Jackson's MMA. Dodson won the fight at Saturday's "The Ultimate Fighter" finale, so Faber paid up.
Well done, Faber.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Georges St-Pierre and 10 Fighters We'd Love to Party With
Imagine this.
You're at the club in Las Vegas on a Saturday night. A UFC event has just finished up, and a few prominent MMA figures start to roll in.
Maybe you see Joe Rogan. Maybe Brittney Palmer and Arianny Celeste show up next.
What about the fighters?
Here are GSP and nine other fighters we'd love to party with.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/985447-george-st-pierre-and-10-fighters-wed-love-to-party-with
UFC: Why Adding Women's Divisions Would Be a Brilliant Move by the UFC
Women fight just as hard as men, if not harder. They deserve a place in the UFC, they deserve a place alongside Georges St.Pierre and Anderson Silva.
Detractors of women's MMA (hereafter abbreviated as WMMA) would deny this and say that WMMA doesn't belong in the UFC. Some would even say that it shouldn't exist at all!
But there are several reasons why the UFC should seriously consider adding women's divisions to the UFC.
First, women's fights are entertaining. They are often the most fun to watch on the card because the women feel a constant need to prove themselves just as good as the men; they feel the need to prove that comparing WMMA with the "boring" WNBA is misguided.
Adding two women's divisions—women's featherweight and women's bantamweight—would also give the UFC two more titles to place on the card, bringing the total to 10 titles (when you include the newly announced flyweight division).
The UFC is one of the fastest growing sports entities in the world and two more legitimate titles will help bolster cards that would otherwise be weak. There will be cards that WMMA can help since Dana White once said he plans to hold 100 events a year.
Adding women to the UFC would also give the UFC a unique (for them) marketing angle: Sex appeal.
One of the (sad) truths of WMMA is that looks matter—a lot. The rule that sex sells applies to WMMA just as it does to the music industry or any other industry based around celebrity culture.
No offense to Junior Dos Santos, but the young male demographic doesn't want a poster of him on their walls.
The WMMA world had Gina Carano and is now is having more stars come out of the woodwork with Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate.
As Rousey and Tate become more popular and grow the sport, more women will get involved and there will be more stars to help the UFC and WMMA climb to new heights.
Furthermore, adding women to the UFC would make the UFC appear to be the most progressive of all the major sports organizations. It would give the UFC moral high ground over organizations like the NFL and show that the UFC truly is the sports company of the future.
All of these reasons would mean that the UFC would be in a good position for future growth.
WMMA would draw more women into the sport and, in doing so, captivate a whole bloc of society. Over the course of a generation, millions of households will have been raised on the UFC product and it will surge in popularity even more than it has since 1993.
Bringing women into the sport would be a tremendous boon to long-term growth, although maybe an inhibitor in the short term due to narrow-minded individuals who loathe the sport and don't view women as equals.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
Why Strikeforce Is Going to Disappear into the UFC the Same Way the WEC Did
It was shocking to hear that the UFC was going to allow Strikeforce to continue in 2012, and on Showtime no less.
When the UFC bought their rival it seemed inevitable that they were going to be absorbed into the massive MMA machine. Instead, they are going to die a slow death.
One of the major announcements just recently made was that Strikeforce's heavyweight division is going to dissolve. This is detrimental to the company as it was arguably their best division. Losing it along with most of their champions leaving to go to the UFC really hurts their product.
Dana White, the president of the company, and the UFC are smart. Some fans would be outraged at the demolition of a company like Strikeforce if it happened all at once. That is why White and company are taking it apart piece by piece under the nose of most fans.
It isn't even the first time it's happened. Sometime after the UFC had taken over the WEC, they started cutting weight classes. First they started with heavyweight and light heavyweight. Then they cut middleweights and welterweights. By that time the WEC was a shell of its former self, it was putting on great fights but only attracting hardcore fans with its fights in the lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight divisions.
After a failed pay-per-view attempt with the WEC brand, the UFC and White quickly merged the two companies together.
Whether White wanted to keep the WEC separate and create a PPV model for the brand or whether he planned on merging the two together is unknown. The only thing fans can see is the results.
And the results show that the WEC is no more and that it started when some of the weight classes began disappearing.
It was so slow and subtle most fans probably didn't notice.
