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UFC Quick Quote: Luigi Fioravanti knows he can beat Diego Sanchez … is he the only one? Posted: 17 Jun 2008 08:28 AM CDT “It doesn’t really bother me that people seem to [overlook] me, because like I said, it motivates me. I think a lot of people are, and they think he’s just going to come in and steamroll me and beat me up. I’m glad I’m the underdog because there’s really not much pressure on me…. It makes me train harder, and for this fight, I have trained harder than I ever have before in my career because I want to go out there and prove people wrong. Of course I want to get that respect, but that respect has to be earned. Of course I think he’s a good fighter. He’s really tough and he’s exceptionally good on the ground. He’s a top-10 welterweight, but I do think he might be overlooking this fight, you know? A win against him would turn a lot of heads. I know I can beat the guy…. I hit harder and I think I have the better standup, so I know I have to keep it on the feet. I know exactly what he’s going to do, too. He will come out and he might throw one punch or even stand a little bit, but then he’ll try and bring the fight to the ground and work his ground-and-pound. That’s his game. That’s what he’s really good at. I just gotta work on my takedown defense and rely on my power and my stand-up, and we’ll see how the fight goes from there.” – Luigi Fioravanti is out to prove the doubters wrong when he takes on Diego Sanchez at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 Finale from The Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 21. In fact, he tells Sherdog.com that he knows he can defeat the “Nightmare,” however, it doesn’t seem that many fans are giving him much of a chance. Do you?

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: ‘The rivalry between us [Frank Mir] is getting strong’ Posted: 17 Jun 2008 08:22 AM CDT Props: GracieMag.com Quoteworthy: "The mood of rivalry between us is getting strong. We see each other here all the time, and I’ve known his game for awhile. Ever since he submitted Roberto Traven at the UFC, in 2001, he’s been known. But you’ll see: I’m going to be all over him standing, I'm better than him both standing and on the ground. In the fight with Sylvia the way to the win was clearly on the ground, but against Mir I’m going to show more of what I’m capable of to the world and my fans. I’ll always respect him as an adversary, of course. Even more so since he's trained with Demian Maia and Robert Drysdale.” “Grueling eight-hour filming sessions, seven days a week” on the set of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 is beginning to create some heat between UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former division kingpin, Frank Mir. The two currently serve as coaches on the Spike TV mixed martial arts reality series, which will debut on September 17, and will go toe-to-toe for the belt most likely on New Year’s Eve weekend.

EliteXC quick quote: NJ Politics acquaints a man with strange bedfellows Posted: 16 Jun 2008 11:34 PM CDT Props: ProMMA Radio The ref (Dan Miragliotta) had actually called me. This was a couple of days after, he told me he was getting a lot of direct pressure [from the state athletic commissioner]. He said even the Governor had called him and said he needed to make a statement on the fight. He did let me know that some of the things were misleading that he said…We had even sat there and discussed kind of off the record about what had happened and he goes “Yeah, you know you told me you would be fine in a minute [after the eyepoke]. I stepped out and all of the sudden the doctor calls the fight, I didn’t get it.” [Miragliotta] was acting like he didn’t know why. He hears me tell him I don’t want to fight, I can’t see? I don’t know how he’s hearing that [if he’s on the other side of the cage]. EliteXC middleweight Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith responds to comments made by referee Dan Miragliotta to “Mr. Sunshine” Steve Cofield on ESPN 1100 regarding the controversial stoppage of his fight against EliteXC middleweight champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler at last month’s Saturday Night Fights in Newark, NJ. Smith goes into great detail about the stoppage and the way it was handled. Check out the interview by Larry Pepe over at ProMMA Radio when you get the chance, it’s a juicy one! Click here for the interview.

