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Kenny Florian trains for Joe Stevenson UFC 91 fight video Posted: 01 Nov 2008 06:55 AM CDT

Karo Parisyan next fight likely against Dong Hyun ‘Stun Gun’ Kim at UFC 94 Posted: 01 Nov 2008 06:55 AM CDT Karo Parisyan is penciled in to collide with Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim (11-0-1) in a welterweight tilt at UFC 94, which is scheduled for the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31, according to MMAWeekly.com. Parisyan — who just signed a new eight-fight contract extension with the promotion — is currently recovering from an injury that forced him to withdraw from a fight against Yoshiyuki "Zenko" Yoshida at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” in September literally hours before showtime. It was an unfortunate situation that was made more curious with his recent admission the he has been dealing with panic attacks — numerous fans claimed “The Heat” merely had a case of cold feet. Regardless, the Armenian was stopped by rising star Thiago "Pitbull" Alves in the second round because of strikes in his most recent performance at UFC Fight Night 13. The typically gracious Parisyan was uncharacteristically sour on the stoppage, claiming that referee Steve Mazzagatti was premature in his decision to halt the bout. While Parisyan may have suffered another setback in his quest for the welterweight championship, he is still a dangerous opponent, going 8-2 since being outpointed by current 170-pound champ Georges "Rush" St. Pierre back in 2004. However, a loss against Kim could be catastrophic for the UFC career of Parisyan, who UFC President Dana White recently referred to as "a gatekeeper." “Stun Gun” was actually the beneficiary of Parisyan’s UFC 88 debacle, having his Octagon encore against The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alum Matt Brown bumped to the televised portion of the pay-per-view (PPV) broadcast. The popular South Korean earned a close split decision win against “Immortal.” Kim stopped Jason Tan in his inaugural appearance for the promotion at UFC 84: "Ill Will" back in May, pounding out his opponent with elbows in the final frame. The promising DEEP veteran will look to keep his perfect record intact and climb the welterweight ladder one rung at a time. In fact, he leapfrog a few folks with an impressive win over an opponent like Parisyan. UFC 94 will feature the welterweight superfight between former 170-pound champion and current lightweight kingpin BJ Penn versus reigning welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, as well as the highly anticipated showdown between light heavyweight unbeatens Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva. To check out the latest UFC 94 fight card and rumors click here.

MMA Quick Quote: Jose Aldo will have to wait for Jens Pulver and title shot Posted: 01 Nov 2008 06:36 AM CDT “Pulver was the first, but did not accept the match, after him they changed to an athlete who name I cannot remember until they confirmed Brookins. I know that confronting Pulver my road to a title shot will be much shorter. I have an objective, to confront the champion who now is Urijah Faber. If I am on the under card or not doesn’t make any difference, I am always ready to show my style, which is a black belt in BJJ who knows Muay Thai and I feel comfortable on the ground or standing. I go as an aggressor to winning; sooner or later I will have my chance to fight for the belt.” – Jose Aldo (10-1) speaks about his ambitious plans to take over the WEC featherweight division. The Brazilian faces Jonathan Brookins (8-2) on the under card of next Wednesday night’s WEC 36 event set for the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. He also claims that the original fight offered to him by the promotion was with former UFC champion Jens Pulver, but that “Lil Evil” turned the fight down.  Aldo is undefeated (1-0) in the WEC with a second round technical knockout win over Alexandre Franca Nogueira at WEC 34 in June.