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Dana White UFC 131 Video Blog Day 2 - UFC
Dana White UFC 131 Video Blog Day 2. Behind the Scenes of the UFC 131 press con. Dana talking to fans about fights coming up and hockey.Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc/dana-white-ufc-131-video-blog-day-2-video_348769b2e.html
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Dana White?s video blog shows behind-the-scenes at UFC 139
Dana White's first video blog from UFC 140 fight week looks back at UFC 139, which White calls one of the best cards ever. As always, the video blogs that give behind-the-scenes looks at fight cards are about seeing the smaller, nuanced moments that fight fans don't normally get to see when watching a card.
Some moments that stuck out from this one include seeing Tom Lawlor with his "Let's Get Physical" outfit for his walkout while getting pumped up by his cornermen,� watching Jon Fitch comfort his teammate Kyle Kinbgsbury after a loss and Cung Le wanting the doctor to straighten his nose on-site instead of at the hospital.
After Dan Henderson's amazing fight with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, we get to see White congratulate both men, who are barely being able to speak through their exhaustion. It ends with Wanderlei Silva apologizing to UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertitta for his last loss, even after Silva had just TKOed Le.
UFC, FUEL Still Negotiating Deal for International Editions of TUF
Early Tuesday at a press conference in Rio, UFC president Dana White announced Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva as coaches on the first-ever international edition of The Ultimate Fighter, which will take place in Brazil.In the past, White said that international editions of TUF would likely air on FUEL as part of their new wide-ranging deal with FOX-owned networks, but on a Tuesday afternoon teleconference, FUEL executive vice president and general manager George Greenberg said that as of right now, the two sides are still in negotiations to bring the new editions of TUF to air in the U.S.
"Right now, any international edition of The Ultimate Fighter is something we are in discussions with the UFC," he said. "We have no firm deal for TUF Australia or TUF Brazil, or any other TUF show right now.
"We'd love to do this," he added. "I don't think it's going to be an obstacle to get through negotiations."
Greenberg said that he believed the channel, which is already planning 2,000 hours of UFC programming in 2012, still has room to add the international editions of TUF.
Asked to describe the negotiations for the TV properties, he said that the relationship has made for easy communications between the two sides thus far, and that they speak four to five times a day.
"For us, negotiations are sort of easy," he said. "Specifically we're in talks, but I can't tell you what stage. Everything we do with the UFC always will turn out with a healthy ending for both parties. If it's good for the sport, it will be good for the UFC, and it will be great for the FOX Sports media group. I can promise you that."
FUEL will kick off its commitment to its new partner with 24 hours of UFC programming on Jan. 1. On Jan. 3, its weekly news show UFC Tonight premieres at 10 pm, hosted by former WEC announcer Todd Harris and featuring our own Ariel Helwani.
Other UFC on FUEL programming notes:
- Live weigh-in shows begin airing on FUEL on Jan. 13, with UFC 142.
- Live event post-fight coverage will feature one-hour shows hosted by Jay Glazer, beginning on Jan. 14 with UFC 142
- FUEL begins televising UFC preliminary fights on Jan. 20, with the undercard of an FX event.
- FUEL will have the right to air the U.S. editions of The Ultimate Fighter 24 hours after original episodes air on FX.
- There will be quarterly "Champion's Roundtable" specials, with past and current titleholders discussing a wide range of MMA topics
FUEL is currently available in about 38 million households, but Greenberg said the channel's goal is to house so much UFC programming that fans will demand and receive it from their cable and satellite providers.
"I can guarantee you we're going to become the most wanted channel in the television landscape," he said.
Georges St-Pierre Undergoes Successful Knee Surgery
UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre underwent successful knee surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles, St-Pierre's coach Firas Zahabi confirmed with MMAFighting.com."It went great," Zahabi wrote via text message. "The doctor said it could not have gone better."
The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, a renowned facility for sports medicine among professional athletes. St-Pierre's team expects the champion to return to action in 2012. The recovery time could be anywhere between 6-10 months.
In the meantime, the UFC has booked an interim title fight between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit for UFC 143 in February.
It was announced last week that GSP had completely torn his anterior cruciate ligament and damaged his meniscus.
For more on St-Pierre's injury, click here.
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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/13/georges-st-pierre-undergoes-successful-knee-surgery/
Fedor returns to Japan to fight Ishii on NYE
Fedor Emelianenko is heading back to the place that made one of the biggest stars in MMA history. The long rumored fight against Satoshi Ishii is on. DREAM just confirmed its Dec. 31 fight card via email.
Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri are also featured on a card that is loaded with Japanese stars. Bibiano Fernandes, Rodolfo Marques Diniz, Masakazu Imanari and Antonio Banuelos will also finish off the DREAM bantamweight tournament.