Rob McCullough vs Donald Cerrone WEC fight in the works Posted: 16 Jun 2008 09:33 PM CDT Former WEC lightweight champion “Razor” Rob McCullough will likely take on the undefeated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (8-0) in a bout that will possibly determine the next 155-pound number one contender. News of the match up surfaced at a recent Ring of Fire event in Denver, Colo. MMAmania.com was unable to confirm the actual date and location of the showdown at this time; however, with three title fights slated for WEC 35 on August 3 it’s possible that this bout will be tacked on to the WEC 36 card that features the middleweight rematch between 185-pound champion Paulo Filho and Chael Sonnen. McCullough most recently won a lackluster split-decision victory over Kenneth Alexander at WEC 34: “Faber vs. Pulver” earlier this month. It was his first fight since losing his title to Jamie Varner via technical knockout at WEC 32 back in February. Cerrone returned from an eight-month suspension (diuretic) to submit Danny Castillo with a fancy first round armbar at WEC 34. The Ring of Fire veteran defeated Kenneth Alexander via submission (triangle choke) in his WEC debut back in November 2007. However, it was later ruled a "no contest" because of the positive test for the banned substance. The fight between “Razor” and Cerrone has all the makings to be a barnburner — both fighters are accustomed to finishing fights … albeit in much different fashions recent;y. McCullough is a Muay Thai specialist and Cerrone is a submission machine who also happens to know a thing or two about striking (he’s a S-1 Muay Thai United States Champion). Regardless, whoever comes out on top will likely punch his ticket to challenge the winner of the championship bout between reigning division boss Varner and Marcus Hicks next month at WEC 35. Stay dialed in to MMAmania.com for more details. (Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “DH” for the assist.)

Drew Fickett fiasco puts Elite XC title fight against Jake Shields in doubt Posted: 16 Jun 2008 08:02 PM CDT Drew Fickett and Jake Shields were supposed to hook ‘em up at “Return of the King” this past weekend to crown the first-ever 170-pound champion for the mixed martial arts promotion. However, Fickett had to withdraw from the June 14 fight because of an alleged injury, postponing the bout for the second time (an injury to Shields was the reason for the first cancellation). This where things get a little funny. It seems the injury to Fickett’s knee — his reason for bowing out of the fight against Shields at the Hawaii show — wasn’t as bad as he originally thought. At least not severe enough to keep him from fighting on June 7. Apparently “The Master” — without Pro Elite’s knowledge — competed in local a Rage in the Cage 111 event one week prior to the Elite XC show, submitting Jeff Horlacher with a first round guillotine. So here’s the question: How can a fighter be fit enough to fight on June 7, but not June 14? Even if Fickett thought he could defeat Horlacher at less than 100 percent it still makes no sense. Or, perhaps he felt his non-exclusive contract meant he was just free to fight whoever and wherever without telling anybody. It’s also possible that Fickett just decided on his own that he would rather fight Horlacher at Rage in the Cage 111 instead of headlining an Elite XC event in Hawaii, on Showtime, for a world title. Fickett has always been a little off center … anything is possible. Regardless, it is a decision that does not sit well with Pro Elite officials. In fact, according to GracieFighter.com, the promotion intends to cut Fickett from his contract. Here’s the snip: “Fickett’s decision cost Shields financially as he was left without a fight for the Hawaii card. EliteXC has not been able to contact Fickett and it looks as if they will be dropping him from their organization.” Fickett might have anticipated this the whole time — he is also scheduled to fight Ryan Ford for the vacant MFC welterweight title in Canada on July 25. Whatever the case, the show must go on even though we’ve been waiting for months for something that was never going to happen … and for no apparent reason. Here’s the good news: The report indicated that Shields is a lock for the July 26 “Saturday Night Fights” show on CBS and he could face the super tough and talented Nick Thompson. Here’s the snip: “Shields will now be fighting on EliteXC’s newly announced July 26th CBS show. Possible opponents now being looked at are Nick Thompson and Jay Hieron amongst others.” For those who are unfamiliar with Thompson he is the last man to hold the BoDog welterweight championship, toppling Eddie Alvarez (his only career defeat) to earn the strap. He’s riding a ridiculous 12-fight win streak. Hieron isn’t too shabby, either, he’s the reigning IFL champ. Perhaps both of these options, in the end, will make for a better fight for Shields … and the fans. Stay tuned for more details.