Dreamweaver: Urijah Faber WEC 36 interview exclusive with MMAmania.com Posted: 01 Nov 2008 12:31 AM CDT WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber has emerged as the face of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), racking up five consecutive wins for the Zuffa-owned promotion. In fact, he has not tasted defeat in 13 fights — an impressive streak that dates back to 2005. His record, fighting style and personality have thrust him to the forefront of the MMA scene. And the “California Kid” will once again be back in the bright spotlight at WEC 36: “Faber vs. Brown,” defending his 145-pound title against number one contender Mike Brown in the main event live on Versus at 8 p.m. ET on November 5. It’s perhaps the toughest test to date for the 29-year-old fighter. "Mike Brown is a really tough guy,” Faber recently told MMAmania.com in an exclusive interview. “He is 19 and 4 out of American Top Team. He fought his last fights in Japan and he has fought before in Russia a little bit. He is tough. He is well rounded and, well, I think I'm going to beat him up." Faber is infamous in industry circles for his tireless work ethic and dedication to training inside the gym. While most fighters are associated with big name camps like ATT, American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) or X-Treme Couture, among others, Faber spills his blood, sweat and tears in his own facility. "It's my own gym, downtown Sacramento,” Faber says of Ultimate Fitness. “I feel like it is one of the best facilities in America. We've got a lot of top-notch trainers and a lot of great fighters that are going to be coming out of here and making a real big splash in the sport. It is an awesome facility — I spend most of my time here.” Naturally, Urijah trains under different trainers depending on the discipline being taught. When asked who his trainers are Urijah replied, "My Muay Thai instructor, boxing instructor is Master Thong. He is a really accomplished trainer. He has four WEO champions, two kickboxing world champions and over 300 matches for Muay Thai itself. And I have Fabio Prado — he is my Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach now. There are a lot of guys on our team that help out as well." The lone blemish on Urijah's professional record is courtesy of top UFC lightweight contender Tyson Griffin. It’s a result that still eats at him to this day. And even though he compete at 145 pounds and Griffin is entrenched in the 155-pound division, Faber is eager for a rematch. "Yeah I think it could happen,” Faber says about fighting Griffin again. “Maybe not right away, but something, before I'm done fighting and he is done fighting, hopefully, for sure will happen." As for the difference in weight, Faber has a solution to make the fight happen. "I'd have to go up in weight,” he says. “I wouldn't necessarily switch over to the UFC. Maybe they would do some kind of cross promotion. I'm not sure how it would work. I'm not really thinking that far into the future right now. I'm just trying to focus on what's at hand and go day-by-day." Of course, Faber would be unable to do what he does and enjoy the success that he does without the support of those closest to him … even if they can’t bear to watch him get punched in the face. "My family support is great,” he says. “My mom doesn't like to come watch me fight. She can't handle the brutality of it. The idea of me getting punched and stuff like that. But she will watch it after she already knows the results. She has always supported me in my life in just about everything I've done. The rest of my family loves it! They know I'm following my dreams." Those dreams will continue to be reality when Urijah meets up with Mike Brown next Wednesday night. He’s prepared as usual, ready to represent the WEC as the face of the promotion with his trademark smile and action-packed performances that have helped elevate him to the upper echelon of the sport. "Thank you so much for all the support,” he says. “I really feel the love. Keep on watching and check out UrijahFaber.com and enjoy the fight. It is going to be exciting.” That’s quite the understatement as far as Urijah Faber is concerned. To check out the complete audio of Penny Buffington’s interview with WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber click here. In addition, fans may be very interested to know you can go to UrijahFaber.com or NoFear.com for a chance to win a VIP trip to Sacramento to see Urijah Faber and his Ultimate Fitness gym for an exclusive training session with the champ. The contest begins on November 5.

Georges St. Pierre has ‘a lot of secret tools’ for BJ Penn at UFC 94 (Video) Posted: 31 Oct 2008 10:29 PM CDT Props: InTheGuard.tv Quoteworthy: “I have a lot knowledge, a lot of secret tools that I haven’t used, I keep it secret and I will do it in the proper moment.” UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre is already back in Brazil, training for his upcoming superfight against former 170-pound kingpin and current 155-pound titlist BJ Penn at UFC 94 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31. “Rush” will put his title on the line in a monster rematch against “The Prodigy” on Super Bowl weekend. The pair collided at UFC 58: “USA vs. Canada” back in 2006 with St. Pierre earning the split decision nod — a result that several fans felt went the wrong way. Penn is perhaps the most gifted Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist competing in his weight class, which is more than likely the reason the uber talented Canadian is already honing his grappling skills. It’s safe to say that St. Pierre is leaving no stone unturned more than three months out from fight night.

