UFC blog for latest news, videos, results, betting odds, fighter interviews and MMA rumors - UFCmania.com

UFC Undisputed 2009 design walk-through video Posted: 21 Apr 2009 03:59 AM PDT Pretty damn cool: Check out part two after the jump.

UFC Quick Quote: Matt Hughes now intends to take ‘bathroom breaks’ when Anderson Silva fights Posted: 21 Apr 2009 03:56 AM PDT “[I] Don't have much to say about the fight. Thales obviously wanted to fight on the ground and even took Anderson down, but couldn't keep him there. I really disliked it when Thales would just fall to his butt and expect Anderson to jump on top of him; but even more disappointing was Anderson's lack of aggressiveness. He never seemed like he wanted to finish the fight. Halfway through the third round … we just decided to go home. It's not the first time that Anderson has done this to me. When he fought Cote, it was about the same thing. Next time we have a party and Anderson is on the card…. Well, I'll just say that at least I can expect to take a bathroom break or to go grab a refreshment when it comes time for him to fight. I heard Dana's comments after the fight and how he was embarrassed. I don't think Dana should be embarrassed all he can do is put the fighters in the octagon and once again I was a little surprised to hear Dana say this; but Dana White is a man who speaks what's on his mind.” – Count former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes among those who have not been thrilled with the recent performances of middleweight champion Anderson Silva, according to recent remarks in a blog post. “The Spider” — who made a name for himself dismantling his first seven opponents inside the Octagon — has found himself in hot water because of his two most recent (and lackluster) wins over Patrick Cote and Thales Leites. Hughes now plans to take a dump or grab a Coke the next time Silva is in action to avoid being disappointed. Keep in mind that Hughes has been beating his war drum for more than two years about wanting to fight Silva for the middleweight title. And if he can topple his arch nemesis, Matt Serra, at UFC 98: “Evans vs. Machida” on May 23, perhaps he can start whacking it again and convince Dana White that the fight needs to happen. Of course, the big money match is Silva taking on welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre sometime in the near future; however, keep this in your back pocket just in case things don’t go as planned on July 11 when “Rush” takes on Thiago Alves.

Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral withdraws from Strikeforce title fight against Rafael Cavalcante on June 6 Posted: 21 Apr 2009 03:33 AM PDT Renato “Babalu” Sobral is expecting to soon have another baby, forcing him to withdraw from his first-ever light heavyweight title defense against former Elite XC superstar, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, on the next major Strikeforce event slated for the the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., on June 6. The good news is that the fight is expected to still take place; however, it will go down at a later date … most likely in August. In the meantime, Feijao — a training partner of UFC champion Anderson Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira — is still expected to compete on the card. In fact, the hunt for a suitable opponent to face the Brazilian smashing machine is already underway. Feijao made a name for himself fighting under the Elite XC throughout the 2008 fight campaign. He competed three times for the promotion, defeating John Doyle (knockout), Wayne Cole (technical knockout) and Travis Galbraith (technical knockout), keeping his record nearly perfect (a lone controversial disqualification loss to Marcio Cruz is the lone blemish on an otherwise perfect ledger). All three of those wins were first round stoppages. In fact, Feijao has never been taken out of the second round in any of his six professional victories. He’ll look to keep that red-hot streak intact on June 6 to ensure that he remains the top contender in the division when “Babablu” is set return from changing dirty diapers. Former Elite XC welterweight champ Jake Shields is booked to step up a few pounds and face the last reigning Elite XC middleweight title holder, Robbie Lawler, in the main event on fight night. Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem is also expected to make his return stateside against a soon to be announced opponent. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more as the fight card starts to fill up. And be sure to catch up on all things Strikeforce in our archive right here.

UFC Quick Quote: ‘Shogun’ Rua looking to chop down Forrest Griffin in potential rematch Posted: 21 Apr 2009 03:14 AM PDT "Nobody spoke yet (about my next fight), but my goal is to win the next one. I'm already focused for the next fight. I'll fight anyone, but a rematch (with Forrest Griffin) would be welcome. He's a good fighter and it'd be a good fight. I'll fight anyone, but it'd be cool to fight him again, I'd love it". – Mauricio Rua (Version 2.0), fresh off his possible retiring of Chuck Liddell at UFC 97 on April 18, looks ahead to a potential rematch with Forrest Griffin in a post-fight interview with Tatame.com. “Shogun” — winner of the 2005 Pride FC Grand Prix and one time consensus top five light heavyweight — had trouble living up to the hype after gassing out and being submitted by Grffin in his debut back at UFC 76. Rua followed that up with an abysmal performance against Mark Coleman at UFC 93, but managed to turn things around (at least in the eyes of some fans) with a stoppage over “The Iceman.” Now Rua hopes to avenge his loss to Griffin at some point in the near future. Will history repeat itself? Or has Shogun finally exorcised his UFC demons? Time will tell …

