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Alessio Sakara vs Joe Vedepo to fight at UFC Fight Night 15 Posted: 05 Sep 2008 08:31 AM CDT Alessio Sakara (12-7) is back in business, getting the green light to return to action against Octagon newcomer Joe Vedepo (7-1) at UFC Fight Night 15 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Neb., on September 17. "Legionarius" — who was forced to withdraw from a fight with Rob Kimmons earlier this year because of a broken ankle sustained during training — has dropped two of his last three bouts, including his most recent contest against Chris Leben at UFC 82: "Pride of a Champion in March, which the Italian fighter lost via technical knockout (strikes) in round one. It was his middleweight debut after registering a very mediocre record at light heavyweight (3-3). One has to imagine that this is a must-win situation for Sakara. Vedepo is the Midwest Cage Championship (MCC) middleweight champion, defeating Brian Green via submission (verbal) back in June in a hard-fought battle to earn a UFC berth. The 25-year-old former light heavyweight has an impressive mix of wins via submission and (technical) knockout, demonstrating an ability to finish fights just about anywhere. UFC Fight Night 15 will air on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET, featuring two lightweight bouts between Nate Diaz and Josh Neer and Clay Guida and Mac Danzig. To check out the latest fight card and rumors click here.

Wilson Gouveia vs. Ryan Jensen UFC Fight Night 15 fight official with Jeremy Horn injured Posted: 05 Sep 2008 08:00 AM CDT Ryan Jensen (13-4) has been inserted as the new 185-pound opponent for Wilson Gouveia (10-5) at UFC Fight Night 15 from the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Neb., on September 17. Gouveia's original opponent — 103-fight mixed martial arts veteran Jeremy Horn — had to withdraw from the bout because of an injury. This marks the debut appearance for Gouveia at middleweight, making a fine addition to a category that needs talented and experienced fighters. The American Top Team-trained product had a five-fight win streak snapped via technical knockout when he last stepped inside the Octagon against Goran Reljic at UFC 84: “Ill Will” back in May. It was the first loss for Gouveia under the UFC banner since his debut against Keith Jardine back in 2006. His UFC record stands at 4-2. Jensen made his Octagon debut in August 2007, losing to Thales Leites via submission (armbar) at UFC 74: "Respect." He took that fight on short notice, which appears to be something that Jensen is not against doing frequently. And why not … fighting for the UFC is a very big opportunity. Jensen wound up dropping three straight after the loss to Leites, including his next fight inside the Octagon to Demian Maia. However, he has currently won back-to-back fights in smaller promotions, earning another crack on the big stage. To check out the latest UFC Fight Night 15 card, which is headlined by a bout between lightweights Nate Diaz and Josh Neer, click here.

MMA Quick Quote: We may never find out who the best middleweight in the world is Posted: 05 Sep 2008 06:09 AM CDT “Definitely no. We're close friends and I believe there's space for everybody there, it's definitely out of my plans.” – Undefeated WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho denies the recent rumors via Tatame.com that the UFC is working on a plan to match him against its champion — Anderson Silva — to find out who the best middleweight in the world really is. Apparently Filho has no desire to face his countryman and good friend, saying emphatically that the super fight is not going to happen. He had also at one time turned down a request from Chuck Liddell to help with preparation for his fight with Wanderlei Silva last December, stating he would not help an American train for a fight against a Brazilian. It would be awesome to see Silva and Filho fight, but it looks like that’s a long shot to ever happen.

Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar UFC 91 odds Posted: 04 Sep 2008 08:17 PM CDT Believe it or not but the sportsbooks already have betting lines out for the blockbuster bout between heavyweight champion Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 15: Brock Lesnar Ev BET NOW Randy Couture -140 BET NOW Lock the line in now if you think it’s a good bet … it will likely change between now and fight night.

Chuck Liddell: ‘I wouldnt mind coming up’ to fight Randy Couture for heavyweight title Posted: 04 Sep 2008 08:03 PM CDT Props: Canadian Press Quoteworthy: “If he gets the title back (after the tournament), I wouldn’t mind coming up and getting the heavyweight title too. We can talk about that later.” Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell talks about a possible fourth fight with UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture. Of course, “The Natural” still has the belt, however, “Iceman” is referring to Couture defeating Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 on November 15 and then beating the winner of the fight between interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira and Frank Mir to unify the title. Liddell has two wins in three tries against Couture in the 205-pound class.

Dan Henderson vs Rousimar Palhares UFC 88 video fight talk Posted: 04 Sep 2008 02:40 PM CDT

Houston Alexander signs five-fight UFC contract extension Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:14 PM CDT The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently inked light heavyweight Houston Alexander to a new five-fight contract extension, locking-in the services of the hard-hitting Nebraskan slugger well into 2009 if the promotion decides to keep him on the roster, according to WrestlingObserver.com. Alexander was relatively unknown to the masses until he burst onto the scene with two destructive performances inside the Octagon, taking out top contender Keith Jardine in his debut back at UFC 71: “Liddell vs. Jackson” in May 2007 and then crumbling Alessio Sakara at UFC 75: “Champion vs. Champion” less than four months later. “The Nebraskan Assassin,” however, quickly returned to Earth with back-to-back losses to Thiago Silva and James Irvin. In fact, Alexander didn’t last more than four minutes combined in those two bouts. Despite his recent struggles, Alexander remains a fan favorite and a crowd pleaser win or lose. That’s more than likely the reason the promotion made the decision to keep him around. He will have his opportunity to get back on the winning track against Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Eric Schafer at UFC Fight Night 15 in front of a hometown crowd at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha. Neb., on September 17.

Karo Parisyan on Yoshiyuki Yoshida UFC 88 fight video Posted: 04 Sep 2008 09:40 AM CDT

UFC Quick Quote: Rich Franklin didn’t want to be a middleweight gatekeeper Posted: 04 Sep 2008 09:08 AM CDT “I was talking to the UFC after the second [Anderson] Silva loss and they encouraged me to move up to 205. They told me my position there would be more appealing to them from a business perspective. They weren't interested in a third match between me and Silva and they didn't want me fighting contenders because I could eliminate possible title fights, so I was stuck in that I was going to be fighting people on the back end of their losses to Silva and I didn't care for that gatekeeper position. After the Travis Lutter fight, I said I would try my hand at 205 again.” – Former middleweight champion Rich Franklin reveals to the Baltimore Sun his reasons for moving back up to the light heavyweight division for his upcoming fight against Matt Hamill at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on September 6. “Ace” was soundly defeated twice by UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, which essentially meant that he’d be relegated to fighting — and possibly knocking off — new contenders.

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