UFC blog for latest news, videos, results, betting odds, fighter interviews and MMA rumors - UFCmania.com

Ricardo Almeida vs Matt Horwich UFC 90 fight confirmed Posted: 12 Aug 2008 08:33 AM CDT Ricardo Almeida (9-3) will return to action against former IFL middleweight champion Matt Horwich (23-10-1) at UFC 90: "Silva vs. Cote" at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Ill., on October 25. The middleweight showdown was made official overnight. "Big Dog" could have very well found himself in the main event on this card had things gone his way against Patrick Cote at UFC 86: "Jackson vs. Griffin" last month. However, the Brazilian dropped a razor thin split decision, snapping a seven-fight win streak. Now it's Cote who has the daunting task of prying the 185-pound belt from Anderson Silva's deadly clutches. Horwich –- the first-ever (and former) IFL middleweight champion -– is a mixed martial arts veteran who was on a roll before losing his title to Ryan McGivern via unanimous decision earlier this year. "Suave" rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Joey Guel three months later to get back to his winning ways. This will mark his Octagon debut, which appears to be a growing trend for several other former IFL fighters. To check out the latest UFC 90 fight card and rumors click here.

UFC Quick Quote: Jason MacDonald feels stupid Posted: 12 Aug 2008 01:51 AM CDT I don’t know what went wrong in my head. I don’t know what happened and why I chose to fight that fight on the ground. Sure I made the fight exciting and I’ve gotten lots of positive responses on how well I did on the ground with a guy like Maia. But at the end of the day, he caught me and that’s what he does best. I played into his game. It was a stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid fight on my behalf. And I take the full blame 100 percent for it. I’ll take it right on the forehead like I took those hundred elbows from Maia. And that’s that. I’m pretty disappointed because Maia was beatable if I had held that fight standing up. And I paid the price for not doing it. – UFC middleweight Jason ‘The Athlete’ MacDonald grounds and pounds himself on Sportsnet.ca for not following his gameplan or the instructions from his corner during his submission loss to grappling phenom Demian Maia at UFC 87: ‘Seek and Destroy’ on August 9.

Rua’s da man? ‘Shogun vs Rampage 2′ in the works says former GP champ Posted: 12 Aug 2008 01:23 AM CDT Get ready for Japan’s biggest rematch since Yuko Matsumiya out-winded Atsushi Fujita at last year’s 61st annual Fukuoka Marathon, which ironically, was the inspiration for the name of the UFC’s buyout of PRIDE now known as Fukuova. “It was a business decision to kill PRIDE,” according to UFC President Dana White in a recent interview. But if comments made by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (16-3) at a recent training seminar are any indication, PRIDE may in fact live again. At least for one night in December. Rua, winner of the PRIDE 2005 middleweight grand prix, informed a very unsuspecting but grateful crowd that he was indeed anticipating a December return and hopeful that his opponent would be former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (28-7) — not Mark Coleman as previously reported. The same Quinton Jackson who was knocked out in devastating fashion by Rua at PRIDE Total Elimination 2005. Or perhaps it isn’t the same Quinton Jackson, which is why the prospect of a rematch has so many fans buzzing, despite the fact that negotiations are still in their infancy. After all, a lot has happened in three years. Rampage would be victorious in his next six fights following the Rua defeat, including wins over top ten fighters Matt Lindland, Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson. Some fans would call it seven straight, overlooking the questionable judging in his decision loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. In spite of that loss, it’s not outrageous to call Jackson a more evolved and complete fighter than the free-swinging showman from 2005. And still one of the world’s best at 205 lbs. But that claim may not hold water for Rua, also a victim of the spoiler Griffin. Not only was Shogun defeated, he was outworked and eventually submitted by the TUF alum in an uninspiring debut at UFC 76 that left many wondering what happened to the Shogun of old. The Shogun that went 16-2 in PRIDE with 13 (T)KO’s to his credit. After the loss, Rua was slated to face Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell at UFC 85 until a torn ACL sidelined the Brazilian for several months. Now the former Chute Box pillar will get another crack at victory in the UFC if both sides are able to come together. Assuming that each combatant remains healthy, the only possible roadblock would be Jackson’s potential legal repercussions stemming from his recent brush with the law. Hopefully that situation resolves itself without impacting Jackson’s career. This fight would not only be exciting, but it would also go a long way in re-establishing the credibility of Rua for newer fans. Shogun may have a record that speaks for itself, but he still has a lot to prove in the eyes of many UFC fans - namely that he’ll be able to make the transition from the ring to the Octagon. Something fellow PRIDE import Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic never could.

