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Show him the money: Forrest Griffin open to Wanderlei Silva fight Posted: 15 Dec 2008 08:31 AM CST Props: MMAFanHouse.com Quoteworthy: “I think Wanderlei is a bad man and Wanderlei will get [Rampage Jackson at UFC 92]. I’m not great at calling fights but that’s my honest opinion…. He’s a good training partner and we’re becoming better friends because his English is geting better. I’ve got nothing bad to say about Wanderlei. He will never get tired of punching you. There’s just no break in him. I think of myself as someone who’s willing to do as much as anyone, but he’s the one guy who might do more. That’s a bad dude. He’s hard to put out. If he was a video game, he’d have no life bar. You’ve got a life bar that goes down but his life bar doesn’t go down. That’s why I like watching him fight…. It would be great. If it’s for the right money or a belt, I’ll fight anyone.” UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin talks about the possibility of fighting his XTreme Couture training partner and budding friend, Wanderlei Silva, down the road. Griffin will defend his belt against Rashad Evans in the main event at UFC 92: “The Ultimate 2008″ on December 27. And “The Axe Murderer” will take on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on the same night. If both fighters win it could set up a potential showdown some time in 2009. The winner of the bout between Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva is also a likely candidate to earn number one contender status. One thing is for certain: There appears to be no shortage of good fights at 205 pounds anytime soon.

Mike Swick calls out Thiago Alves (Video) Posted: 15 Dec 2008 06:07 AM CST

Reminder: UFC fighters to storm Barnes & Noble today for ‘Octagon’ Posted: 15 Dec 2008 06:03 AM CST For more details and locations click here.

Fields Dynamite!! confirms Hunt vs LeBanner; teases Overeem vs Kharitonov Posted: 14 Dec 2008 10:13 PM CST Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) has two more heavyweight fights in the works to supplement its already massive Fields Dynamite!! card at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on December 31. The surging Alistair Overeem may finally get a chance to settle the score in a rubber match with former PRIDE warrior Sergei Kharitonov according to MMAWeekly. The 16-3 'Kharit-top' was kneed into Neverland by the Dutchman at PRIDE 31: ‘Dreamers,’ but got his revenge with a devastating knockout when they rematched at K-1 Heroes just over a year ago. Overeem was originally expected to face Mirko Filipovic on New Year’s Eve until Fields Dynamite!! executive Sadaharu Tanigawa pushed them to a different card to be held at some point down the road in 2009. The two first met at September's DREAM 6 in a controversial bout that was ruled a No Contest. "Demolition Man" delivered several illegal groin strikes during the bout, providing a disappointing conclusion to a fight that had received much interest and fanfare leading up to it. “Cro Cop” promised to deliver a rematch on December 31 but according to Overeem, the Croat never put his money where his sack is. No matter. I find a third go-round with the Russian gladiator to be much more appealing for this event. Expect fists to be flying in this one. Another compelling rematch will follow that when the “Super Samoan” Mark Hunt tries to put longtime nemesis Jerome LeBanner into permanent retirement. Hunt won the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix, knocking out the heavily-favored LeBanner in the quarterfinals on his way to the crown. Hunt came up short when they faced twice in 2002 and eventually transitioned to the world of mixed martial arts, competing for PRIDE FC and most recently DREAM, compiling a record of 5-4. His debut loss may not have been the start he was looking for, but he quickly erased any first impressions by winning his next five fights, including upset victories over Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. It’s interesting to note that Hunt vs. LeBanner will be held as a mixed martial arts bout rather than a K-1 Rules bout. While I’m likely to believe they’ll stay on their feet, I can’t shake the sight of Hunt with a deep Kimura on Fedor Emelianenko back at PRIDE: ‘Shockwave 2006.’ Fields Dynamite!! is the New Year's Eve supershow featuring a smorgasbord of fighters under the umbrella of FEG coming together on one night to try and kick the crap out of each other. Featuring participants from DREAM, K-1, K-1 MAX and K-1 Koshien, Fields Dynamite!! is going to have a wide variety of fighting styles and compelling match-ups, and could feature as many as 20 fights. Thus far it appears as though FEG is holding up their end of the bargain. Here is the scheduled card to date: MMA RULES : Heavyweight: Jerome LeBanner (3-1-1) vs. Mark Hunt (5-4) Heavyweight: Alistair Overeem (29-11) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (15-3)** Middleweight: Kazushi Sakuraba (24-11-1) vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (32-13-2) Lightweight: Joachim Hansen (19-7-1) vs. Gesias Cavalcante (14-2-1) Lightweight: Eddie Alvarez (15-1) vs. Shinya Aoki (18-3) K-1 RULES : Middleweight: Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1) vs. Musashi (49-28-5-1) Lightweight: Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-5-2) vs. Kozo Takeda (43-18-7) K-1 KOSHIEN RULES: U-18 Tournament Semifinals: HIROYA (9-1) vs. Shota Shimada (3-0) U-18 Tournament Semifinals: Ryuya Kusakabe (2-0) vs. Koya Urabe (2-0) U-18 Tournament Finals: Winner of HIROYA/Shimada vs. Winner of Kusakabe/Urabe **Bout not confirmed by FEG Stay tuned as this massive card continues to come together.

