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- Mirko Cro Cop win over Mustafa Al Turk at UFC 99 will stand
- TUF 9 Finale video: Clay Guida has a message for Diego ‘Robot’ Sanchez
- UFC 102 poster for ‘Couture vs Noguiera’ in Portland on Aug. 29
- The good, the bad and the (very) ugly: Quick thoughts on a busy month in MMA … and we’re not done yet
- Dana White: Brock Lesnar ‘could possibly be the best heavyweight fighter in UFC history’ (Video)
- TUF 9 Finale: Proposed TJ Grant vs Rory Markham fight off because of injury
- UFC 102: ‘Couture vs Nogueira’ main event confirmed for August 29
- FrankenStruve: Stefan Struve video features grisly gash to the head at UFC 99
- Ray Mercer knocks Tim Sylvia out of Affliction ‘Trilogy’ against Paul Buentello
- The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 Finale weigh-in event details and information for ‘Sanchez vs Guida’
| Mirko Cro Cop win over Mustafa Al Turk at UFC 99 will stand Posted: 16 Jun 2009 04:24 AM PDT
Props: MMAWeekly.com Quoteworthy:
UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner, tells Mustafa Al Turk and his management team not to waste their time filing an appeal, which they intended to do, because the result will stand. Al Turk was poked in the eye during his heavyweight fight with Mirko Cro at UFC 99: “The Comeback” on June 13. The referee in charge of the action, Dan Mirgliotta, didn’t see the foul and the action continued. Cro Cop went on blast Al Turk — who was covering his face at this point — en route to a first round technical knockout. It’s a similar situation to what happened between Anthony Johnson and Kevin Burns in their first encounter. The pair would later go on to finish their business in a rematch … something that Cro Cop and Al Turk may not have the luxury of doing after the fiasco the ensued after the fight between White and the Croatian. |
| TUF 9 Finale video: Clay Guida has a message for Diego ‘Robot’ Sanchez Posted: 16 Jun 2009 04:09 AM PDT |
| UFC 102 poster for ‘Couture vs Noguiera’ in Portland on Aug. 29 Posted: 16 Jun 2009 03:59 AM PDT
To check out the latest fight card and rumors for UFC 102: “Couture vs. Noguiera” click here. |
| Posted: 16 Jun 2009 03:56 AM PDT
Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of watching WEC 41: “Brown vs. Faber 2,” another outstanding WEC card from the Zuffa sister promotion. Top to bottom this organization produces great shows. I like the announcing, the crowd was electric and the fighters really put on some fascinating bouts. We can go on and on about the main event and how tough Faber is, but I was also impressed with Donald Cerrone and Jose Aldo, who I believe should be the next one to face WEC featherweight kingpin Mike Brown. The champ is on a roll and it is going to take someone who possesses much more than just speed to topple him. His strength is amazing and he just does not make the kind of mistakes that another fighter can capitalize on. He fights an intelligent game on top of everything else. Aldo is a maniac and extremely powerful in his own right as evidenced by his five TKO's in as many WEC bouts. I think Cerrone is going to take the belt from Varner when they fight again. He might have won their first fight (if it wasn’t stopped) and it won't go as long the next time around. It is nice to hear that Strikeforce: “Carano vs. Cyborg” will be afforded the opportunity to showcase their skills with five, five minute rounds. They train just as hard as the men do and they should be given the same opportunities to decide a true winner. With three minute rounds the fighters could lose a round by just being on their back for less than two minutes. It’s a great call and it truly shows us who the better fighter is. The fans also deserve to witness a historical bout in the same venue they would witness a men’s title bout. With that being said, as much as I love Gina, I don't see her beating Cyborg. I see a competitive bout but eventually Cyborg's strength will overcome Carano and put her to bed sometime in round three. UFC 99 came and went and was an overall good show. Cro Cop not only gets a win in the Octagon to even his record at 2-2, he gets an even bigger victory outside of it. If the DREAM rumors are true, I’m sure he signed a sweet deal and may eventually get a rematch with Fedor. I don't buy into the whole ’screwing over the UFC’ story. What I see here is a complete marriage of convenience — nothing more, nothing less. The UFC needed to get someone to help push ticket sales and pay-per-view buys and Cro-Cop needed leverage with DREAM. Dana’s been at this a long time, I don't see him extending the courtesy of a one-fight deal with the promise of two more fights to a guy who was coming off major knee surgery and was a disaster his first go round in the UFC. Dana is smarter than that and I think they used each other to get what they wanted. Cro Cop beats a can and doesn't hurt anyone's career and then rides off into the land of the rising sun where he is undoubtedly more comfortable fighting. Cain Velasquez was good, but in my opinion, he would have gotten steamrolled by Lesnar, Carwin or Mir. Anyone with any sort of grappling ability or submissions would have exposed him quickly. Yes, he is overpowering and showed great control, but he got rocked on more than a few occasions and could not finish a guy who was giving up his back constantly