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UFC 83 card set for Serra vs. St. Pierre 2 fights in Montreal Posted: 28 Mar 2008 08:52 AM CDT Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today confirmed what we have known for some time now: The 11 fights booked for the UFC 83: “Serra vs. St. Pierre 2″ pay-per-view (PPV) event from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, on Saturday, April 19, are now all official — we can remove the “rumor” tag from those that were up until recently unconfirmed. Here’s the complete line up: Main Event: UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra vs. Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre Main card (televised): 185 lbs.: Rich Franklin (22-3) vs. Travis Lutter (9-4) 185 lbs.: Kalib Starnes (8-2-1) vs. Nate Quarry (9-2) 185 lbs.: Michael Bisping (15-1) vs. Charles McCarthy (10-4) 155 lbs.: Mac Danzig (17-4-1) vs. Mark Bocek (5-1) Under card (may not be broadcast): 185 lbs.: Jason MacDonald (19-9) vs. Joe Doerksen (39-11) 185 lbs.: Alan Belcher (12-4) vs. Jason Day (15-5) 185 lbs.: Ed Herman (14-5) vs. Demian Maia (6-0) 155 lbs.: Sam Stout (13-3-1) vs. Rich Clementi (30-12-1) 265 lbs.: Cain Velasquez (2-0) vs. Brad Morris (10-2) 170 lbs.: Jonathan Goulet (21-9) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-4) This marks the first UFC foray into Canada, which has unsurprisingly created quite a buzz north of the United States border. In fact, tickets to the event were essentially sold out to the 20,000-seat arena during the exclusive presale. That has a lot to do with the participation of local favorite and one of the top mixed martial artists on the planet, Georges St. Pierre. “Rush” will look to reclaim his 170-pound strap when he rematches reigning welterweight champion, Matt Serra. Important middleweight bouts round out the entire main card for the most part, including an intriguing showdown between former 185-pound titleholder, Rich Franklin, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu stylist, Travis Lutter. That’s going to be a great fight and an interesting contrast in styles — Rich prefers to bang, while Travis prefers to roll. Season three winner of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Michael Bisping, will also make his highly anticipated middleweight debut when he takes on “Captain Miserable” himself, Charles McCarthy. From the opening to closing bell, the atmosphere inside the Bell Centre is going to be absolutely electric for UFC 83. Let’s hope the fights live up to the expectations … if that’s even possible.

Frank Shamrock, Cung Le and Nick Diaz pre Strikeforce fight interviews (Video) Posted: 28 Mar 2008 08:20 AM CDT Frank Shamrock and Cung Le pre-fight press conference interviews after the jump. Frank: Cung:

WECs Leonard Garcia involved in Lubbock, Texas, cocaine ring bust Posted: 28 Mar 2008 08:08 AM CDT World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) featherweight fighter, Leonard Garcia, was recently among 13 suspected individuals arrested for allegedly being involved in a major drug trafficking organization in Lubbock, Texas, according to KCBD.com. Here’s a snip: “NewsChannel 11 has learned one of those arrested is mixed martial arts fighter Leonard Garcia. He was arrested Tuesday in allege connection with the cocaine ring. Garica is currently ranked sixth in the featherweight class in MMA. He has fought in UFC and Ultimate Fighting championships.” Garcia is perhaps best known for losing a three-round war against Roger Huerta at UFC 69: “Shootout” in April 2007. He recently transitioned to the WEC and dropped down to 145 pounds, taking out Hiroyuki Takaya via technical knockout in his debut earlier this year. After the bout he lobbied for a title shot against WEC Featherweight Champion, Urijah Faber, which is even more unlikely with this recent bad news. The report reveals that all of the suspects under arrest have conspired to sell cocaine going back to as early as 2001. And the “Bad Boy,” if convicted, could face up to 40 years in prison and up to a $2 million fine or life in prison and up to a $ 4 million fine. Clearly, these are extremely serious charges that apparently were four years in the making. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty. (Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “skatanicus” for the assist.)

