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| Mike Goldberg hits the bottle and a couple of sparring mitts following UFC 95 in London (Video) Posted: 24 Feb 2009 08:24 PM PST Props: Yahoo Sports |
| UFC Quick Quote: Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson is bored by Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida Posted: 24 Feb 2009 05:25 PM PST
-Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson talks to MMA Fanhouse about the success of undefeated 205-pound contender Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida. Both Jackson and Machida are gunning for current light heavyweight champ Rashad Evans, though a win over Keith Jardine at UFC 96 will likely give Rampage the nod against "Sugar." Still, it’s hard not to imagine these two facing off at some point down the road. And there’s nothing boring about that. |
| Gilbert Melendez set to rematch Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thompson on April 11 Posted: 24 Feb 2009 05:06 PM PST
MMAmania.com has been able to confirm that former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez (14-2) will rematch current Strikeforce 155-pound champ Josh Thompson (16-2) on the main card of the new-look Strikeforce debut show on April 11 in San Jose, California. Thompson was originally in talks to face former EliteXC lightweight title holder KJ Noons, however "King" Karl opted to continue with his boxing career after scoring a decisive unanimous decision victory over Alejandro Bogarin in his return to the sweet science last November. "El Nino" has not seen action since losing his title in a decisive unanimous decision to "The Punk" last June. The loss was only the second of his sparkling 16-fight career, which includes notable wins over Hiroyuki Takaya, Clay Guida, Tatsuya Kawajiri and others. His only other defeat came via unanimous decision to Mitsuhiro Ishida at Yarennoka on New Years Eve 2007. Ishida has since signed with Strikeforce and made a successful debut for the promotion with a first round submission win over Justin Wilcox last September. After capturing the title from Melendez, Thompson defeated Ashe Bowman (first round technical knockout win) at "Strikeforce at the Mansion II" in 2008. "The Punk" is a worthy champion with an extremely versatile attack. Twelve of his 16 career wins have been by some form of stoppage (four technical knockouts and eight submissions). He holds notable career wins over Duane "Bang" Ludwig, "Razor" Rob McCullough, Hermes Franca, Nam Phan and Melendez. The April 11 card will feature Nick Diaz and Frank Shamrock facing off in the evening's main event at a catchweight of 179 pounds. Also sceduled to do battle is Scott Smith as he faces Benji Radach and Joe Riggs taking on former EliteXC Welterweight Champion Jake Shields. |
| Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) signs middleweight superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama Posted: 24 Feb 2009 04:19 PM PST
A fourth-generation Japanese-born Korean, Akiyama (12-1) has long been one of Japan’s biggest heels. Akiyama went Exxon Valdez on Japanese hero Kazushi Sakuraba at K-1 Premium Dynamite!! in 2006. His TKO victory over the legend was changed to a No Contest after some questions were raised about his pre-fight ritual of getting freaky with a jar of Olay and a Japanese “grease-gate” was born. After cleaning the clock of now-UFC middleweight Denis Kang at Hero’s 2007, Akiyama made waves at Yarennoka 2007 when Kazuo Misaki turned his face inside-out with a brutal soccer kick. While originally ruled a knockout, an Akiyama complaint forced officials to review the tape and reverse the match to a No Contest as it was decided prior to the event that kicks to a downed opponent would be considered a foul. Fans were not pleased. Still, Akiyama is a talented fighter capable of winning anywhere at anytime — none of his twelve wins have gone the distance. In addition, he can finish in style with either a spinning back kick (Nagata) or an Ezekiel choke (Shibata, Ishizawa). It was enough to convince UFC President Dana White that he’s got the goods:
The decorated judoka has now given the land of the rising sun yet one more reason to loathe him by signing with Zuffa, especially those still bitter by the dissolution of PRIDE. Unfortunately one man’s loss is another man’s gain, and this is one MMA fan that is looking forward to yet another stellar addition to the UFC middleweight division. See you this summer. |
| Pete Sell video on fight against Matt Brown at UFC 96 Posted: 24 Feb 2009 01:47 PM PST This fight will make the main pay-per-view (PPV) card: |
| UFC 95 ratings on Spike TV peak with 3 million viewers Posted: 24 Feb 2009 12:21 PM PST
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) captured more fantastic ratings for its latest Spike TV special, delivering "more young men aged 18-34 (634,000) and 18-49 (1,244,000) than anything else on television" on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 9 p.m. to midnight. In fact, UFC 95: "Sanchez vs. Stevenson" from The O2 Arena in London, England, averaged more than 2 million viewers and peaked with 3 million during the main event. It was good enough for the tape-delayed broadcast to outshine the NCAA collegiate basketball match up between Oklahoma and Texas on ESPN. Not too shabby. UFC 95 featured a 10-fight card that was headlined by The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) inaugural season winner Diego Sanchez against the man who took the crown the series after, Joe Stevenson. Two important middleweight weight match ups were also showcased — Nate Marquardt toppled Wilson Gouveia and Demian Maia outclassed Chael Sonnen. All in all it was a great night of fights — a record nine of which made the three-hour broadcast. For complete results and coverage of "Sanchez vs. Stevenson" go here and here. |