Fedor was released from his deal with Zuffa/Strikeforce back in August after a loss to Dan Henderson. Including that loss, he'd dropped three straight. He returned on Nov. 20 to defeat Jeff Monson in Russia.
In Ishii, he faces a fighter with just six pro MMA fights under his belt. Ishii, the heavyweight Judo gold medalist at the 2008 Olympics, was the prize of a bidding war between Japan and the UFC. He chose to turn down the American promotion's offer. Since then he's fought a slew of underwhelming opponents. His most recent fight was down at light heavyweight, where he fought Paulo Filho to a draw in Brazil.
FIGHT FOR JAPAN "Genkidesuka!! Oomisoka!! 2011!
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii
Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi "Lion" Inoue
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
*Yuichiro "Jien-Otsu" Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno
Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques Diniz
Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
**Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Peter Aerts
*Mixed rules match (1R - 3min kickboxing rules, 2R - 5min MMA rules)
**IGF rules
Scott Coker Discusses Overeem vs. Werdum, Gina Carano's Health Status - Strikeforce
Scott Coker Discusses Overeem vs. Werdum, Gina Carano's Health Status Video by Strikeforce
UFC 142: Breaking Down the Entire Event
After the success of the UFC's last trip to Brazil, they are returning again in January and bringing a stacked card filled with exciting strikers. It's headlined by UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
At UFC 134, 11 of 12 Brazilians walked away with victories. Will they find that same type of success again?
Aldo will be taking on top contender Chad Mendes, who many consider to be his toughest test. In what could be Aldo's last fight in the 145-pound weight class, he will have to make a statement in his home country.
In the co-main event, former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort will face former welterweight contender Anthony Johnson.
This is a full breakdown of the entire event.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/982514-ufc-142-breaking-down-the-entire-event
UFC 141 Fight Card: Questions Brock Lesnar Must Answer Against Alistair Overeem
After a sudden turn of events and a million rumors flying a mile a minute, Brock Lesnar is still set to take on UFC newcomer Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 on December 30th, 2011.
UFC 141 will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena beginning at 7:00 p.m. PT.
With Lesnar returning to the Octagon after being off for more than a full year, fans across the globe are beginning to hype up what could be one of the biggest events in UFC history.
However, fans can't be entirely sure that they will get to witness the same Lesnar they once knew when action begins on December 30th.
There are many questions Lesnar will have to answer in his return to the Octagon when he takes on Overeem.
Over the course of the past year, Lesnar has endured a sickness which is often referred to as diverticulitis. Because of his illness, Lesnar took time away from the sport of mixed martial arts in attempts to fully recover from his sickness.
One of the biggest questions Lesnar will have to answer is in regards to how healthy he actually will be in the end-of-December brawl.
It's clear that Lesnar is ready to make his return to the UFC, but will his body be physically ready?
Another question Lesnar will need to answer is whether or not he can exchange strikes with a world-class striking artist.
Lesnar's game-plan will revolve around whether or not he'll be able to successfully take Overeem down to the ground and impose his will via ground-and-pound. If Lesnar can accomplish this, it could be a quick debut for Overeem.
However, if Lesnar can't, he'll be forced to circle the Octagon in Las Vegas with a fighter who is much more skilled in the stand-up.
A final question Lesnar will have to answer in his first fight in over a year will be how ring-rust plays a factor early.
Lesnar is often known for bull-rushing his opponent from the get-go.
However, Lesnar's time away could ultimately play a role in his early attack, as he may attempt to shed off any rust that may be present.
If Lesnar can prove to fans he's back to the "Brock" we once knew, he should have no problem moving closer to his heavyweight-title shot against Junior Dos Santos.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Gilbert Melendez Live Chat
Filed under: Strikeforce
Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez will step into the cage on Saturday night to defend his title against Jorge Masvidal, but before he does that he'll take some time out on Wednesday to chat with readers here at MMAFighting.com.The chat is your opportunity to ask Melendez whatever you'd like to know about his career, his preparation for this fight, his thoughts on Masvidal as an opponent, what he thinks 2012 will hold for him, or anything you'd like to know.
Editor's Note: The chat has concluded but you can still read the entire chat below.
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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/14/gilbert-melendez-live-chat/
Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum Countdown Preview Show - Strikeforce
Fight Network previews Strikforce's heavyweight Grand Prix featuring Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers taking place on June 18, 2011 in Dallas, Texas. UFC sets the line on rape jokes, Torres gone while Griffin and Evans stay
Dana White had to make a tough decision on Thursday.
Miguel Torres, one of the guys who helped build the business for the WEC and lower weight divisions, was fired by the UFC.
