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| UFC Quick Quote: Phillipe Nover draws comparisons to Anderson Silva Posted: 04 Dec 2008 08:41 AM CST
– The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 coach Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira compares lightweight finalist Phillipe Nover to his good friend and training/business partner, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Before the latest edition of the show even started there was a major buzz about a certain 155-pound fighter who had just about everyone in awe. It turned out to be the Filipino nurse from Brooklyn, New York. The lofty comparisons to the accomplished Brazilian world beater will certainly add to the pressure when Nover challenges Efrain Escudero in the tournament-style lightweight final at TUF 8 Finale on December 13 for the “six-figure” UFC contract. Hopefully, all that added pressure doesn’t work against him … or make him faint. |
| Manny Tapia video: WEC loss to Miguel Torres ‘called too early’ Posted: 04 Dec 2008 08:25 AM CST |
| Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale results and coverage LIVE on Dec. 13 Posted: 04 Dec 2008 06:54 AM CST
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 Finale, which is scheduled to take place from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, December 13, 2008, at 9 p.m. ET on Spike TV, is now set with the recent conclusion of the mixed martial arts reality series. In addition to the two matches that will determine the lightweight and light heavyweight season winners, several other contestants from the show will also be in action. In fact, the entire 11-fight card features nine matches that include TUF 8 participants — 18 out of 22 fighters when all is said and done. And perhaps the most interesting pairing is the main card bout between Junie Browning and Dave Kaplan. Both guys had their fair share of curious moments throughout their 12-week stint in the fighter house. Now it's time to see how they perform when it really matters. As usual, we want to remind our readers that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the main card bouts, beginning with the 9 p.m. ET Spike TV telecast on fight night. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of the under card action at around 7:30 p.m. ET. Here is the complete TUF 8 Finale fight card:
Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the broadcast to share their thoughts on the action. In the meantime, feel free to leave your fight predictions and other show-related thoughts in the comments sections below. Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after TUF 8 Finale. See you then! |
| Ultimate Fighter 8 finalists advance to Las Vegas finale on Dec. 13 Posted: 03 Dec 2008 11:00 PM CST
The mix of the 32 lightweights and light heavyweights who began season eight of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) about 12 weeks ago has finally been whittled down to four finalists. Ryan Bader and Vinicius Magalhães will battle for the 205-pound season crown, while Phillipe Nover and Efrain Escudero will collide to determine the top 155-pound fighter in the house. It will all go down at TUF 8 Finale at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, December 13, 2008. The action will begin to air at 9 p.m. ET on Spike TV on fight night. “Darth” Bader — who took out Kyle Kingsbury, Tom Lawlor and Eliot Marshall en route to the finals — and the baddest nurse in all of Brooklyn. N.Y., Phillipe Nover — who ran through Joe Duarte, David Kaplan and George Roop to earn his spot — appear to be the early favorites in their respective weight divisions. However, Magalhães showed that he is a dangerous Brazilian jiu-jitsu threat with wins over Lance Evans, Jules Bruchez and Krzysztof Soszynski. And Escudero demonstrated similar ground acumen by choking out Ido Pariente, Shane Nelson and the lovable Junie Browning. It’s going to be a solid conclusion to a solid season, which ultimately saw Team Nogueira send three fighters to the finals versus just one representative from Team Mir. In addition to the TUF 8 final bouts, two other intriguing match ups will round out the televised main card. Middleweights Jason MaDonald and Wilson Gouveia will hook ‘em up and welterweights Kevin Burns and Anthony Johnson will meet in a rematch to erase the memory of the controversial result in their first encounter. The entire TUF 8 Finale card should be announced very soon. In the meantime, check out the latest fight card here and complete event archive right here. |
| Posted: 03 Dec 2008 10:02 PM CST
Welterweight Champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre defends his title against tough-as-nails Jon Fitch, and in one of the most anticipated fights in the history of the lightweight division, Kenny "Ken-Flo" Florian takes on Roger "El Matador" Huerta. Also, Minneapolis' own Brock Lesnar gets a rough homecoming in the form of "The Texas Crazy Horse," Heath Herring. UFC 87 DVD also features Cheick Kongo, Demian Maia, and a clash between Ultimate Fighter stars Manny Gamburyan and Rob Emerson. Main Card: Under Card: Running Time: 342 minutes