Wanderlei ‘The Axe Murderer’ Silva drawing Posted: 14 Dec 2008 09:48 PM CST Props: ShomanArt.com The latest masterpiece from the ridiculously talented artist, Evan Shoman. Been wanting to get this up for awhile but just got around to it. Check out his portfolio when you have some time … it’s crazy. And yes, it is sketch — they all are.

Efrain Escudero: The overlooked Ultimate Fighter 8 lightweight winner Posted: 14 Dec 2008 09:24 PM CST “That’s exactly what the UFC needs, another boring ass (expletive) wrestler!” – Junie Browning Those words — directed toward Efrain Escudero during season eight of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) — set up a heated semifinal match up to determine one of the lightweight finalists. Browning did his best before the match to sabotage his position, throwing drinking glasses at castmates and swinging on them to provoke reactions. It didn’t work. And the All American wrestler from Pima Community College eventually “beat off” the “Lunatic” with a second round choke. Escudero demonstrated stellar ground acumen throughout the season, choking out Ido Pariente and Shane Nelson before besting Browning. He then flew under the radar heading into TUF 8 Finale as UFC President Dana White and others compared his opponent, Phillipe Nover, to stars such as Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre. Talk about high praise. So when Escudero entered the Octagon last night at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, he was supposed to lose. But he didn’t, relying on his strong wrestling background to frustrate the Filipino for three rounds. “I did exactly what I wanted to do,” Escudero told UFC.com after the fight. “Phillipe was going to throw that overhand right and I knew that I had to duck it. After awhile I started setting him up where he would be throwing that knee. I was just waiting for that knee to grab his leg and take him down.” Even after the “improbable” win, it still appears that Browning — who looked much improved in his submission win over Dave Kaplan — and Nover — who failed to live up to the implausible expectations (could anyone?) — are still getting all the attention even though Escudero bested them both. The good news is that Escudero doesn’t seem to care. He doesn’t bitch, moan or cry for attention. He just goes about his business and wins fights with a smile on his face. Just what the UFC needs.

