Thursday, July 16, 2009

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

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

K-1 MAX 2009 Final 8: ‘Kid’ Yamamoto suffers brutal KO loss to Jae Hee Cheon (Video)

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 10:22 PM PDT

Justin Buchholz tapped to replace an injured Ronny Torres against Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 19

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 10:12 PM PDT

Justin Buchholz is in talks to face Jeremy Stephens in a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 19 from the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., after an undisclosed injury has forced Ronny Torres to withdraw from the upcoming event on September 16.

MMAmania.com was informed of the change earlier today — bout agreements were recently distributed but have yet to be signed.

Buchholz stands at 1-2 inside the Octagon. After dropping a first-round submission loss to Matt Wiman at UFC Fight Night 12 in his UFC debut, the Sacramento native made some noise in the division by choking out Corey Hill at UFC 86 "Jackson vs. Griffin" last July.

He failed to capitalize on that momentum however when the super-tough Terry Etim wrapped up a fight ending Brabo choke in the second round of their scrap at UFC 99 just over a month ago.

He’ll need a big win against Stephens if he expects to be considered for future events.

“Lil’ Heathen” stands at an even 4-4 in the UFC. He filled in for his mentor, Hermes Franca, when he was scratched from a fight against Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 17. The heavy-handed fighter out of Iowa went on to lose the fight via second round submission (armbar).

He followed that up with a tough decision loss to Brazilian jiu-jitsu stud Gleison Tibau at UFC Fight Night 18 back in April.

Despite his back-to-back losses, fans have still not forgotten his "Knockout of the Night" at UFC 91: "Couture vs. Lesnar" when he sent Rafael dos Anjos back to Brazil with a thundering uppercut that he threw from what appeared to be the center of the cage.

It was among the most devastating finishes of 2008.

Stephens has really stepped up his training in anticipation of this event, calling on Josh Neer and Diego Sanchez to help refine every aspect of his offense and defense.

It’s sure to pay off come fight night.

The main event of the evening will see TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz get a chance to break out of an 0-2 slump when he tangles with Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard. It is also expected to feature a lightweight rumble between Roger “El Matador” Huerta and Gray “The Bully” Maynard.

UFC Fight Night 19 will serve as the lead-in for the upcoming tenth season of TUF, which features Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and a solid collection of 15 other heavyweight fighters competing in a tournament-style format to earn one "six-figure contract."

For more on UFC Fight Night 19 remember to check out our event archive right here. Also be sure to check out the latest FN 19 card and rumors right here.

Dan Henderson no longer raving over Range Rover …

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 02:33 PM PDT

… like he was right here. It appears “Dangerous” ran into some trouble heading home from Las Vegas:

“Made it all the way from Vegas to Primm before it broke down–45 min. of driving heaven & 3 hrs of waiting for the tow truck. LOL.”

Booby prize be damned — it’s nothing a career-defining knockout over a coaching nemesis and an extra $100,000 for doing it on the promotion’s most-watched pay-per-view (PPV) ever can’t cure.

The good news is that he got it fixed just in time to walk the red carpet at the ESPY’s:


Life is good.

UFC Fan Expo ’super fights’ videos from Grapplers Quest 2009

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 02:14 PM PDT

Joe “Daddy” Stevenson vs. Bill “The Grill” Cooper:

Check out more competition after the jump.

Rumina Sato vs. Ulysses Gomez:

Jeff Glover vs. Wilson Reis:

MMA Quick Quote: Fabricio Werdum plans to submit Alistair Overeem (again) on Aug. 15

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 01:12 PM PDT

” … the fight starts standing. I'll train standing as on the ground, but I'll give more emphasis to the ground. I like to train and fight standing, and it hasn't that thing of taking the fight directly to the ground. It's difficult to take Overeem to the ground. In the other time that we fought, I couldn't give him any takedown, and he took me down five times, so I was forced to fight standing with him. The strategy is this, take to the ground as soon as possible and submit…. I know he's heavier and stronger, but there is one thing: the stronger and heavier, the guy can get tired fast. In our other fight, he gave me a heat in the first round and began to get tired in the second. I can use this strategy too, just wait for him to get tired, but if I have how to finalize before, I will.”

