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| Travis Lutter vs Joe Doerksen UFC 91 fight possible Posted: 23 Sep 2008 08:45 AM CDT Middleweights Travis Lutter (9-5) and Joe Doerksen (40-12) are penciled in to tangle at UFC 91: "Couture vs. Lesnar" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 15, according to Sherdog.com. This is surprising news, considering Lutter had been released from the promotion after his technical knockout loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 83: "Serra vs. St. Pierre 2" earlier this year. He has not competed since. Lutter — the winner of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 – had returned from a 14-month long layoff, recovering from a back injury that has haunted him throughout his career. And the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist nearly pulled off the win with a tight armbar; however, "Ace" defended it perfectly, spun out and went on to pound out the tired-looking "Serial Killer." He was lambasted for the performance – critics felt he was unprepared and not conditioned to compete for the full 15 minutes. Perhaps the accusations were accurate or just more ammo for those who are still miffed that Lutter failed to make weight for his 185-pound title bout against middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 67 in early 2007. Whatever the case may be, Lutter is a lightning rod for criticism. Doerksen is on a skid of his own, losing three of his last four fights. He dropped all of those fights as a Zuffa employee and recently took a fight in a smaller promotion, Vipers MMA, to get back on the winning path against John Meyer back in August. The Canadian was stopped via technical knockout by Jason MacDonald at UFC 83, knocked out by Ed Herman at UFC 78: "Validation" in November 2007 and pounded out by WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho at WEC 29 in August 2007. "El Dirte" holds notable wins over Patrick Cote, Ed Herman and Chris Leben, among others. To check out the latest UFC 91 fight card and rumors click here. |
| MMA Quick Quote: Alistair Overeem demolishes Mirko Cro Cop’s balls Posted: 23 Sep 2008 08:07 AM CDT
"We just got informed by Mirko Cro Cop's corner that his right testicle is inside." – DREAM ringside announcer Bas Rutten informs fans watching the conclusion of the 2008 middleweight grand prix on HDNet that one of Mirko Cro Cop’s testicles ran for higher ground after Alistair Overeem delivered several illegal groin strikes during their heavyweight bout. It was eventually ruled a no contest because the Croatian could not continue, providing a disappointing conclusion to a bout that had received much interest and fanfare leading up to it. Not too mention it sounds downright excruciating. |
| DREAM 6 recap and final thoughts Posted: 23 Sep 2008 07:57 AM CDT
DREAM 6 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, is finally in the books. And when all was said and done Gegard Mousasi is the unlikely 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix Champion. There were plenty of other exciting fights … let’s take a look at how it all went down. The tournament reserve bout kicked off the event. Dong Sik Yoon was matched up with the winless (0-1) Andrews Nakahara in what looked to be a favorable match up for the Korean. But somebody forgot to tell Nakahara he was supposed to lose. He escaped a few tight situations early on in the fight and he stayed busy with numerous kicks en route to a second round technical knockout win over the more experienced Yoon. In the first of the two semifinal grand prix bouts, Mousasi worked relentlessly for the early takedown on the powerful striker Melvin Manhoef. Once he was successful getting the fight to the mat, he easily gained a dominant position, sinking in a quick triangle choke from there. The Dutchman tried to power out of the hold, but only made matters worse on himself and was forced to tap out, putting an end to his impressive tournament run.
The second semifinal was almost identical to the first. “Jacare” Souza took his fight against Zelg Galesic to the ground almost immediately, and as usual, he dominated from there. It wasn’t a minute and a half into the match before he was able to lock in a fight-ending armbar on the Croatian striker. That meant the 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix Final would be Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Gegard Mousasi. And with the two quick finishes, both competitors would have plenty of gas left in the tank for the final. A relatively uneventful match between Keita Nakamura and Adriano Martins opened up the non-tournament portion of the card. The Japanese faithful voiced their displeasure with plenty of uncharacteristic boos after watching the two men fight to a decision. It was Nakamura who came out on top on the score cards after using a strong jab to win over two of the three judges for a split decision victory. Nakamura’s jab was clearly the deciding factor. The decision should have been unanimous. Either it was a mistake, or the one judge who scored the fight for Martins was watching a completely different fight. Sergei Kharitonov was victorious over Jimmy "The Titan" Ambriz. Ambriz was just plain out matched in this one by the Russian heavyweight. Kharitonov dominated the stand up exchanges and eventually was too much for “The Titan,” forcing him to tap from strikes two minutes into the first round. Two seasoned veterans, Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa and Masakatsu Funaki faced off in a middleweight battle, but it didn’t last very long. Funaki got put on his back right away to start the fight, but quickly capitalized from there by locking in a heel hook. The fact that “Minowaman” was wearing wrestling shoes