UFC 86 video hype for ‘Jackson vs Griffin’ on July 5 Posted: 16 Jun 2008 07:31 PM CDT Here’s the extended version for the pay-per-view (PPV) slated for the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada: In addition to the championship bout, UFC President Dana White and Joe Rogan go through the co-feature of the evening between Ricardo Almeida and Patrick Cote. And White says that the winner is “in line” for a title shot — it’s not a guarantee. There’s a big difference there.

UFC 88 tickets for Philips Arena in Atlanta on September 6 on sale soon Posted: 16 Jun 2008 01:06 PM CDT UFC 88 tickets for the “Liddell vs. Evans” pay-per-view (PPV) event set to take place from the from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on September 6, 2008, will go on sale to the general public Saturday, June 21 at noon ET. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell will look to continue on the road to claiming his 205-pound belt, taking on the undefeated The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2 heavyweight winner, Rashad Evans, in the main event of the evening. In addition, several other “blockbuster” match ups are also expected to be announced soon. Here is the UFC 88 tickets sales schedule: UFC Fight Club presale: Wednesday, June 18 at 1 p.m. ET UFC Newsletter presale: Friday, June 20 at 1 p.m. ET General ticket sale: Saturday, June 21 at noon ET UFC 88 tickets can be purchased through StubHub.com (Note: StubHub often has seats available even if the event is “sold out.”) and will be priced at $600, $400, $250, $150 and $75. It will also be available on pay-per-view (PPV) for $44.95 at 10 p.m. ET on fight night. For more on UFC 88 — the first major event to hit the “Peach State” since UFC 13: "The Ultimate Force" back in May 1997 — click here.

Ultimate Fighter Finale results and LIVE UFC fight coverage Posted: 16 Jun 2008 11:24 AM CDT The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 Finale is set to air this Saturday (June 21) LIVE from the The Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a three-hour Spike TV special that will air at 9 p.m. ET, featuring the middleweight showdown between former middleweight champion Evan Tanner and TUF 3 185-pound winner Kendall Grove. In addition, Diego Sanchez will lock horns with Luigi Fioravanti in a welterweight scrap that will serve as the co main event. And of course the TUF 7 Finale will showcase several other bouts, including the 185-pound final match between finalists of the Team Rampage vs Team Forrest tournament that has been playing out on the mixed martial arts reality series for the past few weeks. Here’s the latest TUF 7 Finale card: Main event: Evan Tanner (32-7) vs. Kendall Grove (8-5) Main card (televised): 185 lbs.: TUF 7 Finalist #1 vs. TUF 7 Finalist #2 170 lbs.: Diego Sanchez (18-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (12-3) 170 lbs.: Josh Burkman (9-5) vs. Dustin Hazelett (10-4) 155 lbs.: Spencer Fisher (20-4) vs. Jeremy Stephens (13-2) Under card (May not be broadcast): 185 lbs.: Marvin Eastman (15-7-1) vs. Drew McFedries (6-3) 185 lbs.: Dean Lister (10-5) vs. Jeremy Horn (79-17-5) 170 lbs.: Matt Arroyo (3-1) vs. Matt Brown (6-6) 185 lbs.: Dante Rivera vs. Matthew Riddle 185 lbs.: Rob Yundt (6-1) vs. Rob Kimmons (20-3) Several bouts will be added later this week once the finals are determined on the final episode of TUF this Wednesday, which has been dubbed as the most shocking twist in The Ultimate Fighter history. One of the contestants gets kicked off the show and is exiled from the promotion for antics that will soon be revealed. Therefore, without giving anything away, expect three fighters out of semifinalists Jesse Taylor, CB Dollaway, Amir Sadollah and Tim Credeur to also earn spots on this card. MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of TUF 7 Finale from bell to bell on fight night. In addition, we will pass along quick results of the prelim action prior to the Spike TV telecast. Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after TUF 7 Finale. Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the telecast to share their thoughts on the action. Therefore, feel free to stop in at any time. In the meantime, go ahead and leave your fight predictions in the comments section below or predict the “shocking twist” below.

Jon Fitch on Georges St. Pierre UFC 87 fight (Video) Posted: 16 Jun 2008 08:45 AM CDT

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