Early Wednesday morning, Torres tweeted what appeared to be a rape joke (that may or may not be a line from the television shows "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" or "Workaholics"). By Thursday night, the former 135-pound champ was without his job.
What makes the situation dicey is that it wasn't the only "rape joke" made by a fighter on Wednesday.
During the UFC on Fox 2 press conference in Chicago, White watched Rashad Evans drop a line about the Jerry Sandusky/Penn State child-rape tragedy.
On the heels of a rape joke from Forrest Griffin in November, it put White in a position where he had to do something.
The UFC president told MMAFighting's Ariel Helwani that questionable speech by fighters will be handled individually. He accepted the explanations from Griffin and Evans, but not Torres.
White spoke with SI.com where he first revealed the disciplinary action for Torres.
[...] He said he hadn't heard what happened to Forrest. Really? Where do you live? What business are you in? How do you not hear about these things? You should have paid more attention. It's to the point now where, there's going be times when things happen and mistakes are made. I cannot defend Miguel Torres. I cannot defend what he said. What he said makes no sense other than when he says, "It was a joke." Well, I don't think that's a funny joke. I think it's disturbing. [...]
It's being announced right now to you. You're the only one that knows. Miguel Torres has been cut from the UFC and his career with us now is over.
White said it was different when Griffin got in hot water.
"When Forrest tweeted something like that, his explanation was dead on, and it made absolute sense," said White (8:45 mark).
Before the Torres decision had come down, White explained his take on�Evans' joke.
"We're dealing with intelligent people here. It's one thing if you're in a sport that's full of stupid people. Guys that are really dumb. You can't fix stupid," White said. "We're dealing with educated guys here, guys who went to college ? handle their own businesses. Guys are going to say stupid stuff and depending on what you say, and how you say it, that's how I'm going to handle this."
Due to microphone issues during the Chicago presser, White didn't really hear the Evans' line clearly.
"Rashad made a mistake yesterday and I talked to Rashad about it after. Rashad was like 'I don't know why I said it. It came out of my mouth and it shouldn't have.' I deal with these guys like normal human beings," White said (7:50 mark)."
White said he was annoyed by some media members and fans, who he thought were coming down hard on Evans and Griffin.
"I hate this holier than thou attitude with people. It makes me sick. Yes, guys are going to make mistakes. They're going to say stupid stuff and depending on what you say and how you say it. People will be punished for things that they say," said White.
The UFC boss said the last thing he wants is a sanitized crew of fighters. He doesn't believe people want to see him become vanilla either.
"Listen if you want me to come out and read a statement from our lawyer [during press conferences]," White said. "[...] I'd be more than happy to come out on camera [and do that]."
Welcome to the world of David Stern, Roger Goodell and Bud Selig. The major-league commissioners from the NBA, NFL and MLB have to make judgment calls on insensitive speech all the time.
In 2011, Stern had to deal with on-court homophobic slurs from Kobe Bryant and several other players. As a face of the league, Bryant received a $100,000 fine while the others got a slap on the wrist or no penalty. Stern had his reasons, but chose to barely explain them. Give White credit, at least he made an attempt to explain his rationale.
With a bigger spotlight for the UFC and its fighters comes more scrutiny and attention on the athletes. Hopefully in the future, the fighters get the message that referencing rape in any sort of joking or sarcastic manner is simply off limits.
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Jon Jones Says It Was an Honor To Fight Lyoto Machida, Calls Him a True Warrior
Following UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones' impressive victory over former champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, the 24-year-old has either been loved or hated by MMA fans.
The type of success Jones has found within the past year has included becoming a UFC Champion and defending the light heavyweight title twice—the first to do so since Chuck Liddell held the title from 2005 to 2007.
Many have been quick to find any reason to dislike the dominant champion, and there isn't much to not like him for. He has been respectful to each of his opponents following his victories, including his most recent.
Jones gave praise to his opponent following the victory via Twitter.
"Lyoto, they don’t do men like you, champions. You’re a truth warrior and a champion in life. It was an honor to be on the same cage as you," wrote Jones, in Portuguese.
Jones had his toughest test to date this past weekend, and his Brazilian opponent even won the first round against him in many fans' eyes.
Jones was able to get Machida down in the second round and cut him open with a vicious elbow. It was the beginning of the end for Machida, and Jones choked him unconscious with a guillotine choke soon after.
With his latest victory under his belt, Jones has gone 4-0 in 2011 with wins over Machida, Quinton Jackson, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Ryan Bader. Many have called it the best single year for any fighter in MMA.
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