MMA Quick Quote: Eddie Alvarez has a lot of fight contracts Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT “Eddie's contract with Pro Elite was also a contract with Adrenaline and Extreme Challenge, and also a contract with Dream. That contract allowed him to fight in any of those places. (Pro Elite) only owned a piece of Eddie. I put in his contract that he would fight in EliteXC and then Extreme Challenge, Adrenaline, or Dream. We were alternating. The deal also says if one of the organizations doesn't schedule a fight or is unable to put on a fight, they lose a turn.” – Monte Cox, manager of former Elite XC lightweight standout Eddie Alvarez, tells Sherdog.com that his client is still under contract with three other organizations, including DREAM. According to Cox, Alvarez still owes the Japanese promotion two more fights and a rematch with its champion Joachim Hansen is a real possibility. Alvarez also discusses during the interview the possibility of fighting for the UFC and his desire to become a household name in the United States like he already is in Japan. At only 23-years-old — and already a consensus top 10-ranked fighter — the sky is the limit for the Philadelphia native.

UFC 91 video ‘Couture vs. Lesnar’ preview trailer (Extended) Posted: 31 Oct 2008 12:12 PM CDT It appears that the UFC 91 hype train has finally left the station … better late than never:

Stephane Patry resigns as president from TKO in Canada Posted: 31 Oct 2008 11:01 AM CDT Stephane Patry — the founder of Canada's original and most successful professional mixed martial arts organization — has resigned his position as president of TKO Championship Fighting. Patry was instrumental in bringing 44 shows to the Montreal region under the banner. However, according to a report on Sportsnet.ca, the Montreal native has decided to call it quits and will pursue new challenges. Here's a snip: "I’ve been involved in promoting a sport and producing shows for close to nine years…it was a good time for me to step down. I think I accomplished a lot of things in and for the sport. I decided I want to focus on other things.” TKO is renowned for grooming the careers of stars such as UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre,  recent number one UFC middleweight contender Patrick Cote, Mark Hominick, David Loiseau and Sam Stout, among others. Patry will continue to manage a stable of approximately seven professional fighters, which includes Cote. Here is what he had to say about continuing with this side of the business: “I will stay involved with the sport as a manager and also continue my work in television as a TV analyst." No replacement has yet been named and TKO's December 5 show has subsequently been cancelled.

Happy Halloween from the MMAmania.com Crew Posted: 31 Oct 2008 09:59 AM CDT

Carmelo Marrero vs Steve Steinbeiss WEC fight set with Alex Schoenauer injured Posted: 31 Oct 2008 09:52 AM CDT A scheduled WEC 36 light heavyweight bout between BoDog Fight veteran Steve “The Hooligan” Steinbeiss (4-1) and original “The Ultimate Fighter” cast member Alex Schoenauer (14-9) was canceled recently because of a torn hamstring suffered by Schoenauer in training. The good news is that former UFC heavyweight fighter Carmelo “The Fury” Marrero (9-2) has agreed to step in as a last minute replacement, according to MMAWeekly.com. Marrero’s career highlight came at UFC 64 when he squeaked out a split decision win over Cheick Kongo. Unfortunately for him, he followed up that performance with back-to-back losses to Gabriel Gonzaga and Wilson Gouveia, which in turn led to the UFC cutting him from its roster. Since that time, he’s been able to put together four straight fights without a loss, including consecutive submission wins over Rader McHugh and Chuck Huus at two separate “C3 Fights” events in August and September. This will mark the promotional debut for Marrero with the WEC. Steinbess will also be making his first appearance in the WEC cage. His only career loss came in a decision to Bill Mahood last April during a BoDog Fight event. Since then he’s defeated Anthony Rea (knockout), Wayne Andrews (submission) and most recently Francisco Alcantara by first round technical knockout at a Rock & Sock Promotions event in June. With an absolutely stacked main card, it’s doubtful this one will make the telecast, but Marrero is a solid late replacement for the organization. This should be a good, competitive fight, but nothing spectacular. WEC 36 will air live on the Versus network beginning at 9 pm ET on Wednesday, November 5 from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber will put his 145-pound title on the line against Mike Brown in the main event and middleweight champion Paulo Filho will rematch Chael Sonnen in the cofeatured bout of the evening. For more on WEC 36 click here and here. It’s going to be sick!

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