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Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante vs Cyrille ‘Snake’ Diabate Elite XC fight for light heavyweight title Posted: 22 Sep 2008 07:53 AM CDT Talented Brazilian light heavyweight Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (7-1) will meet Cyrille “Snake” Diabate (12-6-1) for the first-ever Elite XC light heavyweight championship belt on November 8, according to an interview with Tatame.com. Here’s a snip from Cavalcante: “It looks like I’m going to face Cyrille Diabate, who fought with Shogun (Rua) in Pride. I think will be him, 90% chances.” Feijao’s last fight was a first round destruction of Travis Galbraith at Elite XC: “Unfinished Business” back in July. The win was the third straight for the Team Nogueria product under the Elite XC banner. All three wins have been first round technical knockouts. He’s made a pretty good name for himself during the streak and is regarded by most to be the top 205-pound fighter on the Pro Elite roster. Of course, having Anderson Silva and Minotauro Nogueira in your corner doesn’t hurt your popularity either. He is an obvious choice for the division’s first title fight. Diabate will make his second appearance on an Elite XC card. In his last fight he defeated Jaime Fletcher by unanimous decision at Sho XC 7: “Hamman vs. Suganuma II.” He’s been victorious in six of his past seven fights with the lone loss coming at the hands of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at Pride: “Final Conflict Absolute” in 2006. He’s a lanky dude, using his long limbs as part of a nasty Muay Thai attack. He’ll need to use those to keep his distance from Feijao because of the size disadvantage. Feijao used to fight at heavyweight and he’s pretty large for 205 pounds. He’ll definitely have a strength advantage against the Frenchman. Regardless, this fight will be tough for Diabate wherever it goes. Feijao has already demonstrated his ability in the stand up and he’s said good things about his ground game in the past. Considering his training partners, I’d say he’s probably pretty good on the mat too. Accordingly, there aren’t too many weaknesses in Feijao’s game — the Elite XC light heavyweight title is his to lose. There is no venue set for the November 8 Elite XC event, which is set to air live on Showtime.

Chris ‘The Crippler’ Leben featured on tonight’s Pro MMA Radio Posted: 22 Sep 2008 06:32 AM CDT Chris Leben will be tonight’s guest on MMAmania.com’s exclusive presentation of Pro MMA Radio airing at 9pm EST. "The Crippler" will give his thoughts on his upcoming battle with Michael “The Count” Bisping at UFC 89 as well as his past performances against Anderson Silva and Patrick Cote. And what about the infamous car ride he shared with Diego Sanchez and Josh Koscheck? (Click here if you missed it). Hosted by Larry Pepe, Pro MMA Radio is professional, guest-driven program that features some of MMA's biggest names. If you're looking for a radio show that revolves around a couple of MMA fans ranting and raving about everything that's already been covered ad nauseam, then Pro MMA Radio probably isn't for you. However, if you want to hear from actual fighters answering questions that are relevant to their careers and the current MMA scene, tune in every Monday night for our exclusive live feed. See you tonight at 9pm!

‘Mo’ not so mighty, withdraws from DREAM 6 Posted: 21 Sep 2008 10:31 PM CDT Siala "Mighty Mo" Siligia (3-0) has withdrawn from DREAM 6 due to an injury suffered in training. His opponent, Russian gladiator Sergei Kharitonov (15-3) is expected to get a last-minute replacement for Tuesday’s event. Punch Drunk Gamer is reporting that replacement could be Jimmy “The Titan” Ambriz (13-9-1). Siligia was last victorious at K-1 Heroes after a first-round mutilation of Ruben "Warpath" Villereal. An accomplished kickboxer with a devastating overhand right that he calls "The Right Hand of God", Mo was expected to bring not only flair, but a very tough challenge for “Kharit-top”. Ever the gamer, UFC jetsam Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic offered to fight Kharitonov after disposing of Overeem - a comment that led to some amusing banter between the three: Cro Cop: “As a professional fighter, I’m willing to fight Kharitonov after fighting Allister. I’m sure Kharitonov doesn’t want to go home without fighting. I’m happy to be his opponent.” Overeem: “I suppose our fight is your last fight as a professional MMA fighter, Mirko. ” Cro Cop: “I like fighting someone who has plenty of guts, and I admit Alistair is one of them; although, our fight won’t be my last fight for sure.” Kharitonov: “I respect both Mirko and Alistair. I’m sure it’s a big decision fighting twice a day. I am appreciative of Mirko, yet I would like to fight you in another time.” Thanks to the lovely Suki MMA for the translation.