UFC 87: ‘Seek and Destroy’ is available for purchase in our DVD store for $14.99 by clicking here . To check out our massive library of MMA DVD titles, including PRIDE DVD and UFC DVD click here . We also have Elite XC, WEC, Cage Rage, IFL, King of the Cage and other products for sale in our store. Looking for a title but don't see it in our store? Email us and we'll be happy to check its availability. Please keep in mind that we are only able to ship within the continental United States at this time. |
| K-1 World Grand Prix Final 2008 to air live on HDNet featuring Kimbo Slice as guest commentator Posted: 03 Dec 2008 09:59 PM CST
Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) and HDNet are partnering once again to bring North American fans LIVE coverage of the K-1 World Grand Prix Final 2008 from the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan starting at 3:00am ET on Saturday, December 6. Joining the broadcast team of Michael "The Voice" Schiavello, four-time K-1 WGP Champion Ernesto Hoost and FEG USA’s Mike Kogan will be none other than Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson. Kimbo was invited by FEG and HDNet to be a guest commentator for K-1’s stateside debut. FiELDS K-1 WGP 2008 Final, an 8-man knockout tournament for the coveted K-1 Grand Prix crown, features the world’s best heavyweight strikers including Moroccan/Dutch Bad Boy Badr Hari; legendary triple K-1 World Champion Peter Aerts; French monster Jerome LeBanner; Russian wonder Ruslan Karaev and two-time former champion Remy Bonjasky. The broadcast also includes superfights featuring New Zealand’s "Sugar" Ray Sefo vs. seven-foot-plus giant Hong Man Choi and Australia’s Paul Slowinski vs. now un-retired Dutch demon Melvin Maenhoef. Here is the official fight card for K-1 'World Grand Prix 2008 Final': Main Card: K-1 World Grand Prix Final K-1 World Grand Prix Semifinals K-1 World Grand Prix Quarterfinals Preliminary Card Reserve Fights For those of you who love K-1 but still need their beauty sleep, FEG is kind enough to offer an encore presentation later that evening starting at 9:00 p.m. ET. |
| The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8: Episodes 11 & 12 recap and discussion Posted: 03 Dec 2008 09:06 PM CST
Episodes eleven and twelve of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 are in the books and with most of the yellow and white army behind us we can finally concentrate on the semifinal matches. Set to do battle are:
We go right to the weigh-ins for Bader vs. Marshall and both guys hit their marks. UFC President Dana White and Coach Frank Mir both agree that Marshall has a fair chance of submitting the seemingly one-dimensional Bader in their semifinal bout. Bader on the other hand thinks Marshall is regretting his decision to call him out after his submission victory over Shane Primm. Coach Nogueira gives Bader some one-on-one training and in true Nog fashion allows Bader to pound on his face during some very hard sparring. Bader has the luxury of headgear while Nog just takes it like a man. I guess putting headgear on Nogueira would be like putting scuba gear on Aquaman. Marshall hits the gym and for some reason we get one of those bizarre piano solos that makes me wonder if he's going to grab a brown backpack and start hitchhiking down a suburban highway. Sure enough Marshall starts conceding his skill set and talks about being the underdog. Eliot Marshall: Black belt in jiu-jitsu, yellow belt in self-confidence. Light heavyweight semifinal fight #1: Eliot Marshall (5-1) vs. Ryan Bader (7-0) Round 1: Marshall jabs. Bader with a nice low kick followed by a strong right. Bader low kicks. High kick by Marshall grazes the head. A Marshall low kick finds a testicular target. Action resumes and Marshall lands two clean low kicks. Bader returns one of his own. Marshall backs him up with a combo. Bader tags him with a right. Low kick by Bader. They tie-up in the center of the cage and Bader forces him to the mat. Marshall in guard eats a sporadic elbow. Referee Josh Rosenthal warns them for inactivity. Bader takes ten second breaks between strikes. Mir yells for the stand-up and the ref ignores him. Round one ends with Bader laying and both men praying. Round 2: Bader opens with a combo. Marshall returns the favor and lands a nice front kick. Bader with a right. Bader catches a Marshall high kick and dumps him on the mat. Bader drags him to the cage. A minute goes by with no change in position. Bader clings to him like one of the face-suckers from Aliens. The ref throws in the obligatory warning. And again. Right now Rosenthal is busier than Bader and Marshall. He finally stands them up and a winded Bader thanks him by scoring another easy takedown. Bader lands an elbow. A Nevada tumbleweed roars past. Rosenthal with a rear naked warning. No change. The horn sounds with Bader on top. Round 3: Bader with a right. Marshall tries to slug him and Bader takes him down and drags him back to the cage. Bader postures up and Marshall tries to work the leg. Bader grabs the fence and slinks