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Tim Job: Sylvia jumping in the deep end against Ray Mercer on May 30 Posted: 10 Mar 2009 06:28 PM PDT Props: MMAWeekly Quoteworthy: "I'm going to give it a whirl. Basically a fight's a fight, and I didn't have an MMA fight until July in the Affliction 3 (show), and we really wanted to fight before then. This opportunity came about – and I've always wanted to try boxing at a pro level – so we decided to take it and see what happens. I'm jumping in the deep end. I never have (done things half way). Look at the heavyweight (MMA) division; I've fought about seven of the Top 10. So I might as well jump right in there and fight a guy that's ranked in the Top 20 in the world." -Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia — who first called out the brittle Ken Shamrock last December, might want to consider a second career in nursing at his local hospice now that he has such a passion for geriatric abuse. “The Maine-iac” has agreed to box former Olympic gold medalist and world heavyweight boxing champion Ray Mercer — barely one month after “Merciless” turns 48 years of age — at the Adrenaline III card from the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ on May 30. Should be one for the books.

Joe Stevenson vs Nate Diaz TUF 9 Finale bout possible for June 20 Posted: 10 Mar 2009 04:33 PM PDT MMAmania.com can confirm that former TUF winners Joe Stevenson (29-10) and Nate Diaz (10-3) have agreed to battle in a lightweight clash at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 Finale, as part of the Spike TV special from "The Pearl" at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 20. “Daddy” — who was the TUF 2 welterweight winner — is in a rare slump, losing back-to-back bouts. However, those two losses have come to current division number one contender Kenny “KenFlo” Florian as well as the new-look Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez in a close unanimous decision scrap. That's some stiff competition. The newly-minted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt will begin his climb back to the top at the TUF 9 Finale. And a win over a rising star and grappling talent like Diaz will go a long way toward getting him where he wants to be sooner rather than later. In fact, the same goes for both fighters. Diaz has been nothing short of brilliant inside the cage since winning it all on TUF 5, stopping four out of five opponents before a razor-thin split decision loss to the lightweight cardio machine known as Clay Guida that earned both him and “The Carpenter” a $65,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus. It was his first loss inside the Octagon in six attempts since his debut at the June 2007 TUF 5 Finale and temporarily derailed his chances at a division title shot, which could have possibly been within reach with a few more impressive wins. Still, Diaz's mixed martial arts skills are well beyond his 23 years on this planet — he appears to get better and better each time out. How well he rebounds against Stevenson will say a lot about his future inside the Octagon. TUF 9 will debut on April 1 and feature the lightweight and welterweight finales for the upcoming ninth season of TUF with coach Dan Henderson leading a US team against coach Michael Bisping and his British squad. The finalists from those divisions will also be featured on the televised Spike TV main card on June 20. For more on TUF 9 click here.

WEC 40 video preview for ‘Torres vs Mizugaki’ Posted: 10 Mar 2009 04:04 PM PDT

DREAM 8 poster for 2009 welterweight grand prix on April 5 Posted: 10 Mar 2009 04:04 PM PDT For more on DREAM 8, which is scheduled for the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on April 5, and the welterweight grand prix click here.

Pro MMA Radio replay now available featuring UFC 96 recap with Yahoo! Sports Steve Cofield Posted: 10 Mar 2009 04:03 PM PDT UFC 96: "Jackson vs. Jardine" from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 7 is officially in the books. The pay-per-view event featured a three round unanimous decision win for "Rampage" as well as the breakout match for undefeated heavyweight specimen Shane Carwin when he crumbled former division number one contender Gabriel Gonzaga. Yahoo! Sports "Cagewriter" and ESPN 1100 host Steve Cofield was featured on Monday’s edition of MMAmania.com's exclusive presentation of Pro MMA Radio to recap UFC 96 and break down some of the matches as well as try to address some of the unanswered questions that still exist regarding the UFC 98 main event courtesy of a Frank Mir injury. Hosted by Larry Pepe, Pro MMA Radio is professional, guest-driven program that features some of mixed martial arts biggest names. If you're looking for a radio show that revolves around a couple of MMA fans ranting and raving about everything that's already been covered ad nauseam, then Pro MMA Radio probably isn't for you. However, if you want to hear from actual fighters and industry insiders answering questions that are relevant to the current MMA scene, tune in every Monday night at 9 p.m. ET for our exclusive live feed. For the audio replay of Monday’s show click here.