| Gina Carano action figure from Round 5 MMA coming soon Posted: 24 Feb 2009 11:27 AM PST
MARKHAM, Ontario, Canada — Known to many as the "face of female mixed martial arts," Gina "Conviction" Carano has parlayed great ability in the cage and a glamorous look out of it to burst onto the MMA scene and in many ways transcended the sport. Now, the unbeaten star has announced she will be working with Round 5, the leader in collectible MMA figurines, to produce a figure that reflects her stardom. Carano joins an All-Star lineup of 13 MMA standouts who currently work with Round 5. Carano, 26, gained notice for her success in the cage and has earned additional attention with appearances as "Crush" on the NBC television series "American Gladiators" and by serving as a mentor/coach on the Oxygen network series “Fight Girls.” She is also in many ways a pioneer in women’s MMA, competing in the first-ever sanctioned bout in Nevada in September 2006 and in the first female bout (boxing or MMA) on the Showtime Network in February 2007. She currently owns a 7-0 record in MMA competition. "Gina Carano has emerged as a star, not just in MMA but in the mainstream," said Damon Lau, Round 5 President. "As the first female in the Round 5 line, we expect her figurine to be popular among the sport’s enthusiasts as well as those who have seen her on TV or in magazines." "I’m incredibly blessed to be a part of so many wonderful opportunities and to now be included in Round 5’s line up of gifted fighters is another exciting privilege," said Carano. "When I was a little girl my dad always joked about making a 'Gina doll' and I smile when I think it has become a reality. It is both humbling and invigorating to consider this is just the beginning with so many other gifted women whose figurines are yet to be made." The Carano figurine is tentatively scheduled to be released as part of Series 4, which is planned for a summer 2009 release. As in the earlier Series, Carano will maintain creative control of her likeness, including the pose, facial design and shorts. She will have a major hand in creating the final design and will benefit from a royalty agreement that gives her a considerable portion of the proceeds from the sale of her unit. Round 5 has announced partnerships with 13 mixed martial arts stars to date, with eight figurines already available: Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Quinton 'Rampage’ Jackson and Tito Ortiz (Series 1); and Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk, Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva (Series 2). Series 3 figurines are scheduled to be available in April, featuring Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski, "Big John" McCarthy, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira. International superstar Fedor Emelianenko has also signed on and will be in a future Series in 2009. Round 5 collectible figures may be purchased at leading retailers such as Toys 'R' Us (Canada), Champs Sports and FYE. Other retailers can be found at www.Round5MMA.com/wheretobuy.php. In addition to Carano, Round 5 plans to release collectibles of three more series of athletes in 2009, one during each quarter. Other athletes to be represented in those series are yet to be announced. About Round 5 |
| BJ Penn to fight Kenny Florian in ‘late July or early August;’ UFC 99 not an option Posted: 24 Feb 2009 07:49 AM PST
Props: Sherdog.com Quoteworthy:
Lightweight champion BJ Penn will more than likely not headline UFC 99 against number one contender Kenny Florian at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, on June 13. “The Prodigy” is angling for a later date, which Florian is willing to agree to even though he would rather fight sooner. Penn would like more time to spend with his newborn child, recover fully from the loss to Georges St. Pierre and have time to put in a solid training camp for Florian. If the fight does not happen until August Florian will have been on about a nine-month hiatus from competition. |
| Gray Maynard training video for Jim Miller UFC 96 fight Posted: 24 Feb 2009 07:12 AM PST |
| UFC 96 results and LIVE fight coverage for ‘Jackson vs Jardine’ Posted: 24 Feb 2009 06:27 AM PST
It features the light heavyweight brawl between former 205-pound champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson versus Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine, as well as the highly anticipated showdown between heavyweight monsters Shane Carwin and Gabriel Gonzaga. MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the promotion's annual pilgrimage to the "Buckeye State," beginning with the 10 p.m. ET PPV telecast. In addition, up-to-the-minute quick results of the under card action will begin to flow earlier around 8 p.m. ET. Here is the complete UFC 96 line up:
Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the PPV broadcast to share their thoughts on the action. Definitely be sure to check us out before, during and after UFC 96 for all the event-related information you can handle. In the meantime, share your UFC 96 predictions and thoughts in the comments section below and hit up our event archive right here. |
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has confirmed today that middleweight superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama has signed an exclusive contract with the promotion and will debut inside the Octagon at some point this summer.
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