his way back down. Rosenthal stands them up. Bader with a low kick and then another takedown. Marshall looks for the Kimura but gets dragged to the cage. Millions of viewers check the signal to make sure the broadcast isn't skipping or stuck in a loop. Mir screams for the stand-up. Rosenthal waits about a minute and complies. Bader ducks a high kick and takes Marshall to the ground. Perhaps to spite Mir, Rosenthal warns them for inactivity with 16 seconds left. Bader smothers until time expires. Ryan Bader defeats Eliot Marshall via unanimous decision (30-27) Afterward, Coach Mir congratulates Bader for being a terrible fighter who knows how to exploit the outcome of the fight with wrestling and takedowns. Dana White chastises Marshall for not taking any risks and just staying in guard for three rounds. Bader calls it the biggest win of his career and Marshall goes out with some dignity and admits to getting beaten fair and square. Any viewers game enough to hang in there for all three rounds were sure to get excited at the sight of Phillipe Nover heading for the scales. With George Roop as his opponent, a first-round stoppage seems almost like a foregone conclusion. Nover goes through the motions in the gym and looks as ready as he can be. Roop cautions that his bruised face is not a factor and that he won't allow his injured hand to stand in the way of winning. Lightweight semifinal fight #1: George Roop (8-3) vs. Phillipe Nover (4-0-1) Round 1: Nover comes out guns 'a blazing with hard and accurate fists flying right into Roop's face. Roop backpedals and gets taken down. Roop uses the cage to sweep and in the transition Nover secures Roop's left arm. They struggle for position but Nover refuses to let go of the arm. He eventually wears Roop down and muscles the arm out into the open. He rolls and cranks it and Roop is forced to tap. Phillipe Nover defeats George Roop via submission (Kimura) Team Nogueira celebrates their back-to-back victories and Phillipe gets praise from anyone not wearing a blue shirt. A classy George Roop looks forward to going home and refining his skill set. Moving on to episode twelve, Krzysztof Soszynski talks about the challenge of fighting Vinny Magalhaes who is not only his teammate on Team Mir but also back at Team Quest. Soszynski thinks his semifinal bout is a standard striker vs. grappler match-up and whether or not he can get taken down will be the deciding factor in the outcome of the fight. He also thinks that if you hit a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in the face they become a brown belt and if you continue to hit them they will drop all the way down to a white belt. Apparently he never saw any footage of "Minotauro" Nogueira. Light heavyweight semifinal fight #2: Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (2-2) Round 1: Soszynski with an open stance fires off an inside leg kick. Magalhaes answers with a combo that backs him up. Lazy high kick by Magalhaes doesn't come close. Soszynski gets in his face and they trade sloppy punches. Magalhaes jumps into guard and pulls Soszynski to the floor. Magalhaes subdues him in guard and lands a few elbows to the head. Soszynski drops his shoulders and powers out. He thinks about engaging until his corner screams at him to back away. Magalhaes gets to his feet and lands a nice body kick. Soszynski lands six straight unanswered inside leg kicks. The corner screams for Magalhaes to shoot. Three more inside leg kicks by Soszynski and a charging Magalhaes gets dropped by a grazing body shot. Magalhaes jumps to his feet and tries to strike but is punching like Forrest Gump on roller skates. They engage at close range and Magalhaes flops to the ground and manages to drag down Soszynski with him. From there it's merely academic as Magalhaes locks in the armbar and Soszynski is forced to tap. Vinny Magalhaes defeats Krzysztof Soszynski via submission (armbar) Ryan Bader will now meet Vinny Magalhaes in the light heavyweight finals. Krzysztof takes the loss like a man and admits to needing work in the jiu-jitsu department. Now the last remaining bout between Efrain Escudero and Junie Browning is set to go down assuming Junie can keep it together long enough to make it to the fight. He's already starting with his excuses about his timing being off and not getting enough time in the gym and so on and so forth. He also thinks the TUF experience has been detrimental to his abilities and tells his team he doesn't want to fight in the finals anymore. Coach Mir is more than happy to replace him with Shane Nelson. Back at the house Junie and Shane Primm get into an argument about whether or not Vinny Magalhaes can submit Ryan Bader at the finals and like most arguments between men, this one escalates into unnecessary violence. Junie goes off the deep end, throws a drinking glass at Primm then proceeds to swing at him while Primm is sitting down. He's quickly restrained and Primm tells Junie to take his medication. Enter Dana White. Dana pulls Junie into a private meeting to tell him what a fuck-up he is. Junie talks about the pressure of being on the