Strikeforce official announcement of Kim Couture vs Meisha Tate at SHO MMA on May 15 Posted: 21 Apr 2009 03:10 AM PDT NEW YORK — Mixed martial arts (MMA) upstart Kim "Sugar Free" Couture (1-1), wife of MMA legend Randy Couture, will take a major step up in competition when she squares off with fearsome submission expert Miesha Tate (5-1) in a live SHOWTIME-televised 135-pound limit contest at the inaugural SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers event at Fresno, California's Save Mart Center on Friday, May 15. SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers is a proving ground for up-and-coming MMA fighters. SHO MMA provides today's top prospects with the opportunity to step-up their level of competition and demonstrate their ability in a nationally televised event. In addition, Aaron Rosa (11-2) will face Anthony "A Train" Ruiz (21-12) in a light heavyweight (205-pound limit) fight on a fight card headlined by undefeated lightweight (155-pound limit) Billy Evangelista (9-0) versus BJ Penn protégé "Iron" Mike Aina (11-6-1). The SHOWTIME telecast will air live beginning at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) and feature up to five live fights. "I think she's definitely in for a surprise and this is going to be a little bit over her head," said the 22-year-old Tate, who has been on a tear of late, stopping each of her last three opponents in the first round. "I do respect the fact that she chose to fight me," said Tate, who is considered a veteran over the inexperienced Couture. "I think she's really tough and, at heart, she's a fighter. She wants to fight people who are going to push her." A native of Olympia, Wash., Tate was introduced to wrestling during her teen years when a girlfriend convinced her to join their all-boys high school wrestling team. Tate's passion for the sport developed as she learned. Eventually, wrestling led Tate to join the MMA club at Central Washington University. Last year, Tate enlisted with Victory Athletics, the elite fight squad headed by MMA star and two-time Matt Hughes conqueror Dennis "Superman" Hallman. "He's got so much to offer technically," she said about her mentor. "He comes from a wrestling background so his fighting style is very similar to the one I want to develop." The 33-year-old Couture said, "(Tate)'s been wrestling for a long time and I've only been wrestling for four years, but I've been learning from Randy Couture. "My training partners are Xtreme Couture fighters so I feel like I have the Cliff Notes I need to be successful in this fight. I've been pushed and supported by the best guys in the business." Couture earned her first professional victory by pummeling an overmatched Lina Kvokov in the first round of their Strikeforce meeting at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Nov. 21, 2008. The victory came shortly after she had adopted K-1 superstar Ray Sefo as her new kickboxing trainer. It is in the area of punching and kicking that Couture feels she will have the upper hand against Tate. "Her stand up is not strong. Before she gets to the clinch or a takedown, she's going to have to get past my hands," said Couture. "My Muay Thai is really good right now and I'm very confident that, if we get to the clinch, she's gonna have a hard time taking me down." Rosa, of San Antonio, Tex., was victorious in his first 10 starts as a professional. Following two straight defeats, he stopped Ron "Killing" Fields in the second round in Chicago, Ill., on June 14, 2008. The 31-year-old Ruiz, a former Strikeforce light heavyweight championship challenger, last saw action at Strikeforce's second event at the world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he lost a unanimous decision to former South African national wrestling champion Trevor Prangley. Tickets for the first SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers event are on sale at the Save Mart Center box office and select Save Mart Supermarkets as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) and Strikeforce's official website (www.strikeforce.com).

Kevin Randleman video on MMA comeback with Strikeforce Posted: 21 Apr 2009 03:01 AM PDT

Vaseline Alley: Spider camp calls Silva greasing allegations ‘Ridiculous’ Posted: 20 Apr 2009 08:24 PM PDT Props: Sherdog.com Quoteworthy: "How much Vaseline can they put on someone's eyebrows that's going to make a difference? Where's he going to wipe it? If he wasn't wiping it on his shorts, where would he wipe it? It wasn't like he was rubbing it in. He just took it off. We didn't put it on. It was [the cutman] that put it on." Ed Soares — manager for UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva — responds to accusations made by SI.com that Silva used the Vaseline applied to his face prior to entering the cage at UFC 97 to grease up his arms and chest to possibly prevent challenger Thales Leites from maintaining an effective guard. Silva nabbed a unanimous decision victory in a bizarre and uneventful main event that consisted of little-to-no action that had fans in attendance booing — and fans at home screaming for a refund. Did the “Greasegate” controversy from UFC 94 heighten our awareness of Vaseline applications and prompt a possible overreaction? Or did “The Spider” make his web intentionally slippery? Click here to see what all the hubbub is about.

Leaked photo of former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in sequel to Universal Soldier (Pic) Posted: 20 Apr 2009 03:40 PM PDT Mixed Martial Arts star and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski is featured in the upcoming sequel to the iconic hit film UNIVERSAL SOLDIER. Arlovski joins stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren who reprise their roles as fight-to-the-death enemies in “Universal Soldier: A New Beginning.” The film has just wrapped principal photography.

Rashad Evans: Chuck Liddell’s preparations for Shogun fight were ‘just a front’ Posted: 20 Apr 2009 01:05 PM PDT Props: FightHype Quoteworthy: “I think (Chuck) should retire! I felt so bad for him to see him go out like that. He is a great person and a legend and when you see that as a fighter, you get a small glimpse of your own demise in the sport. There were no changes (in his style). I knew that before the fight because an inside source told me that it was just a front. It’s too late for him. His reactions and ability to take punishment are gone and you could never get that back…He deteriorated so fast, it’s not even funny … You have to wonder if he is on the border of a medical problem.” UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans is sympathetic to the rapid decline of the UFC’s biggest star of all time. Former 205-pound champ Chuck Liddell was beaten by Mauricio Rua at UFC 97 for the fourth time in five fights and may be close to calling it quits despite a new approach in his “good” training camp leading up to “Redemption” — an approach that Evans labels “a front” based on some inside information. Not only that, but Dr. “Sugar” thinks the “Iceman” may have some more serious issues at hand based on how quickly his skills have deteriorated. Is Liddell’s health to blame? Or is he simply too old to compete in a sport that evolves by the day? You decide.

UFC 98 video for ‘Evans vs Machida’ on May 23 Posted: 20 Apr 2009 12:31 PM PDT

You are subscribed to email updates from UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets -- MMAmania.com To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Inbox too full? Subscribe to the feed version of UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets -- MMAmania.com in a feed reader.
If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets -- MMAmania.com, c/o Google, 20 W Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610