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| UFC 101 announced for Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on August 8 Posted: 28 Apr 2009 05:37 PM PDT
We passed along the good news more than a month ago that the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) had designs on staging its first-ever event in Pennsylvania on Saturday, August 8, 2009. Today, the promotion made those plans official, announcing that it would storm the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia with UFC 101. And fans in the “City of Brotherly Love” have to be pleased with the pay-per-view (PPV)-worthy show that is expected to roll into town in little more than three months. It’s now confirmed that lightweight champion BJ Penn will put his 155-pound title on the line against number one contender Kenny Florian in the main event of the evening. UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva will also be in action, stepping up once again to compete at light heavyweight against former 205-pound champion, Forrest Griffin, in a three-round, non-title special attraction. Other proposed match ups, which we have been sharing as we have learned about them, are also in the works. To check out the latest UFC 101 fight card and rumors click here. UFC 101 tickets are not yet on sale, but the promotion promises to release that information shortly. Therefore, if you’re interested in attending it would be wise to check in with us early and often to ensure that you don’t miss the boat — tickets will more than likely move lightning fast. To get up to speed on the latest UFC 101 news be sure to hit up our event archive right here. |
| MMA Quick Pic: Gina Carano and Kim Couture talk shop at ‘Monster’ mash Posted: 28 Apr 2009 05:03 PM PDT
Female MMA fighters Gina Carano and Kim Couture with some rare downtime at the wedding reception for recently married Kevin “The Monster” Randleman. Thanks to Tracy Lee of Combat Lifestyle for the pic. See more here. |
| Sean Sherk not overlooking Frank Edgar at UFC 98 en route to another title shot Posted: 28 Apr 2009 04:15 PM PDT
Props: MMA Fanhouse Quoteworthy:
Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk talks about getting another crack at the 155-pound strap he coughed up following a controversial drug test that pegged him as a steroid user. “The Muscle Shark” also anticipates a very stiff test at UFC 98 “Evans vs. Machida” in the form of lightweight standout Frank Edgar. A win could put him in line for a title shot against either BJ Penn or Kenny Florian following their championship bout at UFC 101 in August. Either way, it’s a rematch for Sherk. The question is, who would you rather see — Sherk vs. “The Prodigy” or Sherk vs. “KenFlo?” |
| PFC 13: ‘Validation’ set with four championship bouts on May 8 Posted: 28 Apr 2009 03:44 PM PDT
Palace Fighting Championships (PFC) 13: “Validation” is all set to go down at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California on Friday, May 8. In all, four PFC world championship belts will be decided on the card, as well as a number one contender eliminator bout in the featherweight division and a featured main event middleweight showdown between former WEC light heavyweight champion Doug “The Rhino” Marshall and three time ShoXC veteran Jaime “El Cucui” Jara. Marshall comes in riding a two fight winning streak, having taken five out of his last six. The two most recent wins both came under the PFC banner, against Phil Collins (TKO) at PFC 9 last July and against Rafael Real (TKO) at PFC 11 in November. Jara has also won five of his last six fights, including three by submission and another by technical knockout. He dropped a unanimous decision to Leopoldo Serao during his last showing for PFC at “All In” back in November. This is a classic clash of styles as Jara will lean on his submission skills, while The Rhino looks to turn it into a kickboxing match. The PFC flyweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight titles will all be on the line in Lemoore on May 8 as well, not to mention a lightweight undercard match up involving “The Ultimate Fighter” season 5 washout Gabe Ruediger. Check out the full lineup for PFC 13: “Validation” below: Main Event: Main Card: Under Card: It should be a solid night of fights for the California based organization. Tickets are on sale now and can be had through the usual outlets. |
| Anderson Silva (not Thiago) vs Forrest Griffin booked for UFC 101 Posted: 28 Apr 2009 11:28 AM PDT
Griffin was previously booked to take on Thiago Silva in the co main event; however, UFC President Dana White made an executive decision to insert the “Spider” instead. Here’s his reasoning:
Griffin — the light heavyweight winner of the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) — was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) until June 27, 2009, because of a broken left hand that he suffered in the second round of his fight against Rashad Evans at UFC 92 "The Ultimate 2008″ last December. He apparently needed to have pins surgically inserted into the hand to expedite the healing process. The good news is that he has already been cleared to resume punching and training full-time to be prepared for a healthy return in August. The bad news? He now has to do it against the feared Brazilian striker who more than likely won’t be in a good mood when he steps inside the Octagon on fight night. Indeed, Silva will likely feel the need to prove himself worthy of being considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world when he arrives in the “City of Brotherly Love.” Apparently, a record-setting nine straight UFC wins — seven of which were all stoppages that never went longer than two rounds — is not good enough these days. That’s because Silva has baffled his fans, as well as White, in his two most recent outings. He earned a bizarre third round technical knockout win over Patrick Cote after the Canadian’s knee imploded and then followed that up with a boring unanimous decision win over Thales Leites at UFC 97: “Redemption” earlier this month. For more on UFC 101, including rumored bouts and all other event-related news, click here. John — and the rest of the Maniacs — feel free to rejoice in the comments section below. |
| Joe Stevenson to train with Greg Jackson and Co. for critical Nate Diaz TUF 9 Finale fight Posted: 28 Apr 2009 08:47 AM PDT
Former number one lightweight contender Joe Stevenson is taking a page out of Winston Churchill's book of wisdom, deciding to travel about 700 miles from his home in Victorville, Calif., to Albuquerque, N.M., to prepare with Team Jackson for his upcoming lightweight fight against Nate Diaz at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 Finale on June 20. "Daddy" is mired in a rare slump, losing back-to-back bouts and three of his last four. However, those three losses have come to UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn, the division's current number one contender Kenny "KenFlo" Florian and, most recently, the new-look Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez. That's some stiff competition. Nonetheless, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2 welterweight winner understands that consistently taking on the best the division has to offer is not going to cut it unless he can start adding "W's" to his win column, which is the reason behind the temporary change of scenery. Indeed, Stevenson is still very involved with his Cobra Kai gym in Victorville and there is no strain on his relationship with his head trainer there, Irvin Bounds. This move is all about mixing it up, getting new looks with new training partners to ensure that he leaves no stone unturned heading into his showdown with Diaz. Losing, at this point, is simply no longer an option for the 25-year-old father of four (not that it ever really was). In short, he is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure that no longer happens … even if it means being away from his family and normal day-to-day routine. And the "direction" that he chose couldn't be more right.
The newly-minted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt will put his skills to the test against Greg Jackson's dynamic roster of successful mixed martial artists, which includes some of the very best athletes in the business, including UFC champions Rashad Evans and Georges St. Pierre, as well as top contenders such as Nate Marquardt, Keith Jardine and Donald Cerrone (WEC). Athletes is the operative word here: Stevenson needs to work on improving all areas of his game — not just his effective ground attack that has gotten him this far — if he intends to remain a legitimate contender and possible champion in the future. And if there is anyone who can squeeze every ounce of skill out of Stevenson, as well as help him reach his true potential, it is Jackson — widely considered the best trainer/gameplanner in the sport — and his All Star crew. Change, in this case, doesn't get much better. |
| Fedor Emelianenko and Shinya Aoki talk up grappling match at M-1 Challenge on April 29 (Pic) Posted: 28 Apr 2009 06:45 AM PDT |
| Weigh-in results official for M-1 Challenge Tokyo edition on April 29 Posted: 28 Apr 2009 06:40 AM PDT
Tokyo, Japan — A literal parade of 38 fighters made their way through official weigh-ins on Tuesday at the Pearl Kasai Hotel in Tokyo in preparations for Wednesday’s “M-1 Challenge Presented by Affliction” event scheduled to emanate from Differ Ariake. A total of 19 fights are planned with a scheduled local start time in Tokyo of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday’s lineup includes two preliminary fights, a Superfight between rising French phenom Karl Amoussou and IFL veteran Kazuhiro Hamanaka, M-1 Challenge team matchups featuring France vs. Spain, USA West vs. South Korea, Japan vs. England, and a special grappling exhibition between WAMMA lightweight champion Shinya Aoki and WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko. While much of the local media in Japan is fixated on Fedor’s return to the “Land of the Rising Sun,” there is a tremendous amount of intrigue regarding Team USA West’s best-of-five series vs. South Korea. Both teams are one-and-two in the standings in Group B, with South Korea holding a slim one fight lead over the USA West team. Team USA West will not only have a chance to close the gap but also take a resounding leading in the division.