show but Dana isn't buying it. Dana rallies the troops and asks them what the right move is. The gang agrees that it's better to let him stay and get his ass kicked then to let him go home and run his mouth about what he could have accomplished if he hadn't been expelled. Junie gets pardoned (again) and now has to prove that he's as tough as he thinks. He starts up with the trash talk about retiring if he loses to Efrain and how he is already in the finals and blah, blah, blah. Lightweight semifinal fight #2: Junie Browning (2-0) vs. Efrain Escudero (10-0) Round 1: After touching gloves, Browning does some stretching in the middle of the cage. He throws a phantom combo and then both fighters exchange inside leg kicks. They stick and move for a while and Escudero lands two more leg kicks. Browning answers with a nice body shot. Browning swings high and Escudero ducks and drops him with a takedown. Escudero warned for unintentionally striking the back of the head. Browning scrambles to his feet and Escudero lands a stiff jab. Browning with a lazy shoot against the cage and gets a few elbows and knees for his efforts. Escudero takes it back to the center of the Octagon and Browning grazes with a high kick. Escudero fires off three straight inside leg kicks. Browning answers with a kick of his own but eats a crisp uppercut on the fade away. Browning works the leg but is sucking wind and cannot avoid a right hand to the face. Mir is screaming instructions and Browning is ignoring them. Escudero finds his range and peppers him with jabs. Junie lands a leg kick and they trade punches as time expires. Round 2: Escudero with a jab that lands. Browning tries a spinning back fist that misses by a mile. They trade punches but nothing lands. Browning shoots and pushes him to the cage but can't get the takedown. Escudero with knees as they break. Back in the center Browning lands a big right but fails to follow up or capitalize. Browning eats a jab then lands a straight right. Mir is screaming at him to go for combos but gets ignored. Escudero fires off a leg kick then shoots and takes him down. Escudero patiently works for position and Browning throws up his hands ala Herring/O'Brien. Escudero busy with elbows and hops into side control where he easily secures a D'arce choke and makes him tap. Efrain Escudero defeats Junie Browning via submission (D’arce choke) Phillipe Nover will now meet Efrain Escudero in the lightweight finals. Mir distances himself from Junie after the fight for his failure to listen and admits to enjoying watching him tap. Dana feels vindicated for keeping Junie on the show and says "Justice was served". I have to agree since Team Blue was talking all kinds of smack in episode ten about Team Red, in particular Krzysztof Soszynski, who was making fun of the methods of Coach Nogueira - who only sent three fighters into the semifinals while Coach Mir sent five. Now that the dust has cleared I believe what was once 5-3 is now 1-3. And Krzysztof is going home. Junie finds time for one last speech and he still believes that Efrain isn't any good. Unfortunately he admits that he isn't any good either and that's why he lost. He also whines about not having cardio and being in the wrong sport. Finally, something we can agree on. As punishment for losing three of the four semifinal bouts, Coach Mir has to let Coach Nogueira shave his head. And to think we almost ended on a high note when Junie sticks his mug into the camera one last time and vows to fight again. And unless something drastic changes, lose again. That's a wrap. Be sure to tune in on December 13 at 9pm ET for The Ultimate Fighter Finale live on Spike TV from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Competing for the 'six-figure' contract are:
And we'll see you again in early 2009 as we get to do it all over again for The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 featuring the return of Michael "The Count" Bisping. Woo-hoo! |
| WEC results for ‘Torres vs Tapia’ LIVE tonight Dec. 3! Posted: 03 Dec 2008 03:44 PM CST
The main event of the evening features WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres defending his title for the second time ever against undefeated ground specialist Manny “The Mangler” Tapia. Four other top contenders in the WEC’s 135-pound division will also be in action shortly, including Brian Bowles and Will Ribeiro, as well as Joseph Benavidez and Danny Martinez. As always, MMAmania.com will provide detailed coverage of the main card bouts, beginning with the 8 p.m. ET telecast on Versus. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of the under card action at around 6:30 p.m. ET. Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the Versus telecast to share their thoughts on the action. Therefore, feel free to leave a comment or 10 before you leave and chat with many of our readers during the show — it always turns out to be a great discussion. Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after WEC 37. Without further delay, see below for the latest WEC 37 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action!)
