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BJ Penn, Michael Bisping, Urijah Faber and Carlos Condit to visit troops in Afghanistan Posted: 13 Jun 2008 08:30 AM CDT UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn and middleweight contender Michael Bisping, along with WEC champions Carlos Condit and Urijah Faber, will soon travel to Afghanistan to visit with United States military and other coalition troops stationed there. Here’s a snip from UFC President Dana White: "We are honored to send UFC and WEC fighters to visit the men and women of the United States Military. We are pleased to be giving back to such a great cause; many of our fighters have served in the military and understand what a great contribution our troops are making overseas." No timetable for the visit or duration of the trip was announced at this time. However, Condit is set to defend his 170-pound title on August 3, meaning it has to happen real soon or after WEC 35. This is certainly not the first time Zuffa has dispatched a small contingent of its fighters overseas. Randy Couture, Rich Franklin and Rachelle Leah visited troops in Iraq back in 2006. Tito Ortiz and Justin McCully have also been fixtures on recent USO tours. Remember that the promotion staged a special Spike TV live event in an aircraft hangar at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, Calif., on December 13 that was open only for troops to attend. It featured a main event between Diego Sanchez and Joe Riggs, which the “Nightmare” won via first round knockout. And there’s also been discussions that the UFC plans to hold a future event on the deck of a Navy aircraft carrier. In addition, several active fighters such as WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann, Luigi Fioravanti, Couture and Brandon Vera, among other, have served in the armed forces. Stay tuned for more details.

MMA Quick Quote: Muhsin Corrbrey ready for ‘biggest fight of career’ against Nick Diaz Saturday Posted: 13 Jun 2008 08:08 AM CDT "Everybody knows this is the biggest fight of my career, but I have to treat it as just another day at the office. He (Nick Diaz) is a big name, but what it comes down to is I just have to get the job done. That is the big thing for me, to go in and do my job. The pressure for me is in the gym, the training. I can’t wait to get in there and fight. I’m looking forward to Saturday.'' – Relative unknown Muhsin Corrbrey talks about his mindset heading into his lightweight fight with well-known Nick Diaz this weekend at Elite XC: “Return of the King” at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii, which will air LIVE on premium cable network Showtime on Saturday, June 14 at 10 p.m. ET.

Tyson Griffin road to UFC 86 fight with Marcus Aurelio (Video) Posted: 12 Jun 2008 08:11 PM CDT

World Championship Fighting (WCF) Boston show on June 20 to include Kenny Florian and Marcus Davis Posted: 12 Jun 2008 07:56 PM CDT Dan “The Upgrade” Lauzon — UFC veteran and the younger brother of Joe Lauzon — will headline the next World Championship Fighting (WCF) event against Brendan Hoxie at the Aleppo Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington, Mass., on Friday June 20. Here’s the complete line up: Dan Lauzon vs. Brendan Hoxie Mike Campbell vs. Rich Moskowitz John Benoit vs. Travis Lerchen Jamie Campbell vs. Jose Valentin Dan Bonnell vs. Barrington Douse Chris Grandmaison vs. Jon Bermudez Jon Jones vs. Parker Porter Davin Wesinger vs. Jose Lopez Ken Stone vs. Mike Oakes Joe Cushman vs. TBA Kevin Corrigan vs. Ruben Gonzales Scott Ledoux vs. Chris Foster Dan O’Keefe vs. Garth Krane Stephen Stengel vs. Chad Hart Other UFC fighters and local products such as Kenny Florian, Marcus Davis, Joe Lauzon and Jorge Rivera will also be on hand as special guests to sign autographs, as well as Kimbo Slice slayer, Sean “The Gladiator” Gannon, Mark DellaGrotte and boxing coach Peter Welch from season two of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). For more information, details and ticket information hit up the official WCF Web site right here.

Gina Carano pics in Muscle & Fitness Posted: 12 Jun 2008 07:34 PM CDT All hail the queen of mixed martial arts, Gina Carano, who is featured in the July edition of Muscle & Fitness that is on newstands now. (Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “Stiffler” for the assist.)

Evan Tanner blog on Spike.com coming soon Posted: 12 Jun 2008 03:33 PM CDT Props: Spike.com Quoteworthy: “I'll be making two to three posts a week. Spike's given me the freedom to talk about whatever's on my mind, within reason of course. I'll be giving training updates, with pictures and video footage, sparring sessions, technique sessions, and strength and conditioning sessions. Hopefully I'll be able to get some behind the scenes footage in the dressing room before and after fights, and footage of everything else that goes on that's never shown on the UFC event coverage. I'll also be giving thoughts on upcoming events, and individual fights. And sometimes, I'll be doing post fight reviews. I'm sure I'll have a thing or two to say about developments with the UFC and the MMA world in general. I'll be posting up pictures, videos, and stories of what's going on in between training, and after fights, etc. There's always something going on, riding the Harley cross country, or off-roading up in the mountains, going to the Playboy Mansion, etc. We'll definitely keep it interesting.” Former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner — who is one of the few fighter who maintains his own blog at EvanTanner.net — will soon chronicle his preparation, training and adventures on Spike.com. He has an upcoming fight against Kendall Grove set for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 Finale at The Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, June 21, 2008. It will air LIVE at 9 p.m. ET on SpikeTV.