Despite defeating Team Brazil Naja by a score of 3-2 during the 2009 M-1 Challenge opener in Tacoma, Wash. in February, Team USA West has changed three of its five members. Joining returnees David Jansen (lightweight) and Raphael Davis (light heavyweight) are welterweight Fabio Negao, middleweight Giva Santana, and heavyweight Shane Del Rosario. According to head coach Colin Oyama, the changes to the roster were not performance-related, as Negao, Santana, and Del Rosario had all initially been planned to compete in the opener but were unavailable for various reasons. “The changes had nothing to do with the guys that we had,” Oyama began to respond when asked about his team’s roster makeover. “This was the original team we had planned on. Shane Del Rosario had an injury and we had to bring in a replacement. Negao had also competed at middleweight and needed additional time to get down to 170. Giva also had other obligations. So the five you will see in this event are the original five guys we intended to start with.” Del Rosario is a former WBO Muay Thai champion who is 5-0 in MMA. A veteran of EliteXC’s ShoXC series, he will look to improve to 6-0 when he faces South Korea’s Doo Hee Lee. For Rosario, he considers it an honor to represent his home country on foreign land. “I’m flattered to be able to represent my country,” said Del Rosario. “Last year we were winless and coming into this year a lot of teams thought they were going to walk all over us. We proved them wrong after winning our first fight and I see us being in St. Petersburg (Russia) in the championship final.” Del Rosario is not the only member of Team USA West who will have a perfect record on the line vs. South Korea. Team Quest’s Jansen improved to 9-0 with his stunning win over Rio Heroes veteran Flavio Alvaro during the ‘09 opener. Set to face Yui Chul Nam, Jansen was candid in admitting that he is feeling some pressure in trying to retain his perfect record. “There is some pressure. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t,” he remarked. But pressure doesn’t appear to be too big of an issue for Jansen, as he is already making plans for his next fight. Wednesday will mark his first time competing in Japan, but he would like to return again and challenge DEEP lightweight champion Katsunori Kikuno. “I don’t speak a whole lot of Japanese but I do know how to say one phrase: Kikuno itai meni kaketekoi, which basically means 'Kikuno, if you want to feel pain, bring it on!’” First, Jansen must get past Nam in order to have a chance at garnering a shot at Kikuno. The Matt Lindland-trained Jansen doesn’t seem too concerned about the challenge that lies ahead. “I’m looking forward to this fight. He’s a big striker but he telegraphs his strikes and comes out very aggressive. I think that’s going to play into my takedown game. He’s going to throw looping punches but look for me to throw straight punches. I’m going to take him down and clobber him. It’s clobbering time!” Even more confident than Jansen is all of Team England, which will be making its M-1 Challenge debut against host country Japan. In fact, lightweight Ian Butlin promised during the pre-fight press conference held at the 21 East Hotel earlier in the day that the Brits will defeat the Japanese 5-0. Bold remarks are nothing new for Butlin, who has proclaimed himself the best lightweight fighter in all of England. “I don’t call myself the best lightweight fighter in England - I am the best lightweight in England,” Butlin stated without hesitation. “All the guys that say they’re the best, stand up and fight me! Just don’t talk about it! Get in there and do it! I’m sick of fighters pulling out that are supposed to fight me. I’m the best lightweight in the U.K. - that’s right! Because I’m not just looking to submit you, I’m looking to knock you the [expletive] out!” Butlin will have to back his proclamation of being England’s top lightweight on Japanese soil when he takes on Luiz Andrada, a long-time veteran of DEEP with notable wins over Shinobu Miura, Yusuke Suzuki, and Kosuto Umeda, along with a draw against current DEEP lightweight champ Kikuno. Against Andrada, Butlin is hoping to wow the crowd with a brawl for the ages. “A lot of people say they want to fight a striker like me and then they try to take it to the ground,” he said. “These grapplers think they can [expletive] tap me but they’re the ones that [expletive] tap like a little girl when I punch them in the [expletive] head!” Opening the event will be a Group A battle between Team France, led by blue chip light heavyweight prospect Christian Mpumbu, and Team Spain, which boasts heavyweight Rogent Lloret as its top gun. The live stream of the event will be available for non-U.S. residents at www.Mixfight.ru with full coverage for U.S. fans at www.M-1Global.com. The Fedor vs. Aoki exhibition will not be available during the live stream of the event and will instead premiere on a video-on-demand basis on Monday, May 4 at both www.Mixfight.ru and www.M-1Global.com. Complete weigh-in results and lineups for tomorrow’s event are listed below: Preliminary: Team France vs. Team Spain: Superfight: Special Super Exhibition: USA West vs. South Korea (best-of-five series): Japan vs. England (best-of-five series): |
| The ’sources close’ to Anderson Silva apparently never told him … Posted: 28 Apr 2009 06:30 AM PDT
… that he would help prepare former two-time foe, Rich Franklin, for his upcoming fight against his old Chute Boxe training partner, Wanderlei Silva, at UFC 99: “The Comeback” on June 13, according to Tatame.com:
That was fast. It’s not an outright denial, but his way of answering the question is interesting. Either the “Spider” is playing dumb to try and distance himself from training an American for a fight against a popular Brazilian fighter, performing damage control so his feud with the “Axe Murder” doesn’t hit Defcon 1 or there really are no concrete plans for “Ace” to enlist his services. The plot thickens … you decide. |
| UFC Quick Quote: Michael Bisping unimpressed with Dan Henderson and his many critics Posted: 28 Apr 2009 05:54 AM PDT
– The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 3 light heavyweight winner and current coach of season nine, Michael Bisping, rails on his critics in a recent Setanta.com interview. “The Count” appears to be growing increasingly agitated with those who feel he is overmatched in his upcoming middleweight fight against Dan Henderson at UFC 100: “Lesnar vs. Mir 2″ on July 11, saying that the majority of folks outside the Octagon rarely give him a fair shake on fight night. For the most part he has proven them wrong every time out with the exception of a split decision loss to Rashad Evans back at UFC 78. Can he do it again at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, against the former dual Pride FC champion? |
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