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| Posted: 29 Mar 2009 10:28 AM PDT UFC 100 tickets for “Lesnar vs. Mir 2," which is slated for the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 11, will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, April 11 at 10 a.m. PT. UFC Fight Club members and UFC Newsletter subscribers, naturally, will be able to scoop of tickets prior to them being available for public consumption. This is an historic show for the promotion for obvious reasons, signaling a major milestone in its more than 15 years of existence.
In addition, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) TUF 9 coaches, Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping, are slated to meet and determine who earns the right to challenge the reigning middleweight champion later in 2009. Here is the UFC 100 tickets sales schedule (all times are PT):
UFC 100 tickets can be purchased through StubHub.com (Note: StubHub often has seats available even if the event is "sold out"). It will also be available to watch on pay-per-view (PPV) at 10 p.m. ET on fight night. For more on UFC 100 stay dialed in to MMAmania.com and remember to check out our event archive right here. Be sure to also check out the latest UFC 100 card and rumors right here. |
| Gilbert Melendez on Josh Thomson Strikeforce rematch April 11 (Video) Posted: 29 Mar 2009 07:42 AM PDT |
| Posted: 29 Mar 2009 07:36 AM PDT Unless you're a fan of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) series, Cole Miller might be flying under your radar. That's because his fights inside the Octagon thus far have been slated for the preliminary portion of the card. All that's about to change. Miller was one of the more promising fighters featured on TUF Season 5 — one of the better seasons of the long-running series that included such standout lightweights as Gray Maynard, Nate Diaz, Joe Lauzon and Matt Wiman (as well as the unintentional comedy of Gabe Ruediger). Miller lost a controversial quarter-final matchup against TUF 5 favorite Joe Lauzon, but rebounded at the Finale with a head kick knockout of Andy Wang. Since then, he's added two more Octagon victories to improve his record to 14-3 overall (3-1 in the UFC), including a "Submission of the Night" victory in his last outing against Jorge Gurgel at UFC 86. He trains out of Coconut Creek, Fla., under the tutelage of Ricardo Liborio, the famed Carlson Gracie black belt and co-founder of American Top Team, one of the best camps in all of mixed martial arts. Miller now looks to put together back-to-back wins at UFC Fight Night 18: "Condit vs. Kampmann" on Wednesday, April 1. He'll face none other than the controversial TUF 8 alum Junie Browning (3-0). "The Lunatik" seems to have just as many fans who love to hate him as anything else, so this matchup is being closely watched. In fact, it will be the first time "Magrinho" has appeared on the main card, despite exciting matchups in the past. It all gets underway live from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn., airing on Spike TV. The event serves as the prelude to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9: "U.S. vs. U.K.," which will feature lightweights and welterweights from the two countries competing against one another for the coveted six-figure UFC contract. We recently caught up with Miller to ask him about his upcoming fight with the king of crazy, what lessons he takes away from his recent win over Gurgel, and how ticked off he gets when he sees inexperienced fighters with fewer than five professional fights getting their shot at the big show in the UFC. Suffice it to say, he doesn't pull any punches. Neither do we:
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You last fought Jorge Gurgel in a really exciting fight that earned "Submission of the Night" honors. Before you sunk in the fight-ending triangle choke, how did you feel the fight was going? Did you feel you might be behind on the judges' scorecards? Cole Miller: If the fight woulda went the distance, yeah. I thought that we both had a round apiece, and then I knew that I was losing the third round. So I knew that if it went the distance, he was probably going to get the decision two rounds to one. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Did that give you any sense of urgency to set up the triangle, or was that one of those things that just fell into place — he gave you the opening, and you took it? Cole Miller: No, I really wasn't thinking about any of that. I was really just trying my best to kill him, to be honest with you. I went in there with a pretty extreme mentality of "fight to the death." I was looking over at the clock and doing everything I could to either knock him out or put a submission on to put him to sleep. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): With a great fight like that, what do you take away from it? What lessons do you learn from that fight to apply to your game going forward? Cole Miller: Well, I realize that there are some things I do really well in the gym that didn't translate very well in that fight. Boxing defense — I mean, my offense I thought looked pretty solid — but I didn't really move my head like I normally do in sparring. Just my overall defense wasn't really there. Maybe it was the leg kicks he was landing that were really hard that were throwing me off. But I just let too many punches get through. But other than that, I just fought my fight. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You're next slated to fight Junie Browning at Fight Night 18 on April 1. This is the first UFC event ever to be held in Tennessee. Being a native southerner, is it nice to fight a little bit closer to home, rather than flying all the way out to Vegas? Cole Miller: Yeah, I just get sick and tired of going to Vegas, to be honest with you — the time change and stuff like that. It's nice to be fighting in Nashville. It's actually a lot closer to his home — I think it's like two hours from his spot in Kentucky — so he'll probably have more support than I will. But it is nice to be fighting in the south and in a really beautiful city like Nashville. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You're a TUF 5 alum. Do you watch the show? Cole Miller: No, I used to try and watch the show. I think the only season I watched completely was Season one. I started to watch Season two, and then I just couldn't watch it. And then same with three and then same with four. And then after I was on it, I didn't really watch it after that. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, Junie was definitely the most controversial TUF alum during Season 8 and possibly ever. Have you met Junie personally? Cole Miller: No. I really don't want to until the weigh-in either. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): For all the controversy and trash talking, Junie wasn't exactly the most dominant fighter on the show. He seemed to have decent standup — what I would call a "pretty boxer" more than anything else. He kind of danced around a bit. His ground skills seemed okay. What problems do you think a fighter like Junie might bring to the table? Cole Miller: His inexperience I think actually kinda helps him. At this stage a lot of these guys that are coming off The Ultimate Fighter with less than five fights, or making their debuts in the UFC, they don't know the hardship and the struggle that it takes to get to the big show. So it's really not that big of a deal for these guys with minimal fights to be fighting in the UFC, since it came to them so early in their career. It's like you get in there earlier and you develop a comfort like that. I fought a lot of fights in front of less than 500 people inside gym recreation centers and such. I probably did that 20 or 25 times before I finally fought in the UFC. So it's just a big change for these people that have slowly worked their way up from bigger show to bigger show to bigger show, and then these guys that come in who aren't so experienced, they get to just jump right into the UFC, and that's like home for them. So I think his inexperience … I think that maybe he's not such a smart fighter. Maybe he's just too dumb to know that I'm a way better fighter than him. And that can sometimes pose a problem with these guys, they don't respect you. They go in there and they do wild, wild stuff. They look for big punches and maybe some elbows that might pose a threat to maybe cuttin' me. But other than those types of things, I don't really see him being that big of a problem. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): The fact that he might not have come up through the trenches, so to speak, does that make you even more excited to fight him, to kind of put him in his place? Cole Miller: Oh, yeah, absolutely. This is where the experience factor does favor me. I've had tough fights. I've had really hard fights, and he hasn't. So I think once I get in his face and I start to put it on him, then he'll probably break. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well he definitely exhibited some mental weakness on the show, probably more so than most of the people that we've seen on TUF. He was talking about quitting and everything else. Do you think that he's still mentally weak and is that something that you plan to exploit if the fight goes into the later rounds? Cole Miller: Yeah for sure. I'm not so sure if he's still mentally weak, but if he is, that'll definitely favor me. I think the longer the fight goes on, it's going to get worse and worse for him. If I was him, I'd be trying to land a real big punch in the first 30 seconds. And if he takes me down, try and throw as many elbows as he can — maybe he can get a lucky cut or something. But once the fight sort of settles in and starts to go at its pace, I think that I'm going to pose a lot of problems for him. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You now hold wins over some decent names like Leonard Garcia and Jorge Gurgel. Where do you think a win over Junie — not that he's as big of a name as those guys — but where do you think a win puts you in the lightweight division? Cole Miller: I don't really think amongst the fighters and the other lightweight competitors in the division, I don't really think that they'll gain any more respect for me (with a win over Junie). But he's a very talked-about fighter. I think that more people are going to be paying attention to this fight than any of my other past fights. So if I beat him, then I'll get a bigger fan base and more exposure and the ability to fight more on main cards, 'cause this is my first time fighting on the main card. That's really where I wanna be so more people can see my fights. Like you said, I got a win over Leonard Garcia, and nobody's seen that fight. I just really want more people to see my work. I spend a lot of time and hard work training for fights, so I really just want more people to see it. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): American Top Team has got to be one of the biggest camps in MMA. I was just looking at it again today online, and the list of fighters that you guys have is just crazy. There are just tons of fighters there. Can you talk about your experience there, especially having relocated from another camp — Team Praxis, in Macon, Ga., is that correct? Cole Miller: Yeah. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): So how was that experience coming from one camp to another, especially one as talented as ATT. Cole Miller: Yeah, I went pretty much from an MMA club to an MMA team, you know? It was really, really cool. When I first went in there, I was pretty star-struck. I was seeing guys who had fought in PRIDE and the UFC and K-1 Hero's and stuff like that — all these guys who had been or are where I wanted to be. So it was really cool to be in the room with those guys and be able to train with him, and to have the coaching staff that we have. ATT is the best thing that ever happened to me. My game stepped up immensely since joining the team. It made me the fighter I am today. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): There was an article that you linked to on your blog, www.colemiller.com, which talked about a meditative approach to fighting. I believe it was an article that originally appeared on Sportsbythenumbersmma.com. Cole Miller: Yeah. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Do you actively practice meditation? Do you consider yourself a spiritual person? Cole Miller: No, I don't really consider myself to be super spiritual, but I do spend a lot of time going over the fight in my head, mentally over and over again. I lose a lot of sleep over it at night, just because I constantly see myself in different positions and in different scenarios in the fight. I can't stop thinking about it — different ways that I'm winning, seeing myself in both good and bad positions in the fight. So that way when something happens in the fight, it's not really a surprise, because I've already gone over every scenario in my mind. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): From your experience talking to teammates, is that a typical way that a fighter goes about his business, or do you think that you're a relatively cerebral fighter? Cole Miller: I think that makes me pretty cerebral. I don't really know a lot of other people that do it to the extent that I do it. It's a part of my training, really. That's the way I think about it. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You're 6'1" and I read that you once competed as a featherweight, is that so? Cole Miller: Yeah, I've fought at '35 before, I've fought at '45, and '55. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Obviously the UFC only goes down to the '55 division, but is that the weight class that you're comfortable fighting at, or do you see your — Cole Miller: Right now I'm pretty comfortable fighting at '55. I mean, I'm fighting in the UFC at '55, and I'm 3-1 right now, so I feel pretty comfortable right now. But if at any point I don't feel comfortable and I start losing fights, then dropping down is certainly an option. I focused a lot on gaining weight for this fight, because I've always been a smaller fighter in the division, and a weaker fighter. So I spent a lot of time working on my strength for this fight and working on putting on weight, because I definitely feel the effects of it, and I have in my past fights. So I wouldn't mind just staying here at '55. But if things didn't go my way, then dropping down to '45 or even as far as '35 is certainly an option. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I wanted to ask you the story behind your nickname, "Magrinho." Cole Miller: It means "skinny" in Portuguese. I came to ATT, and (Ricardo) Liborio just called me "Magrinho." And that's the way it goes. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well I appreciate you taking the time to talk with us, Cole. I also wanted to give you an opportunity to plug any sponsors or if you have any parting words for your fans on what they can expect to see at Fight Night 18? Cole Miller: Thanks to the fans I have worldwide, and my family and friends for all the continuous support. Check out my website, www.colemiller.com. Thanks to the TapouT guys for all their support, especially with all the stuff that's going on with Mask and his passing. I'm there for them, and they've shown me a lot of support for all my fights, so I do my best to support them. They've done a lot for the sport of mixed martial arts. I've been thinking about them a lot. To read more about Charles "Mask" Lewis' legacy go here. |
| Tim Sylvia vs Ray Mercer moved to Alabama to escape sanctioning Posted: 29 Mar 2009 06:55 AM PDT
When in doubt, move the bout. After the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board (NJSACB) refused to sanction a main event fight between former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia and former Olympic gold medalist and world heavyweight boxing champion Ray Mercer, promoter Monte Cox has taken his Adrenaline III card and shipped it to the BJCC Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, where no regulatory body exists to oversee the fight, according to Sherdog.com. Originally scheduled for May 30 at the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., the hybrid boxing-mixed martial arts event will go down on June 13. "The Maine-iac" has agreed to box Mercer — barely one month after "Merciless" turns 48 years of age — not long after calling out Ken Shamroid last December. Sylvia has been on the shelf since getting steamrolled by Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction "Banned" last July and was not expected to fight an MMA match until a planned third event this summer.