and allowed himself to be mounted repeatedly. Vasquez is young but has a lot of work ahead of him. Franklin vs. Silva was a good but not great fight. Franklin was looking to do what was necessary to win while Silva was willing to do what was necessary to put on a great show. Nothing wrong with either man's strategy. They are both great fighters and I am anxious to see how Wandy fits in at 185 pounds. Franklin, meanwhile, will fight these sort of fights and will always be a fan favorite but his days of contending for a title are probably in the past. Dan Hardy and Marcus Davis packed an awesome punch and I think Hardy did just enough to win. Why not do it again sometime down the road? Mike Swick is a good fighter but he should not be thrown into title contention based on this win even though I like Saunders a lot. He is young and has a lot to learn. Swick needs to fight one of his teammates and win in order to make some serious noise. After the UFC held another successful event we were brought to the opposite end of the spectrum when Monte Cox held Adrenaline III “Bragging Rights.” The main event was an on-again, off-again boxing-MMA bout featuring former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, who had been out of action since being dismantled by Fedor at the inaugural Affliction event last July. His opponent was former heavyweight boxing champion Ray Mercer, who I might add is 48 years old. 10 seconds (26 seconds less than it took Fedor) and Sylvia was out cold. This man has not only become a laughing stock, he has now lost his spot against Paul Buentello at Affliction III which was scheduled for August 1. Sylvia spoke of his desire to return to the UFC but he’d be lucky to get a fight anywhere at this point. Kudos to Affliction for dropping this stiff, this is the smartest move they have made yet. Monte Cox may have effectively ruined Sylvia’s career. We have The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale 9 which will pit the two remaining welterweights and two remaining lightweights against one another to determine the winners of this year’s show. I really haven’t had an interest in this show, but I am looking forward to Dan Henderson whipping Michael Bisping next month. This card carries a bout between Clay Guida and Diego Sanchez, who is coming off a successful debut at 155 lbs against Joe Stevenson. The winner may possibly get a crack at the winner of the BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian bout at UFC 101. Some say Sanchez hasn’t earned a shot because of this being only his second fight at lightweight but I disagree. He is marketable and was doing pretty good as a welterweight. In another bout we have Joe Stevenson, who is 1-3 in his last four fights, going against Nate Diaz who just lost to Guida at UFC 94. If Stevenson loses it may be a while before we see him in the Octagon again. June has been a busy month for mixed martial arts and it’s only half over. Still to come is Strikeforce Challengers on June 19 and Ultimate Chaos on June 27. Stay tuned! |
| Dana White: Brock Lesnar ‘could possibly be the best heavyweight fighter in UFC history’ (Video) Posted: 15 Jun 2009 05:04 PM PDT |
| TUF 9 Finale: Proposed TJ Grant vs Rory Markham fight off because of injury Posted: 15 Jun 2009 04:17 PM PDT
TJ Grant has struck out once again in his bid to make his sophomore effort inside the Octagon at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 Finale at "The Pearl" at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 20. His rumored opponent, Rory Markham, sustained an injury during training and was forced withdraw from the welterweight bout with just five days until fight night. This latest setback comes on the heels of top 170-pound contender, Martin Kampmann, refusing to sign a bout agreement to face the Canadian grappler because a match against the up-and-comer Grant "didn't make sense" for him. It is uncertain at this time if a replacement can be found on such short notice; however, Grant’s camp is hopeful that a worthy challenger can be booked in time. Grant made his UFC debut with a split decision victory over PRIDE veteran Ryo Chonan on April 18 at UFC 97 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Fit Plus standout has won 14 of his 16 professional fights - with a staggering 12 of those 14 by submission. In addition to winning matches, he's been winning over audiences in Canada for quite some time and holds convincing victories over UFC veterans like Forrest Petz. TUF 9 Finale features a lightweight match between Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida, as well as a co main event that pits and Joe Stevenson against Nate Diaz in another fantastic 155-pound showdown. Naturally, the Spike TV special will also host the lightweight and welterweight finales for the ninth season of TUF, which is currently in progress. Coach Dan Henderson is leading a U.S. team against coach Michael Bisping and his British squad. For more on TUF 9 Finale check out our complete event archive right here. |
| UFC 102: ‘Couture vs Nogueira’ main event confirmed for August 29 Posted: 15 Jun 2009 01:36 PM PDT