Cub Swanson vs Hiroyuki Takaya WEC 35 fight set Posted: 12 Jun 2008 02:58 PM CDT Two fighters looking to get back in the win column after devastating defeats — Cub Swanson (12-2) and Hiroyuki Takaya (9-5-1) — will battle it out in a 145-pound clash at WEC 35 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 3, according to Sherdog.com. Swanson was on the rise until he suffered a setback against Jens Pulver in his return to the featherweight division at WEC 31. “Lil Evil” submitted Swanson just 35 seconds into the first round — only the second loss of Swanson’s pro career. He actually took a low profile tune-up fight outside the promotion after the defeat, submitting Donnie Walker with a rear naked at an International Fighting & Boxing League (IFBL) bout back in February. The up-and-comer will look to climb the ladder to a future rematch with Pulver and quite possibly a title shot against Urijah Faber. It will not come easy, however, because Takaya is a tough fighter with impressive punching power. The “Streetfight Bancho” will look to rebound after suffering a 91-second knockout at the hands of UFC veteran Leonard Garcia at WEC 32 in February. Takaya — a K-1 and Shooto veteran — was considered to be a great pick-up for the promotion and was expected to become a future title contender until he was derailed by “Bad Boy.” This fight is expected to be on the televised portion of the WEC 35 card, which is headlined by a ridiculous amount of title fights that include champions Brian Stann, Carlos Condit and Jamie Varner. It will air LIVE on the Versus network at 9 p.m.ET.

Nate Diaz vs Josh Neer booked for UFC Fight Night 14 Posted: 12 Jun 2008 12:55 PM CDT It's official … almost. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 5 winner Nate Diaz (9-2) will face Josh “The Dentist” Neer (24-6-1) at Ultimate Fight Night 14 (UFN 14) on Wednesday, September 17. The lightweight fight will take place at the Omaha Civic Auditorium (10,000 fan capacity), and will either be the main event or co-main event for the evening. Like the other UFNs, it will air free on Spike TV at 9:00 p.m ET. Yesterday, MMAmania.com confirmed the venue and location for UFN 14. Graciefighter.com also confirmed that the fight contracts have been signed. Diaz is riding a four fight win streak (all four by way of submission). His last fight against Kurt Pellegrino at UFN 13 was an extremely technical (and entertaining) jiu-jitsu clinic put on by both fighters. After the fight, Diaz asked the UFC to step up his level of competition, going so far as to call out Tyson Griffin, who once trained with Diaz under Cesar Gracie. Looks like Diaz will first have to get through Neer if he wants a piece of Griffin. A five-year veteran of the sport, Neer is no slouch on the ground or on his feet —- 10 of his wins have come via submission, with 10 more coming via (T)KO. After posting a 2-3 record in the UFC, Neer won 6 of 7 fights outside the promotion before returning to the Octagon and defeating Din Thomas by unanimous decision at UFN 13. In addition to Thomas, Neer holds wins over UFC veterans Joe Stevenson, Melvin Guillard and Forrest Petz. Neer lost to Nick Diaz, big brother to Nate, via kimura in the third round back at UFC 62. Nick Diaz was the last person to have submitted Neer. Taking out Nick's little brother might be redemption enough for the Miletich fighter. UFN 14 will also see Omaha native Houston Alexander (8-3) take on Eric “Red” Schafer (9-3-2) in a light heavyweight bout. Middleweights Ed Herman (14-6) and Alan Belcher (12-5) will also meet. To check out the most recent UFN 14 card click here.

Urijah Faber: ‘Ill fight Godzilla’ (Video) Posted: 12 Jun 2008 11:49 AM CDT

Sean Sherk: ‘Ill get another [title] shot with another win or two’ Posted: 12 Jun 2008 11:31 AM CDT Props: WrestlingObserver.com Quoteworthy: "I'm assuming they're gonna maybe try to get me back in the title mix again right away, so they'll maybe throw me a contender of some sort, and then try to get another shot at that belt real soon. I'm not real sure what B.J.'s plans are, but I think he wants to go back up to [1]70, and if that's the case, it's gonna vacate the belt, and hopefully I'll get a shot at it soon. I think I'll get another shot at with another win or two, probably." Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk still has his sights set on reclaiming the 155-pound title sometime soon. He missed the opportunity at UFC 84: “Ill Will,” losing to reigning division kingpin BJ Penn via third round technical knockout. “The Muscle Shark” will likely return in August when the promotion hits his native Minnesota with UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy.” There’s no word on a possible opponent but it sounds as if it could be someone near the top of the division. Any suggestions?

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