Anderson Silva: ‘I’ll retire next year’ Posted: 21 Sep 2008 07:54 PM CDT Props: InTheGuard.tv Quoteworthy: “I’ll retire next year, I already gave my all. I don’t need to prove anything for anyone and within one year I’ll put my gloves aside.” – UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva — the man who tells company president Dana White that he wants to fight more often — sounds like he may be bored. And who can blame him if the promotion doesn’t get him someone who will take him beyond the second round. Let’s hope something has been lost in translation or that he gets some money fights in the loaded light heavyweight division … fast. Real fast.

Cain Velasquez vs Mustafa Al-Turk UFC Fights for the Troops bout likely Posted: 21 Sep 2008 09:11 AM CDT Hot heavyweight blue chip prospect Cain Velasquez (4-0) will likely return to action against Octagon newcomer Mustafa Al-Turk (6-3) at UFC Fight Night 16: "Fights for the Troops" at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., on December 10. MMAmania.com recently learned of the possible match up between the future the division and the current Cage Rage British Heavyweight Champion. Velasquez is an undefeated American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) standout who has won all of his UFC bouts (two), building a reputation as a dangerous opponent who many in the division would prefer to avoid. Brad Morris and Jake O’Brien weren’t so lucky, and the former Arizona State University wrestler stopped them both in the first round. He is widely regarded as a future champion, a distinction his possible opponent already has locked down. Al-Turk — who fights out of the famous London Shoot gym in the United Kingdom — reportedly just signed a four-fight contract to fight for the UFC after a successful run in Europe on the Cage Rage circuit. In fact, he has six wins in seven attempts for the promotion and is riding a two-fight win streak. He is a pretty well-rounded fighter with serviceable boxing and solid grappling skills. However, he will need to polish his wrestling if he wants to stay in good positions against a stud like Velasquez. UFC Fight Night 16: “Fights for the Troops” features two welterweight clashes between Josh Koscheck and Yoshiyuki Yoshida, as well as Mike Swick against Jonathan Goulet. In case your keeping score it’s an AKA attack on Fort Bragg and likely Spike TV — the bout between Velasquez and Turk would likely join these two bouts on the three-hour televised main card. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more updates and rumors regarding UFC Fight Night 16: "Fights for the Troops."

UFC Quick Quote: Lyoto Machida wants to fight Rashad Evans to determine number one contender Posted: 21 Sep 2008 08:49 AM CDT "I'm waiting for any situation, or face him, if he gets better, or having another opponent. I would like to face Rashad Evans, and the winner gets a title shot, but now it seems like they will put him against Forrest Griffin … I'd like to face him and the winner gets Griffin, it's a good way. I don't know how it's gonna be, I'm ready to fight, but don't wanna fight anyone, because I'm building my way in UFC and I wanna fight the top fighters so that they could give me a title shot after…. I never chose opponents, I leave it to UFC and my managers, what they want for me is good. If they think fight Shogun is better I'll do it, I' m prepared to for everything.” – Top light heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida — who is likely one win away from a 205-pound title shot — tells Tatame.com that his ideal scenario with be a number one title contender eliminator match against Rashad Evans. However, it appears that Evans is already in line to fight reigning champion Forrest Griffin as soon as UFC 92 in December. Machida was supposed to take on Thiago Silva last month before an injury derailed the monster showdown. Machida reveals that Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is also in the picture, which is another fantastic option. Either way, there’s likely a great fight on the horizon next for Machida, just not a title shot.

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