Shooto ‘Rookie Finals’ recap and quick results Posted: 14 Dec 2008 02:12 PM CST Shooto held its annual 'Rookie Finals' early Saturday morning from Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. With seven of the eight bouts being Tournament Finals, there were a lot of prospects on this card competing for the right to be called Shooto's best rookie in their respective divisions. In the Flyweight Rookie Final, Mikitoshi Yamagami got the glory and also managed to keep his perfect record intact by submitting Junji Ito with a tight guillotine choke in the second round of their scrap. Another slick submission came courtesy of Kosuke Eda. In the final of the Featherweight Tournament, he quickly overwhelmed Yoshihiko Oyama and transitioned into a smooth rear naked choke, forcing Oyama to tap just three minutes into the fight. Makoto Maeda showcased his hands with a devastating knockout in the Light Heavyweight Final bout. The unfortunate victim was Takaaki Oban, who went home without the Tournament crown and at the very least a splitting headache. One of Japan's top wrestling prospects, Ikuo Usuda, came out on top in his Welterweight Final bout. He bested the much more experienced Yukinari Tamura in a decision victory. In the only non-Tournament bout, Guy Delameau demonstrated some vicious ground and pound on Paolo Milano, picking up the “W” and evening out his mixed martial arts record at 3-3. Here are the official results for the Shooto 'Rookie Finals': Non-Tournament bout: Guy Delameau (3-3) defeated Paolo Milano (2-3-1) by TKO (4:09-R2) Shooto Flyweight Rookie Tournament Final : Mikitoshi Yamagami (3-0) defeated Junji Ito by (3-2) guillotine choke (2:15-R2) Shooto Lightweight Rookie Tournament Final : Issei Tamura (3-0) defeated Naohiro Mizuno (4-2) via unanimous decision Shooto Featherweight Rookie Tournament Final: Kosuke Eda (7-2-2) defeated Yoshihiko Oyama (0-2-1) by rear naked choke (3:02-R1) Shooto Light Heavyweight Rookie Tournament Final: Makoto Maeda (3-1-1) defeated Takaaki Oban (2-2) by KO (0:34-R1) Shooto Bantamweight Rookie Tournament Final : Fumihiro Kitahara (4-0) defeated Kentaro Watanabe (2-1) via unanimous decision Shooto Middleweight Rookie Tournament Final: Takuya Sato (3-2-2) defeated Takesuke Kume (3-1-2) via decision (Ext R.) Shooto Welterweight Rookie Tournament Final : Ikuo Usuda (3-0) defeated Yukinari Tamura (8-2-4) via unanimous decision For more on Shooto click here .

Cain Velasquez video: Next fight at UFC Fight Night 17 and much more Posted: 14 Dec 2008 10:05 AM CST

Junie Browning apologizes to Frank Mir and stuff Posted: 14 Dec 2008 09:59 AM CST Props: The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 Finale Quoteworthy: “I gave [Frank] Mir a hard time on the show and stuff. I just want to apologize to everybody, everyone watching and stuff. Mir’s actually an awesome coach. It was more my fault. I don’t think I would have put up with myself either. So, uh, I apologize to you Mir and the rest of Mir’s team and stuff — they were awesome coaches.” Junie Browining — the contestant on this season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) who everyone loves to hate and who everyone wants to see get his ass kicked (including Dana White) — apologizes to his coach on the show, Frank Mir, after stopping Dave Kaplan via submission. Mir has been outspoken since the show concluded that he thought the the Lexington, Ky., native should have been kicked off the show for his ridiculous behavior. Browning, however, appears to have the last laugh, demonstrating some nice standup and improved cardio in his fight against the “Singing Bee” champion. He also seems to now be on the straight and narrow after a tumultuous alcohol-induced stint on the mixed martial arts reality series. And stuff. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com

UFC Quick Quote: Anthony Johnson channels Cung Le to knockout Kevin Burns Posted: 14 Dec 2008 09:30 AM CST “I really don’t know what to say. I really started working on my kicks two months ago. I have the best trainers in the world. It just happened, I decided to throw it and it worked.” – Anthony Johnson reacts to his devastating third round knockout of Kevin Burns with a head kick at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 Finale last night at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Rumble” trains with Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and Sanshou practitioner Cung Le. He is typically known for his powerful punching power, but he switched things up last night to put Burns to sleep with a crushing kick. In doing so, Johnson put the final ribbon on a solid fight and scored revenge for the first encounter, which ended in controversy.

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