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‘MMA Live’ episode 34 video on UFC 92, Kevin James stops in and more Posted: 31 Dec 2008 06:17 PM CST Check out Kevin James in-studio on MMA after the jump.

UFC 92 drug tests target 12 random fighters Posted: 31 Dec 2008 05:55 PM CST The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) today announced that it tested 12 of the 20 competitors who competed at UFC 92: “The Ultimate 2008″ for illegal/banned substances. Newly-crowned UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, Brad Blackburn, Matt Hamill, Antonio Hardonk, Yushin Okami, Cheick Kongo, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, CB Dolloway and Patrick Barry were all screend for performance enhancers such as steroids, as well as drugs of abuse like cocaine and marijuana, among others. Results of these tests should be returned real soon. The NSAC also officially reported that UFC 92 sold 9,701 tickets for a live gate $3,468,440. More than 4,460 complimentary tickets were issued and 657 went unsold for the promotion’s year-end event. UFC dished out a hefty $1,381,000 in fighter salaries for the pay-per-view (PPV) event and another $180,000 in additional bonus money for four participants who delivered outstanding performances. Evans defeated Griffin via third round technical knockout to capture the 205-pound crown in the UFC 92 main event. Mir came one step closer to once again becoming the UFC heavyweight champion of the world with an awesome performance against Nogueira to claim the interim division title. And Jackson scored revenge against his nemesis, Wanderlei Silva, with a brutal first round knockout. For complete results and coverage of "The Ultimate 2008" click here and here.

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson ‘makes it rain at Pure Nightclub’ Posted: 31 Dec 2008 12:04 PM CST Easy come easy go: Props: CombatLifestyle.com

Georges St. Pierre wants to finish BJ Penn; is a better fighter than Thiago Alves Posted: 31 Dec 2008 11:22 AM CST Props: Sherdog.com Quoteworthy: "This time, I want to go for the finish [against BJ Penn]. I don't want to go to a decision. I want to take him out…. The way [Thiago Alves] beat Josh Koscheck was very impressive, and it proved he's a very serious contender for the title. Right now, I'm focusing on B.J. Penn. When the time [comes to face Alves], I truly believe that I'm a better fighter than he is, but there's only one way to find out." UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre talks about wanting to erase any doubt that he is superior than BJ Penn (there is some doubt after their first encounter) at UFC 94 on January 31 and how he stacks up against the number one contender behind Penn, Thiago Alves. Whatever happens, there are several great welterweight fights in store for mixed martial arts fans in 2009.

Shinya Aoki submits Eddie Alvarez at Fields Dynamite!!; earns WAMMA title of worlds best lightweight Posted: 31 Dec 2008 10:28 AM CST While the New Year has yet to arrive in North America, New Year’s celebrations have already begun in other regions of the world. In Japan, the New Year has already been ushered in with its annual tradition of promoting major combat sporting events. With FEG holding a massive 17-bout show combining fighters from its K-1 kickboxing and DREAM mixed martial arts rosters, the promotion held one of the biggest shows ever with their presentation of “Dynamite!!” at the Saitama Super Arena. “Dynamite!!” featured the crowning of the second-ever undisputed champion in World Alliance Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) history with Shinya Aoki defeating Eddie Alvarez via heel hook submission at 1:32 of round 1. In the process, Aoki became the first-ever WAMMA lightweight champion. WAMMA would like to publicly congratulate Shinya Aoki on his historic victory and looks forward to presenting him with his championship belt at a ceremony to be scheduled at a later date. “Dynamite!! was phenomenal event and quite possibly one of the best New Year’s Eve shows in Japan’s history,” said WAMMA Chief Operating Officer Michael Lynch. “We’re also delighted to have a fighter the caliber of Shinya Aoki representing WAMMA as its lightweight champion. On behalf of WAMMA, we’d like to congratulate Mr. Aoki on his sensational victory.” WAMMA would also like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. The organization is already looking forward to a big 2009 with its recognized undisputed heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko scheduled to defend his WAMMA belt against Andrei Arlovski on January 24 in Anaheim, California during Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning.”

Fields Dynamite!!: Alistair Overeem vs Badr Hari (video) Posted: 31 Dec 2008 09:57 AM CST Check out more Fields Dynamite!! videos after the jump including Melvin Manhoef vs. Mark Hunt. Melvin Manhoef vs. Mark Hunt (video) Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Hong Man Choi (video) Bob Sapp vs. Kinniku Mantaro (video) Shinya Aoki vs. Eddie Alvarez