UFC 87: Matt Hughes not impressed by your performance Posted: 11 Aug 2008 11:17 PM CDT Props: Matt-Hughes.com Quoteworthy: Georges didn't look as big as he has before and he seemed like he had gotten tired from the first round. Fitch had the game plan of countering Georges and you just can't do that. You can't counter a quicker fighter. To be honest, halfway in the third round I got up and walked out of the arena and went to my hotel. The fight wasn't the most exciting and I wanted to get out of there before everyone else was getting up to leave. Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes shares his thoughts on the main event from UFC 87 “Seek and Destroy” on August 9. The Hillsboro, Ill., native may have been recalling the post-fight remarks made by Georges St. Pierre after Hughes defeated BJ Penn at UFC 63, or he may have just been ‘extremely bored’ as he admits to getting at live events.

UFC 87 delivers (Video) Posted: 11 Aug 2008 10:05 PM CDT

UFC 90 poster Posted: 11 Aug 2008 09:32 PM CDT To check out the latest UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Ill., on October 25 fight card and rumors click here.

Brock Lesnar: UFC fight antics in Minnesota good or bad? Posted: 11 Aug 2008 03:02 PM CDT Jordan Breen at Sherdog.com sees no harm: “You can’t throw up a post-fight fist pump without punching another elite level MMA fighter with a post-fight trademark. Chuck Liddell screams. Takanori Gomi surfs on the turnbuckle, and Eddie Alvarez back-flips off of it. Thiago Silva and Josh Barnett have the market cornered on throat slashing. Yushin Okami shows off his swordsmanship. Gabriel Gonzaga assails cameramen. This truncated list doesn’t even account for those who are prone to spontaneous post-fight celebration like BJ Penn, who is liable to lick his opponent’s blood or dead-sprint to the locker room after a W, or Anderson Silva, who has dressed up in full Moonwalker garb and given us rhythm guitar lessons after kayos. All of these actions are just as much overtures to the soul of pro-wrestling as those of Lesnar, who is still chided for his WWE wrasslin’ tenure…. If Lesnar’s laugh-and-lasso annoyed, offended or even outraged you: good. But if you think for a minute that there’s ‘no place’ for this pro-wrestling gimmickry in MMA, Dana White will chap your thin hide all the way to bank. And thank God, because I’ve had all the clichéd ‘respect’ I can handle.” While MMAmania.com reader “JS” disagrees: “I’m not usually one to complain, but watching Brock Lesnar this past Saturday was horrendous. He’s a showboater, tries too hard to appeal to the crowd (near the end of the fight I thought I was watching WWE) and after the fight he grabbed Joe Rogan’s microphone like it was ‘Smackdown’ — and what he had to say wasn’t any better than is conduct was. Compare that to the class shown by GSP and Fitch later on. If I wanted to watch WWE and their pathetic crap I would. Someone needs to put Lesnar in his place (and I don’t be beat the snot out of him, though that would be nice)–I mean White needs to have a sit-down with him because the direction this things are going is NOT good. Please, lets keep UFC, and MMA in general, a reputable sport!” What say you? To see Lesnar’s “showboating” click here and here.