Rampage Jackson: Wanderlei Silva is the ‘Chump Murderer’ Posted: 27 Mar 2008 08:18 PM CDT Props: LoHudBlogs.com Quoteworthy: “I think that if I fought Wanderlei Silva in the UFC I would have beat him. Wanderlei was the Chuck Liddell of Pride. If you were beating Wanderlei on the ground, the referee's would stand you right up. It happened to me. It happened to other fighters that fought him…. Me and Silva don't even talk to each other. Silva is the type of guy that thinks everyone should be afraid of him. The way I react around him is different. I am not afraid of Wanderlei Silva. They call him ‘The Axe Murder’ because he destroys people in his fights. They threw him chumps and he murdered them. Look at his record of guys he fought. This guy is ‘The Chump Murderer.’ I speak my mind around him and he looks at me all crazy like I shouldn't be saying that. I think some of the referees took payoffs in Pride. In Japan, I promise you something was up.” While a guest on the Opie and Anthony radio show, reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson reflected on his two crushing losses to Wanderlei Silva while the two competed under the Pride FC banner overseas in Japan. It’s widely believed that Silva will drop down to middleweight after his upcoming fight with Keith Jardine at UFC 84: “Ill Will,” which would put a damper on seeing a third match up — this time inside the Octagon — anytime soon. (Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “john” for the assist.)

Strikeforce MMA on NBC Saturday nights Posted: 27 Mar 2008 07:36 PM CDT As expected, Strikeforce and NBC have struck a deal to air a weekly half-hour long mixed martial arts series dubbed "Strikeforce on NBC" on late night network television, beginning on April 12 at 2 a.m. ET. Here's a snip from Strikeforce Chief Executive Officer Scott Coker: “It's truly an honor to have the opportunity to bring the Strikeforce mixed martial arts product to one of the longest-standing and most well-respected national television platforms. NBC has a history of popular late Saturday TV and in the 80's NBC's 'Saturday Night's Main Event' show helped catapult the popularity of professional wrestling. Strikeforce is looking to follow in suit and establish a legacy of its own on the network.” According the release, “Strikeforce on NBC” will follow “Poker After Dark,” hitting a demographic (18 to 34-year-old males) that dovetails with its current target audience. Episodes will be prerecorded and showcase some of the top fighters, fights and storylines of the San Jose, Calif.-based promotion. For example, the premiere episode is expected to shine the spotlight on Cung Le, airing his fight against Brian Warren, as well as providing a profile on the popular San Shou fighter-turned mixed martial artist. This is big news for Strikeforce, which has only been promoting professional MMA bouts for little more than two years. However, the quality of the fights and fighters are solid. And exposure on network television — regardless of the time slot — means that bigger and better things more than likely loom on the horizon.

Billy Evangelista vs. Marlon Sims Strikeforce fight booked Posted: 27 Mar 2008 04:10 PM CDT The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 cast member and legendary (in his own mind) street brawler Marlon Sims (3-2) is set to return to action against super tough up-and-comer Billy Evangelista (5-0) in a 155-pound bout this weekend on the Strikeforce: “Shamrock vs. Cung Le” under card. No major site is reporting this match up — not even ProElite.com or Strikeforce. However, Strikeforce Vice President Mike Afromowitz today confirmed the showdown with MMAmania.com. Sims has had one fight since his backyard brawl with Noah Thomas on the set of TUF 5, losing to Pat Minihan via submission (rear naked choke) in December 2007. Evangelista, on the other hand, has been turning heads on the local Fresno, Calif., scene with his undefeated record and fantastic promise. He trains with the prestigious American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) camp, which has some of the most talented fighters in the sport on its roster. Don’t expect this one to go the distance.

UFC Quick Quote: Frank Edgar focused on winning … and Gray Maynard Posted: 27 Mar 2008 03:48 PM CDT “I’m definitely one of the players in the weight class. It might depend on the outcome of this fight and a couple of other fights in the UFC. The 155-pound class is definitely one of the most stacked in the UFC…. Every fight is important for position. If you lose, you’re pretty much out of the picture for a while. It (the competition for a title shot) is pretty vicious. You’re only as good as your last fight…. You get better by winning. If you win, everything takes care of itself. You get what you want to get out of it. I know this is going to be a tough fight. He (Maynard) is big, strong, has heavy hands and comes from a good camp.” – UFC lightweight contender Frank Edgar tells his hometown rag, The Asbury Park Press, that his fight next week against Gray Maynard at UFC Fight Night 13 is important if he wants to remain in the 155-pound title chase. In fact, he says that every fight is equally important … and he’s right — especially in a division so stacked. I wasn’t too thrilled when this match up was first announced, but it’s grown on me over time. Hopefully, it’s an action-packed, fast-paced back-and-forth war.