didn’t help in his escape attempt and he had to submit only 32 seconds into the fight. After the fight, WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko came into the ring and told the crowd that he wanted to fight Satoshi Ishii, but that the fight is not yet confirmed. He also said that he wanted the fight to be in Japan on New Year’s Eve. I wonder what Donald Trump and the Affliction boys think of that. “Mach” Sakurai used his typical attack of hard kicks and big right hands to unanimously defeat Kuniyoshi Hironaka in their match. He was overpowering with his stand up. The leg kicks were insane. He’s a difficult man to deal with at both lightweight and welterweight. “Mach” was at one time scheduled to face Nick Diaz on this card for the first-ever DREAM welterweight title, but Diaz had contractual obligations with Elite XC that prevented it from happening. Yoshihiro Akiyama improved his record to (12-1) with a first round submission win over Masanori Tonooka. He pretty much did whatever he wanted in the fight. Lightweight Grand Prix runner-up Shinya Aoki came into his fight as a humongous favorite (-2500) to beat Todd “Maniac” Moore. If you were looking to cash in on a possible upset of monumental proportions with the underdog Moore, it didn’t happen. Aoki submitted him in just over a minute. The highly touted heavyweight showdown between Mirko Cro Cop and Alistair Overeem was eventful and painful. Both fighters landed hard shots on their feet early on. Overeem was able to get Mirko to the ground a couple of times and worked a little ground and pound, but for the most part there wasn’t much action there. Later on in the round Overeem landed at least three illegal knees to the groin — one of which wasn’t caught by the referee. After the last one Cro Cop was in obvious agony. The words that came out of Bas Rutten’s mouth when the bout was getting waived off and called a no contest will haunt men around the world for a long time:
Moving on … The main event and grand prix final ended with a highlight reel knockout from a Gegard Mousasi upkick. “Jacare” took the Armenian fighter down easily to start the fight. He was working from there and found himself standing in Mousasi’s full guard. Off his back Mousasi threw a hard upkick that landed right on the chin of Souza. The fight was over right there with “Jacare” out cold. And Mousasi raised his hand as the 2008 DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Champion. This was anther solid event for DREAM. The future is uncertain for the Japanese-based organization. Hopefully they can keep the ship afloat. |
| Posted: 22 Sep 2008 10:14 PM CDT
DREAM 6 takes place tonight (tomorrow morning) from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, at 3 a.m. ET. We encourage those hardcore fans who are willing to endure a sleepless night in return for exciting mixed martial arts action to join us for our live quick results, which will begin with the late-night broadcast on HDNet. Dream 6, of course, features the conclusion of the 16-man 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix. Melvin Manhoef (22-4-1), Gegard Mousasi (22-2-1), Zelg Galesic (9-3) and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (9-1) are the four remaining competitors. Both the semifinals and the final of the tournament will take place tonight in addition to several other intriguing match ups. MMAmania.com will provide up-to-the-minute results below — check in early (literally) and often right here to get your MMA fix. And feel free to leave as many comments as you like. Let's get to it.
Middleweight tournament final: Gegard Mousasi defeats Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza via knockout (upkick) at 2:15 of round one to become the 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Middleweight tournament semifinals: Gegard Mousasi defeats Melvin Manhoef via submission (triangle choke) at 1:28 of round one Middleweight tournament reserve bout: Andrews Nakahara defeats Dong Sik Yoon via technical knockout (strikes) at 0:30 of round two Non-tournament bouts: Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem has been ruled a No Contest after Cro Cop could not continue follwing illegal knees to the groing from Overeem In addition to our live fight coverage, MMAmania.com will provide a recap of all the action once all the results are in. Enjoy! |
| World Victory Road accuses Roger Gracie of faking the injury that kept him out of Sengoku 5 Posted: 22 Sep 2008 08:50 PM CDT
Gracie (2-0) was set to compete at the September 28 event until an errant kick during sparring caused what his camp described as “An intermuscular tear to the intercostal muscle between the sixth and seventh left ribs”. Rogwash, according to officials from World Victory Road (WVR). An apology was issued today by WVR on the Sengoku website for Gracie’s absence, as well as a detailed account of the efforts put forth to verify the injury with both Gracie and his doctor. Here is a translation of the letter, courtesy of the lovely Suki MMA:
From the tone of this letter it sounds like Gracie has a lot of explaining to do. Not just to World Victory Road, but to his fans and even Travis Wiuff. Stay tuned as this story continues to develop. |
| Matt Hamill: I’m glad I have a trainer that won’t accept that performance Posted: 22 Sep 2008 06:05 PM CDT
Props: Fightline.com
-Matt “The Hammer” Hamill responds to the comments made by his trainer Duff Holmes who vented his frustration and bewilderment regarding the gameplan that his fighter executed against Rich Franklin back at UFC 88: "Breakthrough." Hamill was finished in the third round via technical knockout after essentially going toe-to-toe with the former middleweight champion for most of the entire fight despite his superior edge in the wrestling department. And when he did attempt takedowns he could not finish them … Hamill appeared to be content just holding an ankle rather than driving Franklin into the cage or using it somehow to get "Ace" to the floor. For Holmes original comments click here. |