Fields Dynamite!! results and quick recap Posted: 31 Dec 2008 09:02 AM CST Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), the parent company of fighting entities DREAM and K-1, ended 2008 on a high note and ushered in the New Year with its 'FieLDS Dynamite!!' supershow which took place earlier today from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The show didn’t exactly get off on the right foot after Joachim Hansen suffered a mysterious head injury and failed his pre-fight medical exam, forcing a cancellation of his much-anticipated bout with Gesias Calvancante. A bit of a blow to a great event but with 18 fights set to go down, it was quickly forgotten. One of the most shocking results of the night was Alistair Overeem's knockout win over K-1 bad boy Badr Hari. Even though Overeem has a background in kickboxing, he was seen as an underdog coming into this fight under K-1 rules against the much more experienced Hari. Overeem dominated early and managed a knockdown on Hari who was then able to get back to his feet. But it wouldn't be for long. Just as soon as Hari was able to get back up he was on his back again from a well placed Overeem hook that knocked Hari out. Could this be karma coming back to bite Hari in the ass for his antics in the K-1 Grand Prix earlier this month? Overeem had this to say straight after his knockout win. "For all MMA fighters, and everybody, who think respect is important. There you go." Props must be given to Overeem for beating Hari at his own game. The two are set to meet again in an mixed martial arts bout in early 2009. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic was able to dispose of 7′ 2″ gargantuan Hong Man Choi via TKO. Cro Cop kept true to his words that he wouldn't exchange with Choi, causing both men to be given yellow cards for inactivity. All ended when Choi fell awkwardly after a Cro Cop low kick, injuring his knee in the process. Despite Choi being the one holding his knee in pain, Cro Cop stated in his post fight interview that in two days he will have reconstruction surgery on his knee and he'll likely be out for up to six months. I guess Gegard Mousasi and Tatsuya Kawajiri didn't get the memo that mixed martial arts fighters weren't suppose to dominate K-1 fighters in K-1 rules fights. Both finished their opponents with relative ease. Perhaps the most shocking defeat of this event was Melvin Manhoef's vicious knockout of Mark Hunt. It happened only 18 seconds into round one, shattering any previous thoughts that Hunt was almost impossible to knock out. Shinya Aoki was able to cement his place as the first ever WAMMA Lightweight Champion with a slick heel hook submission on the highly ranked Eddie Alvarez just 1:32 into round one. The now 19-3 Aoki is sure to be gunning for Joachim Hansen at some point in 2009 to avenge his loss to “Hellboy” at the DREAM 2008 Lightweight Grand Prix Finals. And in the only MMA bout to make it out of the first round, Kiyoshi Tamura was able to upset PRIDE legend Kazushi Sakuraba via unanimous decision. Here are the official results for FieLDS Dynamite!!: MMA RULES: Kiyoshi Tamura (33-13-2) defeated Kazushi Sakuraba (24-12-1) via unanimous decision Shinya Aoki (20-3) defeated Eddie Alvarez (15-2) by heel hook (1:32-R1) Melvin Manhoef (23-5-1) defeated Mark Hunt (5-5) by KO (0:18-R1) Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (24-6-2) defeated Hong Man Choi (1-2) by TKO (6:32-R1) Hayato Sakurai (34-8-2) defeated Katsuyori Shibata (2-6) by TKO (7:01-R1) Semmy Schilt (26-14-1) defeated Mighty Mo (3-1) by triangle choke (5:31-R1) Bob Sapp (10-3-1) defeated Kinniku Mantaro (0-1) by TKO (5:22-R1) Andy Ologun (2-1) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi (3-4) by KO (3:52-R1) Daisuke Nakamura (19-9) defeated Hideo Tokoro (21-15-1) by arm bar (2:23-R1) Ikuhisa Minowa (41-29-8) defeated Errol Zimmerman (0-1) by Toe Hold (1:01-R1) K-1 RULES: Gegard Mousasi (1-0) defeated Musashi (49-29-5) by KO (2:32-R1) Alistair Overeem (5-2) defeated Badr Hari (69-6-1) by KO (2:07-R1) Tatsuya Kawajiri (1-0) defeated Kozo Takeda (43-19-7) by TKO (2:21-R3) Artur Kyshenko (44-5-1) defeated Yoshihiro Sato (47-11) via majority decision K-1 KOSHIEN: U-18 Tournament Final: Hiroya (11-1) defeated Koya Urabe (3-1) via unanimous decision U-18 Tournament Semifinals: Hiroya defeated Shota Shimada (3-1) via unanimous decision U-18 Tournament Semifinals: Koya Urabe defeated Tatsuya Kusakabe (2-1) by TKO (2:21-R3) U-18 Tournament Reserve Fight: Taishi Hiratsuka (2-1) defeated Daizo Sasaki (1-2) by KO (1:00-R2) Feel free to post video links in the comments section below of all the action as you see it!

UFC Quick Quote: Corey Hill on long-a-weighted return Posted: 31 Dec 2008 07:33 AM CST "I've always been a thin guy with not a lot of body fat. I walk around on normal days at 166 [pounds]. When I train, I'm in the low 60s, so it makes sense to cut a few pounds rather than fight these guys that are 185-200 pounds cutting down to 170. If they think this guy's too skinny, that's their opinion. I have people on the other side that say that my body type's the perfect frame to win a world title…. Kick something as hard as you can. I don't think it matters if you're a big guy or a small guy, you kick something as hard as you can and it runs into science. Action and reaction. For it to snap — the perfect check, the perfect knee. If you noticed in the first round, I landed some killer leg kicks. That's why he checked. This is why this happened." – Corey Hill sends a message from his couch via Sherdog.com to those who feel his 6′4″ frame is too thin to compete at 155 pounds. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 contestant sustained a grizzly leg fracture when his opponent at UFC Fight Night 16: "Fight for the Troops," Dale Hartt, checked a kick from hill during their light weight bout at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C., earlier this month. He is now out of the hospital, vowing to return if he can fully recover from the injury, which he feels will take much less than the 12 to 18 months as originally diagnosed. Photo credit: Fight! magazine.

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