Yves Lavigne: ‘I screwed up’ during Matt Brown vs Pete Sell at UFC 96 Posted: 10 Mar 2009 01:40 PM PDT Props: The Canadian Press Quoteworthy: “I did let Mr. Sell take maybe — not maybe — I let him take a beating for absolutely nothing. So I didn’t do my job properly. So basically, I screwed up. I screwed up and I’m going to learn from it and try not to do it again. … I’m going to make sure not to do it again.” This mea culpa from Yves LaVigne will perhaps make Dana White feel a little better. The company president was incensed when the Canadian referee let the fight between Matt Brown and Pete Sell carry on longer than it should, smashing his arm into the canvas (and hurting it) to encourage LaVigne to call a hault to the bout sooner. Brown went on to win the welterweight bout shortly thereafter via technical knockout when LaVigne finally intervened. “Drago” went to the hospital emergency room as a precaution. He checked out fine and even mentioned that Lavigne let him continue as long as he did, saying “I thought he did good with that …” in his thick Long Island brogue.

Matt Hughes and Sean Sherk video on ‘Grease Gate’ and Georges St. Pierre Posted: 10 Mar 2009 08:31 AM PDT

UFC Quick Quote: Joe Lauzon knee surgery update with pic Posted: 10 Mar 2009 08:49 AM PDT “I think my knee looks pretty good! When I had just my meniscus done the last two times, it was a lot more swollen. Stitches seem clean and it wasn't bleeding too bad. One of the incisions was bleeding a tiny bit but that was it. There is a pretty good sized raised bump about 3 inches below my knee though. Not sure what it is but I am sure its fine.I am supposed to go back and see my doctor in 7 to 10 days so we will make an appointment on Monday and see whats next.” – Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight contender Joe Lauzon provides a post-op update via his official Web site on the season-ending knee surgery he recently underwent to repair a torn meniscus. It is an injury that will more than likely keep The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 alum on the sidelines for the remainder of 2009; however, he appears to already be off to fast recovery. Lauzon most recently saw action against Jeremy Stephens in the UFC Fight Night 17 main event in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 14. He took out "Lil' Heathen" with a second round armbar to notch his second straight win inside the Octagon.

Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone talk trash on WEC rematch (Video) Posted: 10 Mar 2009 07:26 AM PDT

Rashad Evans to find kinks in Lyoto Machida’s armor possibly at UFC 98 Posted: 10 Mar 2009 06:24 AM PDT Props: Sherdog.com Quoteworthy: "The kid's been phenomenal. He's been better than phenomenal. He's been looking better every fight. But that's the fight business. That's the fun part about a fight is the fact that you go in there with an opponent that sometimes seems insurmountable. But then you figure it out and that makes the victory that much sweeter. With that said, there may be some kinks in his armor that I have yet to see that I can exploit when I look at the tapes more closely. Nobody's unbeatable. Machida's been looking slicker than I don't know what, but everybody has a weakness even if you do look slick as oil. Everyone has a weakness." UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans talks about undefeated division contender, Lyoto Machida. “Sugar” feels that despite an epic post-UFC 96 jawing session with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson this weekend that at the end of the day he’ll fight the quirky Brazilian at UFC 98 on May 23. Evans is basing this assumption, however, on Jackson’s remarks about the fight possibly being too soon and that he wanted more time for lingering injuries to heal. If Jackson wants the fight it is his to take, but Machida is patiently waiting in the wings if the Memphis, Tenn., native passes on the opportunity to reclaim his 205-pound title in two months, which would be his third fight in five months. We should know one way or the other very soon.

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