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UFC Quick Quote: Houston Alexander loss to Eric Shafer tonight could be bad Posted: 17 Sep 2008 08:32 AM CDT "There's no doubt [Houston Alexander needs to turn things around]. He needs a way. He desperately needs a win. Another loss and he's going to have to go out and start working his way back up to the UFC." – UFC President Dana White tells Yahoo!Sports.com that Houston Alexander’s job could be on the line tonight when he takes on Eric Schafer in a light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 15. Talk about compounding the pressure — Alexander is the hometown favorite who will likely receive raucous applause from the Nebraska fans inside the Omaha Civic Auditorium. “The Nebraskan Assassin” is on a two-fight skid after bursting onto the scene with two impressive knockout wins. He recently signed a five-fight contract extension, which the UFC apparently could dismiss if he does not impress the evening on Spike TV.

Evan Tanner memorial service September 27 in Amarillo and special tribute on Spike TV coming soon Posted: 17 Sep 2008 08:02 AM CDT From Amarillo.com: “A memorial service is scheduled for Evan Tanner, the 1989 Caprock High School graduate who went on to become a champion mixed martial arts fighter. ‘Celebration of Life’ services are planned for 2 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Amarillo Civic Center auditorium…. Correspondence may be sent to Tanner’s family at 504 S. Harrison St., Amarillo, Texas, 79101.” In addition, Dave Meltzer reports that the promotion will dedicate its UFC Fight Night 15 show that begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET to Tanner, as well as soon air a tribute show show and feature 30-second tribute spots on the network. For more on Evan Tanner and his untimely passing click here.

Roger Huerta ‘desperate’ for a rematch with Kenny Florian Posted: 17 Sep 2008 06:41 AM CDT Props: Fighters Only Magazine Quoteworthy: “After the fight I was confused and in shock. I kept thinking it was a bad dream and after three days the loss really hit me hard, so hard that I had to go back to Rio Grande Valley to be around family and friends…. Fighters are human beings and people don’t realize that fights between close people cause emotional problems. I always wear my heart on my sleeve, that’s who I am. I am an emotional person and although I fight with emotion I was mentally unfocused for the fight…. Kenny was very professional, he fought on a points system and he did that really well. He wanted to win that way and he did it well…. I would like to go back to the way I used to train, with the people I used to train with. Those guys were like brothers to me, not just trainers.” Roger Huerta reflects on his most recent — and only — professional loss inside the Octagon to Kenny Florian at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” in front of his adopted hometown fans in Minneapolis, Minn., last month. “El Matador” lost on all three judges scorecards and reveals that if he could do it all over again he would “possibly prepare differently" and he would "fight differently." Florian earned number one contender status with the win; however, opted to keep busy and fight Joe Stevenson at UFC 91: “Lesnar vs. Couture” on November 15 rather than wait until 2009 to challenge BJ Penn. Huerta could be a long way away from a rematch unless Florian is unsuccessful against “Daddy,” otherwise his schedule would appear to be booked for at least the next six or seven months.

Ed Herman vs Alan Belcher video preview UFC Fight Night 15 Posted: 16 Sep 2008 08:32 PM CDT

Rashad Evans: ‘Paul Buentello hits harder and faster than Chuck Liddell’ Posted: 16 Sep 2008 08:27 PM CDT Rashad Evans was our guest on this weeks broadcast of Pro MMA Radio. Presented by MMAmania.com, Pro MMA Radio airs live every Monday night at 9pm and features many of the top fighters from the UFC and beyond. Also on the show, MMAmania.com Editor and Senior Writer Jesse Holland compared notes with host Larry Pepe on the Affliction/Golden Boy announcement as well as their picks for UFC Fight Night 15 “Diaz vs. Neer”. The main attraction of course was Evans, who covered everything from his upset win over Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 to the infamous ‘Nipplegate’. What I found interesting about his comments on Liddell was not just that he swung the overhand right a couple of times prior to the one that connected, but that the Iceman may possibly have a tell: A menacing facial expression just prior to striking. Talk then shifted to life at the Jackson camp and I was surprised to hear Evans say that Paul Buentello hits harder and faster than Liddell. I know many fans may disagree but how many of us can say they’ve been hit by both men? Rashad also maintains that he will never fight teammate Keith Jardine under any circumstance. I guess once was enough for those two when they clashed on The Ultimate Fighter Season 2. Speaking of TUF, none other than MMA Legend Dan Severn was instrumental in getting Evans a spot on the final roster. His tenure on the show was a little tumultuous thanks to coach Matt Hughes. While he says the two are ‘cool’ now, he does admit that Matt’s showboating accusations have made that stereotype difficult to break. I wonder if we’ll see more of that from Rashad’s brother, who will be a contestant on the upcoming season of TUF 8? Tito is one fighter Evans would like a rematch with after “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” tried to punk him in front of his wife at a UFC show. Finally there’s ‘Nipplegate”, the strange but effective method of playing “Tune in Tokyo” with one’s self. I would get into the graphic details but hey, that’s what the replay is for. Take a listen! Stay tuned next week as UFC heavyweight Frank Mir dishes on everything from his stint on The Ultimate Fighter 8 to the meteoric rise of former opponent Brock Lesnar. See you next Monday at 9pm! For access to the Pro MMA Radio archive, click here. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