The Ultimate Fighting Championship today confirmed the blockbuster main event between Randy Couture (16-9) and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1) for UFC 102 from The Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, August 29. The dream match-up between “The Natural” and “Minotauro” was one that many fans expected to be for the UFC Heavyweight Championship — until Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir played spoiler roles in the opening round of the mini heavyweight tournament created in late 2008 to crown an undisputed division champion. Now the MMA veterans will square off in a battle of legends to see which warrior still has the goods in the trimester of their respective careers. Also slated for the main card is perennial light heavyweight contender Keith Jardine who has been tapped to replace Forrest Griffin in a 205-pound slugfest against hard-hitting Brazilian import Thiago Silva, as well as a potential middleweight title contender eliminator match between Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt. Here is the current lineup and rumors for UFC 102:
Tickets for the event will go on sale to the general public this Saturday, June 20 at 10 a.m. PT. UFC 102 tickets can also 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. Here is the UFC 102 tickets sales schedule (all times are PT):
For more on UFC 102 stay dialed in to MMAmania.com and remember to check out our event archive right here. |
| FrankenStruve: Stefan Struve video features grisly gash to the head at UFC 99 Posted: 15 Jun 2009 12:32 PM PDT |
| Ray Mercer knocks Tim Sylvia out of Affliction ‘Trilogy’ against Paul Buentello Posted: 15 Jun 2009 12:28 PM PDT
It’s been a tough month for former UFC Heavyweight Champions. Just as Andrei Arlovski had his boxing debut postponed after being knocked out by Brett Rogers on June 6, fellow Zuffa refugee Tim Sylvia has been scratched from his August 1 Affliction bout against Paul Buentello courtesy of a Ray Mercer knockout last Saturday (June 13). Affliction Veep Tom Atencio (courtesy of MMA Fanhouse):
“The Maine-iac” stunned the Birmingham, Ala., crowd on Friday with a scale-busting weight of 310 pounds at the weigh-ins for his MMA-turned-boxing-turned-MMA fight against former pugilist powerhouse Ray Mercer. It only took 10 seconds for “Merciless” to flatten his corpulent counterpart the following night. Sylvia had been on the shelf since getting steamrolled by Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction "Banned" in July 2008. That's more than a year of inactivity, which along with his weight, could be have been a factor in Saturday’s fight.
The unsanctioned bout puts Sylvia on a three-fight losing skid. The former UFC headliner has now dropped four of his last five contests. He'll need all the help he can get to ensure that he breaks out of his slump sooner rather than later. It just won’t be against “The Headhunter.” Buentello was last seen using Kiril Sidelnikov's face as a human punching bag for almost three full rounds at Affliction 2: "Day of Reckoning" earlier this year. He went on to eventually score a late third round technical knockout over the Russian Sambo specialist, who later tested positive for having banned substances in his system after the match. A search for Sylvia’s replacement is expected to be underway shortly. Affliction 3: "Trilogy" will feature a main event between WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and top-ranked division player, Josh Barnett. Former Dream middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi is also expected to make his fighting debut on American shores. To check out the latest fight card and rumors for Affliction 3: "Trilogy" click here. |
| The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 Finale weigh-in event details and information for ‘Sanchez vs Guida’ Posted: 15 Jun 2009 12:00 PM PDT
The official weigh-in event for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 Finale is set to take place from “The Pearl” at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday, June 19. The first fighter is expected to tip the scale at 4 pm local time. Saturday’s event will feature a lightweight scrap between Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida, as well as a co main event that pits Joe Stevenson against Nate Diaz in another fantastic 155-pound showdown. Naturally, the Spike TV special will also host the lightweight and welterweight finales for the ninth season of TUF, which is currently in progress. Andre Winner and Ross Pearson are set to face off for 155-pound supremacy while welterweight Damarques Johnson waits for his opponent to be announced at the conclusion of TUF 9 on June 17. As usual, MMAmania.com will provide the latest coverage of Friday’s TUF 9 Finale weigh-in, as well as provide a detailed recap of the festivities as soon as they conclude. Here's the current line up:
For those in “Sin City” this weekend remember that the weigh-ins are FREE to attend and open to the public. Doors to the weigh-in will open at 3 pm local time. MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action on fight night (Saturday, June 20), which is slated to air at 9 pm ET on SpikeTV from “The Pearl” in Las Vegas. The latest quick updates of the live action will begin to flow earlier than that around 7 pm ET. It's going to be a good night of fights so don't miss it. And remember to check us out for all the pre, during and post-fight TUF 9 Finale coverage you can handle. For our complete TUF 9 Finale archive click here. |
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