| Elite XC fight card for Sho XC September 26 announced Posted: 22 Sep 2008 04:10 PM CDT
The event will be the eighth installment of the “Challenger Series” and will air live on Showtime, beginning at 11 p.m ET this Friday night. As expected, talented Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Wilson Reis (5-0) will vie for the company’s first featherweight title against the reigning King of the Cage Bantamweight Champion Abel Cullum (11-1). Sho XC 8 will be the first time an Elite XC world championship is decided on the Challenger Series. Here are the five undercard bouts made official by Elite XC:
Pro Elite uses the Sho XC Challenger Series as a platform to gain exposure for its up-and-coming stars, similar to what “The Ultimate Fighter” does for the UFC. Some of these guys aren’t going to be recognizable to most fans, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth keeping an eye on. Some of Elite XC’s top fighters have competed on Sho XC events, including Paul “Semtex” Daley, Eddie Alvarez, Cyrille “Snake” Diabate, KJ Noons, “Krazy Horse” Bennett, Jarad Hamman, Muhsin Corbbrey, Wilson Reis, Fabricio Camoes and others. For more on the Sho XC Challenger Series 8 event click here. |
| Tito Ortiz joins battle to knockout dog fighting Posted: 22 Sep 2008 02:55 PM CDT
Props: PRWeb.com Quoteworthy:
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz is keeping busy while on the sidelines, joining the For Pits’ Sake Inc. awareness campaign to “Knock Out Dog Fighting.” “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” is also expecting twins with retired porn queen and girlfriend, Jenna Jameson, according to the NY Daily News. Despite a recent announcement that he had agreed to a record contract with Affliction MMA, Ortiz still remains a free agent. He has not competed since a unanimous decision loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84: “Ill Will” back in May. For what it’s worth Ortiz has just one knockout to his credit in his 22-fight professional mixed martial arts career, which was against Evan Tanner via slam at UFC 32: “Battle on the Boardwalk” in 2001. |
| UFC Fight Night 15 fighter paydays and salaries for ‘Diaz vs Neer’ Posted: 22 Sep 2008 01:29 PM CDT
And Nate Diaz was the big winner of the evening, pocketing a $40,000 base salary for his stirring three-round split decision over Josh Neer. The other top two earners on the card, Wilson Gouveia ($36,000) and Alessio Sakara ($34,000) both competed on the nontelevised portion of the broadcast. However, it’s interesting to note that Diaz, Gouveia and Sakara all earned bonuses after the event for their impressive performances. Here are all the UFC Fight Night 15 payouts:
Nate Diaz — $40,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 to win) Clay Guida — $26,000 ($13,000 to show, $13,000 to win) Alan Belcher — $26,000 ($13,000 to show, $13,000 to win) Eric Schafer — $12,000 ($6,000 to show, $6,000 to win) Alessio Sakara — $34,000 ($17,000 to show, $17,000 to win) Wilson Gouveia — $36,000 ($18,000 to show, $18,000 to win) Joe Lauzon — $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win) Jason Brilz — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win) Mike Massenzio — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win) Dan Miller — $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win) Keep in mind the salaries listed above do not include fight bonuses, sponsorships, percentages and other unofficial payments. It also does not include deductions for expenses such as insurance, taxes, etc. For example, the UFC often hands out extra cash for "Fight of the Night," "Knockout of the Night" and "Submission of the Night." To check out these figures for UFC Fight Night 15 go here. The total base fighter payroll for the Spike TV special was $305,000. For complete results and coverage of "Diaz vs. Neer" click here and here. |
| Jesse Taylor vs Drew Fickett Total Combat fight booked October 2 Posted: 22 Sep 2008 11:05 AM CDT
“Cocoa the Monkey” will compete in the main event at Total Combat 32: “Notorious” at the Sycuan Casino & Resort, which is just outside of San Diego, Calif., on October 2. The former middleweight will make the move down to 170 pounds to face Drew “The Master” Fickett (35-6). Fickett is a huge step up in competition for Taylor. In fact, he hasn’t faced anybody with even half the experience of “The Master.” To make matters worse, the experience isn’t even the only thing that makes this match up look one-sided. All three of Taylor’s career losses have been by submissions, which is Fickett’s strongest attribute as a fighter. In fact, he’s won by way of tapout 24 times in his career. Therfore, if Taylor had trouble with Dolloway’s submissions then one can imagine what kind of problems a technician the caliber of Fickett poses for him. Regardless, Taylor is going to be a beast at welterweight. And it’ll be interesting to see just how much of a strength advantage he’ll have at 170 pounds. He was known for his wrestling and control while on the show and he’ll need to be at the top of his game in those areas to have any chance at all against “The Master.” Kim Couture — wife of UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture — will also be in action at Total Combat 32 “Notorious,” facing Team Quest product Megan Gangitano. Total Combat also just announced a partnership with MTV 3, which will be the new home for the mixed martial arts organization. |
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