Mirko Cro Cop gym in Croatia with new Throwdown cage (Video) Posted: 27 Mar 2008 03:34 PM CDT

UFC Fight Night 13 results and LIVE fight commentary Posted: 27 Mar 2008 03:30 PM CDT UFC Fight Night 13 is less than one week away, taking place at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colo., on Wednesday, April 2, 2008. It’s a three-hour SpikeTV special that will begin at 7 p.m. ET, leading in to the debut of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 series at 10 p.m. Of course, MMAmania.com is set to provide LIVE fight updates for the under card action, as well as blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage on the main card action all night long (not to mention a complete write up of the TUF 7 opener). Needless to say but it’s going to be a rather busy and exciting night for mixed martial arts fans. Top lightweight contenders Kenny Florian and Joe Lauzon will square off in the main event of the evening on a show that is absolutely loaded with great match ups from top to bottom. Here’s the complete line up: Main event: 155 lbs.: Kenny Florian (7-3) vs. Joe Lauzon (16-3) Main card (televised): 170 lbs.: Karo Parisyan (18-4) vs. Thiago Alves (13-3) 205 lbs.: Matt Hamill (3-1) vs. Tim Boetsch (7-1) 155 lbs.: Nate Diaz (8-2) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (11-3) 205 lbs.: Houston Alexander (8-2) vs. James Irvin (13-4) Under card (may not be broadcast): 155 lbs.: Frank Edgar (8-0) vs. Gray Maynard (4-0) 155 lbs.: Marcus Aurelio (15-5) vs. Ryan Roberts (8-2) 155 lbs.: Din Thomas (20-7) vs. Josh Neer (23-6-1) 155 lbs.: Manny Gamburyan (7-2) vs. Jeff Cox (9-4) 155 lbs.: Clay Guida (22-9) vs. Samy Schiavo (10-4) 170 lbs.: George Sotiropoulos (8-2) vs. Roman Mitichyan (5-1) 170 lbs.: Tommy Speer (9-2) vs. Anthony Johnson (4-1) Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the SpikeTV telecast to share their thoughts on the action. Therefore, feel free to leave a comment or 10 before you leave and chat with many of our readers during the show — it always turns out to be a great discussion. In the meantime feel free to share your thoughts and predictions in the comments section below. Keep in mind that MMAmania.com will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after UFC Fight Night 13. Can’t wait.

DREAM 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix continues to take shape Posted: 27 Mar 2008 02:59 PM CDT The Japanese-based DREAM mixed martial arts promotion recently announced three more bouts for its upcoming middleweight grand prix tournament slated for the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on April 15. Fan favorites Denis Kang (29-9-1) and Kazushi Sakauraba (23-10-1) will take part in the competition albeit with separate opening-round opponents. Kang — who is coming off a knockout loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama — will look to redeem himself as he goes up against Gerald Mousasi (20-2-1). Sakauraba, on the other hand, is riding a two-fight win streak after defeating Masakatsu Funaki (38-12-1) by armbar at K-1 Dynamite last New Year’s Eve. He will take on Andrews Nakahara in the first round of the tournament. In addition, a fight between Kioyshi Tamura and Masakatsu Funaki has been booked for the second-ever DREAM show next month. Here’s how the first round of the event currently shapes up: Kazushi Sakauraba (23-10-1) vs. Andrews Nakahara (0-0-0) Denis Kang (29-9-1) vs. Gerald Mousasi (20-2-1) Kiyoshi Tamura (28-14-0) vs. Masakatsu Funaki (38-12-1) Yoon Dong Sik vs. TBA Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. TBA Shungo Oyama vs. TBA Kin Taiei vs. TBA Minowaman vs. TBA Dae Won Kim* Mamed Khalidov* Daniel Acacio* Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza* *Rumored participants The DREAM 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix is shaping up to be a competitive event. It’s going to be a great first round. Stay tuned for more details.

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