UFC Fight Night 15 weigh in results ‘Diaz vs Neer’ Posted: 16 Sep 2008 04:36 PM CDT The official weigh-in event for UFC Fight Night 15: "Diaz vs. Neer" at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Neb., is in the books. And fortunately for the 20 fighters who tipped the scales there were no surprises. Here are the official results: 155 lbs.: Nate Diaz (155) vs. Josh Neer (155) 155 lbs.: Clay Guida (155) vs. Mac Danzig (155) 185 lbs.: Ed Herman (185) vs. Alan Belcher (185) 205 lbs.: Houston Alexander (205) vs. Eric Schafer (205) 185 lbs.: Alessio Sakara (185) vs. Joe Vedepo (185) 185 lbs.: Ryan Jensen (185) vs. Wilson Gouveia (185) 155 lbs.: Joe Lauzon (155) vs. Kyle Bradley (155) 205 lbs.: Brad Morris (205) vs. Jason Brilz (205) 185 lbs.: Drew McFedries (185) vs. Mike Massenzio (185) 185 lbs.: Rob Kimmons (185) vs. Dan Miller (185) *Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights. Remember that MMAmania.com will also provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action on fight night, which is slated to air at 8 p.m. ET on Spike TV from the Omaha Civic Auditorium on Wednesday, September 17. Of course, the latest quick updates of the prelim bouts will begin to flow earlier than that at around 6:30 p.m. ET. It's going to be a solid night of mixed martial arts action – remember that The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 season debut begins immediately after UFN 15 at 10 p.m. ET. Be sure to check us out for all the pre, during and post-fight/show coverage you can handle. Thanks to Tracy Lee over at CombatLifestyle.com for the pic. For more UFC Fight Night 15 photos click here.

Gina Carano video photoshoot and interview for Shape Posted: 16 Sep 2008 02:30 PM CDT

Forrest Griffin: Mens Fitness cover pic Posted: 16 Sep 2008 12:37 PM CDT Props: MensFitness.com

Trevor Prangley vs Anthony Ruiz Strikeforce fight set for Playboy Mansion Posted: 16 Sep 2008 10:56 AM CDT Pencil in Trevor Prangley (17-5) vs. Anthony “El Toro” Ruiz (21-11) for “Strikeforce at the Mansion II” at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., on September 20. But keep your erasers handy because all know about the curse behind this match. First, it was champion Bobby Southworth who went down. He was replaced by “El Toro.” Then “Babalu” — Southworth’s original opponent — hurt his knee in training and he had to withdraw. Now it’s South African native Prangley who will step up on short notice to fill the void. Prangley was originally rumored to be a part of this event, but was later announced to be facing Matt Lindland in a middleweight bout at Affliction: “Day of Reckoning,” which was set for October 11. Now that that event has been postponed, Prangley all of a sudden has an opening on his schedule. And with the injuries to Southworth and Sobral forcing both fighters off the card, Strikeforce jumped all over a second opportunity to get Prangley in there. The short notice for this fight shouldn’t be a problem for Prangley since he was already preparing for the Matt Lindland fight. He should be fit and ready to go. This will, however, be a light heavyweight fight, so Prangley will have to deal with a bigger Anthony Ruiz. But, that’s a task he has handled before with success. Ruiz and Prangley previously met in the cage two years ago at Strikeforce: “Tank vs. Buentello,” And Prangley submitted “El Toro” with a first round armbar in that contest. To his credit, Ruiz has reeled off seven wins in eight fights since then and should be ready to defend submissions a little bit better this time around, having been training to face a guy like Babalu. This should be a good fight. Ruiz is a workhorse and Prangley is an accomplished wrestler with solid submission skills and good punching power. Expect a high-paced match with a lot of takedowns.

MMA Quick Quote: Elite XCs Gary Shaw doubts success of Affliction/Golden Boy Promotions partnership Posted: 16 Sep 2008 10:22 AM CDT “I think they’re in a very tough area.  Golden Boy is doing a very good job in boxing. Oscar De La Hoya knows boxing.  There’s nobody there that knows MMA. I think Affliction or Oscar, if they’re going to team up, still needs an MMA promoter.  Because at the end of the day, it’s the promoter that starts the ball rolling, and starts everybody talking. You know, like me and Dana. I don’t think it’s going to work out. They’re talking about Affliction doing all the boxing gear and everything else. When I looked around the room while they were doing the press conference, there wasn’t one person wearing anything of a shirt, hat or pants that had anything to do with boxing. You go to an MMA event, it’s a lifestyle, everybody is in MMA clothing.  I think it’s going to be a lesson to both.  I think they’re in for some surprises.” – Former Elite XC Live Events President Gary Shaw shares his thoughts with Steve Cofield on the recent partnership between Affliction MMA and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions during a recent radio interview.  Obviously Shaw doesn’t think boxing and mixed martial arts can be marketed or promoted the same way as evidenced by his comments about boxing apparel vs. MMA apparel.  He goes on to talk more about why he doesn’t think events featuring both boxing and MMA would work out, making actually some solid points. If anybody were to know about the difference in promoting boxing vs. MMA it would be Shaw.  He has been a part of both sports at the highest level. Maybe he knows what he’s talking about.  Or maybe he’s just bitter about his lack of success in mixed martial arts and doesn’t want to see other people succeed where he did not.

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