Chael Sonnen: ‘I’m not sure if the fight is going to happen’ with Paulo Filho (Video) Posted: 11 Aug 2008 02:04 PM CDT Note that bout agreements have been signed and the rematch is set for the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on September 10. Regardless, Sonnen still has his doubts that the Brazilian will be ready likely based on the issues that pushed the bout back in the first place:

Roger Huerta clarifies his UFC remarks after Kenny Florian loss … Sorta Posted: 11 Aug 2008 01:19 PM CDT Props: MMAWeekly.com Quoteworthy: "All I was saying is that from a financial point of view, basically like a retirement plan or whatever, that I can only do this for so many years. You saw the fight today. Look at (Jon) Fitch. Look at myself. As a retirement plan, we can only do this for so long, and all I was saying, is that as a business decision – and you can't argue about this – it's in all businesses. If another company offers you something better for you and your family, you would do that. It's the logical thing to do, and that's all I was saying." Lightweight Roger Huerta — who lost to Kenny Florian via unanimous decision over the weekend at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” — tries to provide some context to the controversial remarks he made just before the fight. For more background on that click HERE. His statements clearly agitated UFC President Dana White who referred to Huerta — once considered the Latino golden boy who could do no wrong — as a “moron.” “El Matador” has one fight remaining on his contract. And there was speculation that he and the promotion were “far apart” on reaching an agreement before the fight. It will be interesting to see if that chasm has grown larger now that Huerta no longer has an ace up his sleeve (being the top 155-pound title contender) or if cooler heads will prevail and a deal can be forged. Time will tell.

Bart Palaszewski WEC bound; Jeff Curran drops to bantamweight Posted: 11 Aug 2008 12:08 PM CDT As the International Fight League (IFL) continues to crumble, its rival — Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) — is wasting little time in picking up the pieces. In fact, WEC recently signed lightweight veteran Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski (29-11) to a six-fight deal. The 12-fight IFL veteran — who went 8-4 for the promotion including a KO victory over eventual IFL lightweight Champion Ryan Schultz (20-9-1) — has said that he will be ready to fight for the WEC as early as its September 10 event, according to Sherdog.com. At the time Palaszewski's move to the WEC was announced, it was still news to him. Jeff Curran, Palaszewski's longtime friend and coach, waited until Sunday's opening of his new training facility in Crystal Lake, Ill., to officially announce the signing, surprising Palaszewski. Here’s a snip from “Bartimus:” "I guess he wanted to make it a big deal, which it is. He made the announcement in front of our whole gym, family and friends. That's phenomenal, very cool. It's definitely the way I would like to find out." It wasn't Curran's only surprise announcement. Curran (30-10-1), who unsuccessfully challenged Urijah Faber (21-1) for the WEC's 145-pound strap in December of last year, also announced that he will be dropping to bantamweight (135 pounds). While "The Big Frog" sees his move to 135 as a chance to "reinvent" his game, the challenge will be equally great, as WEC bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres (34-1) is no slouch himself. In fact, Frank Mir recently said on MMA Live that he places Torres in his pound-for-pound "top two or three.” Here’s a snip from Curran: "I think that the fast pace and the real high technical level is a great fit for me. The talent pool in that division is sick." Another potential opponent at 135 for Curran is Yoshiro Maeda (23-5-2), whose June unsuccessful title bout with Torres is being hailed as a potential "fight of the year" candidate. Curran is coming off back-to-back losses at 145 to Faber and current #1 contender Mike Brown (17-4), who are set to face off for the WEC featherweight title on September 10. Palaszewski recently snapped a three-fight skid with a win over Jeffrey Cox at Adrenaline MMA 1 back in June. The Polish-born fighter is known for two memorable, albeit unsuccessful, IFL battles against 20-year-old rising talent Chris Horodecki (12-1), both by split decision. The striker competed for Pat Miletich's Silverbacks team for the promotion. "I think I match up very well with a lot of guys in the WEC," said Palaszewski. "They've got a lot of strikers and I think I'm going to put on some phenomenal wars … If I get two really good shows, really good fights against ranked opponents, I think I'll be able to get a title shot." Only time will tell. Both announcements spell exciting things to come in the WEC.

You are subscribed to email updates from UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets -- MMAmania.com To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email Delivery powered by FeedBurner
Inbox too full? Subscribe to the feed version of UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets -- MMAmania.com in a feed reader.
If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets -- MMAmania.com, c/o FeedBurner, 20 W Kinzie, 9th Floor, Chicago IL USA 60610