Mercer's last bout was a majority decision win (boxing) over Richel Hersisiar last September in Nojesfabriken, Karlstad, Sweden, but is probably best known in the MMA world for getting choked out in an exhibition bout with Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson in July 2007. Cox must really want to see Sylvia fight Mercer. The question is, do fans? What say you? |
| Remy Bonjasky: Pesky fan leads to blown knee, poor performance at K-1 GP Posted: 29 Mar 2009 06:36 AM PDT
Props: K-1 Official Site Quoteworthy:
-Winner of the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 Remy Bonjasky blames a bum knee and pesky fan for his less-than-thrilling performance against Alistair Overeem at FieLDS K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Yokohama on Saturday, March 28. “The Flying Gentleman,” who won the 2008 GP after some illegal strikes from DQ'd opponent Badr Hari, was accused by Overeem of overselling his injuries during that bout and may not have done much to dispel those rumors following these comments — and Saturday’s performance. |
| Manny Gamburyan vs John Franchi on tap for WEC 41 Posted: 29 Mar 2009 06:21 AM PDT
Manny Gamburyan (8-4), lightweight finalist from season five of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), has officially decided to drop down in weight and join the WEC’s featherweight class. His first match at 145 pounds will be against undefeated John Franchi (5-0) at WEC 41 on June 7 according to MMAmadness. “The Pitbull” steamrolled through Noah Thomas, Matt Wiman and Joe Lauzon en route to a spot in the finals across Nate Diaz on TUF, but an injury to his shoulder cost him dearly in the championship fight. After six months on the sidelines rehabilitating the injury, Gamburyan jumped right back into the win column with back-to-back first round submission victories over Nate Mohr and Jeff Cox. However, a twelve second knockout loss to Rob Emerson at UFC 87 and a unanimous decision loss to Thiago Tavares at UFC 94 brought the Armenian fighter back down to earth and more than likely prompted him to start weighing some other options, literally. Things won’t get much easier in the WEC though. The 145 pound class is perhaps the deepest division in the organization with world class fighters like Mike Brown, Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo, Leonard Garcia, Jens Pulver, Wagnney Fabiano and plenty of others including Manvel’s first opponent on June 7, John Franchi. Franchi is undefeated so far as a professional. He debuted for the WEC earlier this month at WEC 39 with a hard fought split decision win over a very difficult to beat Mike Budnik. Before that, he competed once on an IFL card, where he submitted Frank Latina in the first round. At lightweight, Manny specialized in using his strength as an advantage to overpower his opponents into submissions or to put them in difficult positions. It’s scary to think about what kind of monster he can be against guys ten pounds lighter, but Franchi is no pushover. This should be a good test for the Pitbull at the new weight. WEC 41 will be headlined by a featherweight championship rematch between title holder Mike Thomas Brown and “The California Kid” Urijah Faber. The main card will air live on the Versus network on fight night. For all the latest on WEC 41 click here. |
| BJ Penn reportedly set to face Kenny Florian at UFC 101 on August 8 Posted: 29 Mar 2009 12:12 AM PDT
Kenny Florian was widely regarded as the clear cut number one contender in the crowded 155-pound division following his win over Roger Huerta via unanimous decision at UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy" on August 9. But his second chance at championship gold never came. That's because current lightweight champion, BJ Penn, was set to rematch welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94: "St. Pierre vs. Penn 2" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31, putting the division strap temporarily on ice. Rather than sitting on the sidelines and waiting his turn, Florian decided to keep busy. And he wasn't taking fights with "slouches" or "cans" to ensure that he remained atop the title contender totem pole. On the contrary, he accepted a very dangerous fight against Joe Stevenson at UFC 91: "Couture vs. Lesnar" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas back on November 15. It was high profile bout between two fighters who have each missed out on winning the vacant division title. Florian dominated "Daddy" in the first round, finishing the former TUF 2 winner via rear naked choke for his sixth straight win. Aside from his unanimous decision loss to Sean Sherk at UFC 64 'Unstoppable,' Florian hasn't tasted defeat since being overwhelmed by Diego Sanchez at the TUF 1 finale in April of 2005. Now that UFC 94 is in the books, Penn is (hopefully) set to defend his title against the Boston native at UFC 101 on August 8 from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania according to BJ PENN.com. Here’s a snip:
Florian is based out of his own gym in Brookline, Mass., Florian Martial Arts Center, which he owns with his brother, Keith. In addition, Florian trains at F-15 Training Center with Peter Welch his boxing coach. His Muay Thai and MMA Coach is Mark DellaGrotte. This one is gonna be a war. UFC 101 is expected to feature a major title fight, as well as a co-main event between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy "The Natural" Couture as he locks horns with former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira. Additionally, Thiago Silva and ex-205-pound kingpin Forrest Griffin are also expected to hook 'em up. For more on UFC 101 click here. |
| M-1 Challenge 2009 results and quick recap Posted: 28 Mar 2009 11:56 PM PDT
M-1 Challenge 2009 Presented by Affliction touched down earlier today in Bourgas, Bulgaria. A total of 30 fighters representing six teams went to war at this weekend's global event. And with 13 of the 15 bouts ending via some type of stoppage, fans certainly got their money’s worth. On Saturday, March 28, Turkey, The World Team, Germany, Team Russian Legion, Team North America, and the host Bulgarian team all made their 2009 M-1 Challenge season debuts at the Mladost Sports Hall, located just minutes from the sunny beach resorts of Bourgas. Former Bulgarian Olympic wrestler Jordan Radev was in action. The 32-year old Plovdiv native had gone 7-0 since leaving the UFC and despite an MMA record of 18-3, was stopped by former NFL running back Herbert Goodman via KO in the first round. Goodman, an elite athlete who played two seasons for the Green Bay Packers as a backup to former Pro Bowl running back Ahman Green, has made tremendous progress as a fighter despite his late entry into the sport. An interesting subplot was the debut of a revamped German roster. Last year's German team was eliminated from the 2008 M-1 Challenge early due to overwhelming defeats. However, a new roster of German fighters led by a new coaching staff tried to redeem their nation when it faced Turkey. And they were successful, sweeping the Germans 5-0. Like Turkey, Team USA East dominated with its rout of Team Bulgaria. Here are the M-1 Challenge 2009 complete results via M-1global.com. Turkey vs. Germany Lightweight: Franco de Leonardis def. Akin Duran via triangle choke submission at 2:29 of round 1. Team Germany defeats Team Turkey 5-0 Russia Legion vs. World Team Lightweight: Yury Ivlev def. Romano de Los Reyes via three-round unanimous decision. Team Russia Legion wins 4-1 Bulgaria vs. USA East Lightweight: Renato Migliaccio def. Yanko Yanev via armbar submission at 4:45 of round 1. *** Fight was originally ruled a split decision victory in Radev’s favor. M-1 Challenge regulatory officials later ruled that Goodman had knocked out Radev at 4:59 of round 1 and overturned the decision in Goodman’s favor following an official appeal. Team USA East defeats Bulgaria 5-0. Billed as the "World Cup of Mixed Martial Arts," the M-1 Challenge is a full season of MMA events sponsored by partner Affliction that showcases some of the best up and coming MMA fighters in the world. Broadcast to over 80 countries around the world, including HDNet in the United States, the M-1 Challenge pits teams of five fighters representing their respective countries against each other for international bragging rights and the title of M-1 Challenge Champions. The "M-1 Challenge Presented by Affliction" affords MMA prospects all over the world an opportunity to test their skills, gain valuable experience at the international level, and become future stars in the sport of MMA. Fighters who succeed on the M-1 Challenge's international breeding ground will earn the opportunity to participate in major MMA events presented by M-1 Global and their promotional partners such as Affliction Entertainment. |
| K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Yokohama: Alistair Overeem vs Remy Bonjasky (Video) Posted: 28 Mar 2009 11:24 PM PDT Check out rounds two and three including Bonjasky’s late knockdown after the jump.
Thanks to “ARIELZGR” for the assist. |
| MMAmania.com back online after minor technical difficulties (Chapter 2) Posted: 28 Mar 2009 11:14 PM PDT
Sorry Maniacs, for the momentary lapse in coverage. Unfortunately we had some minor technical difficulties behind the scenes, but rest assured after a few adjustments (see above) we're back online and ready to give you more MMA coverage than you can shake a kabob at. Thanks again for hanging in there, and now let's get back to business. |
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