WEC 37 QUICK RESULTS: WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres defeats Manny Tapia via technical knockout (strikes) at 3:04 of round two to retain his belt WEC 37 MAIN CARD FIGHT COVERAGE: WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres (34-1) vs. Manny Tapia (10-0-1) Fight recap: This could easily be considered the most exciting fight of the night, and rightfully so being the main event. As always, it was just a pleasure to watch Miguel Torres fight. He’s one of a handful of fighters in the world who can make something as simple as a jab exciting enough to leave you wanting more. He used that jab as well as an array of kicks and combinations to pretty much pick Tapia apart early on. His reach advantage and pinpoint accuracy eventually proved to be too much for the challenger and he was stopped in the second round from an onslaught of strikes delivered by the champion. It was the second successful title defense for Torres since winning the belt back in February. There’s a very good chance he’ll be facing Brian Bowles next, and what a fight that would be! Final result: WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres defeats Manny Tapia via technical knockout (strikes) at 3:04 of round two to retain his belt -end- Brian Bowles (6-0) vs. Will Ribeiro (10-1) Fight recap: The leather was flying early in this one, and both guys ate some big punches and kicks. Bowles also came close to ending the fight when he locked in a deep guillotine with about a minute left in the first round, but Ribeiro somehow managed to fight his way out of it. The second round favored Brian Bowles as well. They traded some shots on their feet, but Bowles eventually took the action to the mat where he maintained the top position for most of the round. He almost certainly had the edge on the scorecards heading into the third round. He wouldn’t need the judges in the end, however, because he was able to sink in another deep guillotine off a Ribeiro takedown attempt in the third round. This time Ribeiro didn’t have enough gas left to fight his way out and he eventually was forced to submit. With this performance Bowles likely earned a shot at the winner of tonight’s main event at a future show for the WEC bantamweight title. Final result: Brian Bowles defeats Will Ribeiro via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:11 of round three -end- Akitoshi Tamura (12-6-2) vs. Wagnney Fabiano (10-1) Fight recap: Tamura hit Fabiano with a hard knee to the body right off the bat. The next one he attempted, however, was caught by the Brazilian jiu jitsu blackbelt and the action went right to the mat. From there on, pretty much the rest of the fight was fought with Tamura on his back and Fabiano working from the top position on the ground. The Brazilian was constantly looking to pass to more dominate positions and he used enough ground and pound to control most of the fight and easily win over the judges en route to a unanimous decision win. It wasn’t necessarily the most exciting fight, but it was a very technical, hard fought ground war from both sides. It was Fabiano, however, who was clearly the more talented ground technician. He appeared to be on his way to a clear cut unanimous decision win, but late in the third round he slipped a deep choke on his tired opponent and he scored the late stoppage victory. Final result: Wagnney Fabiano defeats Akitoshi Tamura via submission (head and arm choke) at 4:48 of round three -end- Joseph Benavidez (9-0) vs. Danny Martinez (12-2) Fight recap: Benavidez used his versatile striking game in this fight on his way to a somewhat lackluster unanimous decision victory. On the feet he won most of the exchanges by simply throwing more strikes than Martinez. He was sometimes throwing four or five shots to each one of Martinez’s. It was a clear case of one guy looking to land one big power shot and the other instead looking to pick his opponent apart with a more technical approach. He also looked more comfortable in the clinch and even scored a very nice takedown at the end of the first round from that position. There wasn’t really much ground fighting on display in this one. Benevidez pretty much just used a lot of kicks and strikes to win over the judges. Martinez tried to put something together near the end of the third round, but it was too little too late. Benavidez easily wins the unanimous decision. Final result: Joseph Benavidez defeats Danny Martinez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) -end- |
| Programming reminder: Ultimate Fighter 8 final two episodes on Spike TV tonight Posted: 03 Dec 2008 02:44 PM CST
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| Rob McCullough vs Marcus Hicks WEC fight slated for Jan. 25 Posted: 03 Dec 2008 01:29 PM CST
Hicks announced the news while attending a small show just outside of Plano, Texas, last Friday. Just four months ago Hicks was the top 155-pound contender, battling reigning division champion Jamie Varner for the lightweight title at WEC 35. He would, however, suffer the first loss of his career in that fight because of a first round blitzkrieg from “The Worm.” Prior to the loss, “The Wrecking Ball” had won three straight contests for the promotion against Sergio Gomez, Scott McAfee and Ed Ratcliff. Only one of the three fighters lasted past the first round and they each eventually tapped out to guillotine chokes. He’ll look to return to that previous winning form in this fight. And he will get an opportunity to do that against a very credible opponent to say the least. Although McCullough has dropped two of his last three fights, he still remains one of the toughest outs in the WEC’s 155-pound division. His last match against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone — a hard fought unanimous decision loss — was an absolute war. He held the organization’s lightweight title for an entire year from January of 2007 to February of 2008, but ran into a red hot Varner at WEC 32 and lost his strap. A win against Marcus Hicks would certainly put McCullough right back into the mix for a shot at the winner of Varner and Cerrone, which is scheduled to headline this event. Also scheduled for the card is a rematch between former featherweight champion Urijah “The California Kid” Faber and ex-UFC lightweight champ Jens “Little Evil” Pulver, making this a great event for the WEC to kick off 2009. WEC 38 will air live on the Versus network, beginning at 8 p.m. ET on fight night. |
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