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

Criss Angel ‘Mindfreak’ and UFC President Dana White A&E episode reminder Posted: 26 Aug 2008 08:31 AM CDT Remember that the episode will debut at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 27 on the A&E network. For more details click here.

Matt Hamill receives UFC 88 ‘heros send-off’ from hometown Utica NY fans (Video) Posted: 26 Aug 2008 08:20 AM CDT Props: WKTV.com

Jens Pulver vs Leonard Garcia WEC fight video promo Posted: 26 Aug 2008 06:03 AM CDT It all goes down at WEC 36 on September 10 on Versus:

Jared Shaw: Nick Diaz back in November while KJ Noons to watch others become stars Posted: 25 Aug 2008 09:48 PM CDT Props: FightHype.com Quoteworthy: “Nick Diaz will be back in November on Showtime for an Elite show. His opponent will obviously be discussed and I really don’t know what’s next for KJ right now. Like I said, it’s getting close to him just pulling up a chair and watching Elite XC and a bunch of other fighters become stars. You sit there and whether you are questioning your own people or yourself about why you’re not becoming a star right now, especially when you’re the one wearing the gold around your waist…let’s be honest here, a belt means something. It means you’re a champion, and more importantly it’s a way for fans to identify the #1 fighter and if you’re not around, having a belt doesn’t mean anything because nobody can see it. He had the opportunity to be on a card that had Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano on. You’ve already seen what those two are capable of on May 31. Throw yourself and Nick Diaz in and you can only make it a bigger event. Elite XC Vice President Jared Shaw confirms that the lightweight championship rematch between Nick Diaz and KJ Noons is not happening on October 4 or anytime soon. As for Noons’ camps saying they didn’t believe Diaz was the number one contender and that Eddie Alvarez deserved the shot instead, Shaw stated that Alvarez was unavailable and that Diaz is in fact the number one contender. This is getting way out of hand. The champ said before the Yves Edwards fight that he couldn’t choose who his opponent was because as the champ you have to fight the best. He also said that it’s up to Elite XC to decide who the number one contender is. Well, according to Shaw, they’ve made their choice. Now it’s time for the champ to stop contradicting himself and get in there and fight the top guy … or not.

MMA Quick Quote: Takanori Gomi dissatisfied with Sengoku performance Posted: 25 Aug 2008 07:41 PM CDT My performance wasn’t good enough as the main event. I felt the pressure since the other lightweight fighters did a great job [in the grand prix]. It was the last fight in my twenties and I was very motivated to KO him. I didn’t have chance to KO him despite giving him pressure and I changed my game plan and focused on the win rather than the KO. In my next fight, I want to show that I can do better. – Lightweight sensation Takanori Gomi (29-3) discusses — via Yahoo! Japan — his less-than-dazzling performance at Sengoku 4 on August 24 against former DEEP champion Seung Hwan Bang (5-2). Gomi is expected to face the winner of the Sengoku lightweight grand prix later this year to determine the first-ever Sengoku lightweight champion.

Quinton Rampage Jackson charged; faces three-year prison sentence Posted: 25 Aug 2008 06:26 PM CDT Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has had his first day in Orange County, Calif., court for a bizarre incident in which he was involved after his unanimous decision loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin” back in July. The Tennessee native — who was booked for several motor vehicle infractions, including reckless driving — faces two felony charges and four misdemeanors for the incident. If he’s found guilty on all charges the maximum sentence he can receive is three years in prison. The good news is that Jackson has been cleared of any criminal charges relating to the miscarriage one of the victims endured just days after everything went down. Here’s the skinny from TMZ.com: “… Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has been charged with six crimes in connection with the epic car chase in the O.C. The Orange County District Attorney has charged Rampage with one felony count of evading while driving recklessly, one felony count of evading a peace officer, three misdemeanor counts of hit and run, and one misdemeanor reckless driving…. If convicted he’ll face three years in prison…. He was NOT charged with DUI. And, a few days after the incident, a pregnant woman in the car he hit on the freeway lost her baby, but Rampage was not charged for that after an investigation revealed that the miscarriage was unrelated to the accident.” UFC President Dana White and the promotion have been behind Jackson ever since the charges were leveled. In fact, White beelined it to California on his private jet to bail out Jackson immediately following the arrest. His bizarre behavior, which included another brush with authorities just days after the arrest, has been attributed to a bout of “delirium” caused by a lack of sleep and an overabundance of energy drinks. Jackson also split from his long-time trainer, Juanito Ibarra, which may or may not have been a contributing factor behind the initial “rampage.” He emerged from relative obscurity on UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” weekend earlier this month, claiming that he is indeed fine and is eager to return to competition. There’s no telling if his upcoming court dates will interfere with those plans. Jackson would like to return to the Octagon before the 2008 fight campaign expires. For more background on this issue feel free to get up to date by visiting our archive right here. (Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “kevin” for the assist.)

Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua vs Benji Radach Elite XC fight booked for CBS Posted: 25 Aug 2008 03:21 PM CDT A 185-pound bout between former Elite XC middleweight champion Murilo “Ninja” Rua (16-8-1) and Benji “Razor” Radach (18-4) has been added to Elite XC’s October 4 event at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida on CBS. Radach is a three-fight UFC veteran and has a (5-1) record in IFL competition over the last couple of years. His last fight was a second round knockout loss to Matt Horwich at the IFL World Grand Prix Finals. “Razor” took almost a three-year hiatus from the sport after suffering a severely broken jaw at the hands of Chris Leben at a Sportfight event in June of 2004. A once promising career looked to possibly be over because of the freak injury, but Radach worked hard, recovered and now has his career in professional MMA back on track. The 29-year-old trains with one of the top camps around in American Top Team. He has a strong wrestling background, but has won 14 of his 18 wins by technical knockout, meaning he has a solid all around game. This won’t be an easy fight for Ninja. He’ll have to be on his toes on October 4 if he plans on avoiding the minor upset. He was rumored to be fighting Joey Villasenor in a rematch in Albuquerque on September 20, but that fight and event were both scrapped, leaving the CBS card in Sunrise as the most likely destination for the Brazilian. Rua was more than impressive in a first round technical knockout win over previously unbeaten Tony Bonello at Elite XC: “Return of the King.” He appears to be at the top of his game now a little less than a year removed for losing his title to Robbie Lawler. This should be a very competitive match up. Radach will look to prove himself on the big stage against a top guy. And Rua will look to take another step forward toward an eventual rematch with Lawler. Expect fireworks.

Patrick Barry vs Andre Walker Strikeforce fight set for October 3 Posted: 25 Aug 2008 03:08 PM CDT Undefeated mixed martial artist and K-1 kickboxing stud, Patrick Barry (3-0), will return to the cage at the Broomfield Events Center in Denver, Colo., at Strikeforce: “Payback” on October 3. Barry’s opponent will be fellow K-1 veteran Andre “The Silencer” Walker (2-3). Barry has made a successful transition from professional kickboxing to mixed martial arts. That’s something that even the best of the best in the kickboxing world have had trouble with (see Raymond Daniels). Here’s a snip from Barry on making the move to MMA: “I started off in kickboxing with the goal of being the world’s best kickboxer and, now, moving into MMA, I want to be the world’s best kickboxer in MMA. MMA is turning into kickboxing in the cage, pretty much. That’s just the way the sport has evolved.” Barry has not only been successful, but he’s been dominant. In his first MMA match, he faced off with 39-fight veteran Mike Delaney and was victorious with a first round technical knockout. In fact, he’s been able to stop all three of his opponents in the first round with his highly developed striking game. His opponent has not been as successful with the move to MMA. Walker has gone (1-3) in mixed martial arts, getting submitted in each of his three losses. However, his struggles in the early goings of his MMA career have not put a dent in his confidence: “I’m going all the way this time. I’m 100% better than I used to be and committed to becoming a champion.” This fight will more than likely be fought mostly on the feet. It’s doubtful that we will witness any high level jiu-jitsu holds or any Karo Parysian style judo throws, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun to watch. Patrick Barry has been exciting in each of his MMA fights so far. And this one shouldn’t be any different — look for him to put on a show on HDNet come fight night.

Kimbo Slice vs Ken Shamrock Elite XC main event fight October 4 Posted: 25 Aug 2008 01:16 PM CDT Ken Shamrock (26-13-2)– the 44-year-old mixed martial arts pioneer who has not won a professional fight in more than four years — is the next man to challenge Elite XC’s most coveted possession, Kimbo Slice (3-0), according to Sherdog.com. The bout will serve as the main event of “Saturday Night Fights” on CBS from the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., on October 4. Shamrock was a among a short list of possible opponents for the Miami native that also included Sean Gannon — the only man to defeat the YouTube.com sensation in underground fisticuffs — and Brett Rogers. Out of the trio Rogers was far and away the most qualified and would have likely given Slice the stiffest competition. However, that could have been the problem — Elite XC matchmakers still feel the need to shamelessly build its biggest star. And what better way then to have him wallop an over-the-hill, past-his-prime UFC veteran on national television. Shamrock — a UFC Hall of Fame inductee — dropped his first and most recent bout under the ProElite banner, losing to Robert “Buzz” Berry via first knockout at Cage Rage 25: “Bring it On” earlier this year. That, too, was supposed to be a warm-up for the “World’s Most Dangerous Man” to groom him for a big money match down the road against either Slice, or his younger brother, Frank. It seems like it didn’t matter — at least one of those fights (Slice) is going to happen. Although a win against Berry would have made this appear (to the casual fan at least) to be somewhat of a fair fight. Shamrock has lost eight of his last 10 fights dating back to 2001 and he’s on a five-fight losing skid. The only thing in his favor going into this fight is experience and his submission game. Shamrock has won more than 80 percent of his fights via submission, which poses somewhat of a threat provided he can get close enough to Slice to take him down. Don’t count on it. But then again stranger things have happened … kind of like this match up in the first place.

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