– Chute Boxe-trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Fabricio Werdum talks strategy with Tatame.com for his upcoming fight against Strikeforce World Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem at “Carano vs. Cyborg” from the HP Pavillion in San Jose, Calif., on Aug. 15. "Vai Cavalo" holds a second round submission win over the hulk from Holland when they tangled at PRIDE: "Total Elimination Absolute" in May 2006. Will lightning strike twice one month from today or has the “Demolition Man” now just too much to handle?

Dana White: EA Sports spurned UFC video game, now wants a piece of the THQ money pie

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 12:29 PM PDT

Props: Yahoo Sports

Quoteworthy:

"I went to EA Sports. Know what EA Sports said? 'It's not a sport. This isn't a sport. We would never get involved in something like this.' We come out with a video game and now they want to come out with a video game? (Expletive) you. All these people that want to cry and bitch, EA Sports didn't give a (expletive) about you and wouldn't even touch this thing with a 10-foot pole. We went out and made this whole thing happen. THQ basically put their entire business on the line. If this game didn't work, they were in big trouble. The great thing about this business is, the UFC brand, plus stars, equals success for everybody. So when we do a video game, you're a guy in the video game for (expletive) ever … and you get paid off of that forever. You think Leon Spinks is getting royalty checks somewhere? I just saw a thing on him; he's a janitor. That's what we're trying to not let happen to these guys.”

UFC President Dana White blasts video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA) for being a fair weather business partner. White alleges that EA wanted nothing to do with a UFC video game so he went to THQ, which put its business on the line to produce “UFC Undisputed 2009.” After a wildly successful launch, EA announced a mixed martial arts video game of its own — much to the chagrin of Dana White, who acknowledged that any UFC fighter under contract would be unemployed if they signed on to the still-in-development fighting game. EA vehemently denies banging the bandwagon and claims its MMA title has been in the planning stages for two years. So, who do we believe?

Josh Neer puts legal troubles behind him to focus on Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 101

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 11:40 AM PDT

… according to a statement released today to MMAmania.com by Mickey Dubberly of KO Dynasty, Neer’s manager:

“We are very pleased with the decision the judge made on Josh's hearing, and we can now finally put this matter behind us and move on. In no way will the Judge's decision keep Josh from fighting in UFC 101. Josh has been training very hard for this fight, and is looking forward to putting on a great fight for the UFC and the fans. Josh would like to thank the UFC, family, friends, fans, sponsors and his training partners for supporting him through this incident.”

“The Dentist” plead guilty to OWI and Eluding or Attempting to Elude a Police Vehicle last month in Polk County, Iowa, where he was sentenced to two years imprisonment on the first count and 5 years imprisonment on the second count. Neer was given a suspended sentence and will avoid jail time if he successfully completes the terms of his probation. He will also be permitted to compete in the UFC, effectively green-lighting his lightweight scrap with Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 101 on August 8. For the details surrounding Neer’s arrest click here.

Gina Carano and ‘Cyborg’ Santos storm NYC to promote August 15 Strikeforce title fight

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 10:26 AM PDT

Strikeforce held a press conference and fan meet and greet session yesterday (July 14) in the heart of New York City starring female fighting sensation Gina Carano (7-0) side-by-side with former Elite XC fighter Cristiane Santos (7-1) to promote their upcoming Strikeforce title fight on August 15.

“Conviction” and “Cyborg” will collide at Strikeforce: ‘Carano vs. Cyborg’ on Saturday, August 15, from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, in a five round tilt for the Strikeforce women’s championship.

The female American Gladiator has been on the sidelines ever since her thrashing of Kelly Kobald at 'Heat' back in October 2008. A victory over the dangerous Santos would undoubtedly cement her status as one of the world's top female fighters.

But Carano recognizes the challenge that lies ahead:

“I have the ultimate, utmost respect for Cyborg. This is the toughest fight of my life. [She] is very strong. That is why I have reached out to Randy Couture to support me. Randy is training me to get ready for the toughest fight of my career. He is my head trainer and he will be in my corner. I want to thank Strikeforce and Showtime. It took a lot of balls to put [on a main event between two women] .”

"Cyborg," the wife of former Pride FC fighter Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, burst onto the scene in May of 2008 with a dominating performance against Shayna Baszler in her debut under the Elite XC banner. Like her husband, she's a product of the Brazilian Chute Boxe Academy, a style that's evident as soon as she steps foot in the cage.

Her most recent fight was on the Strikeforce: 'Shamrock vs. Diaz' card last April when she received heavy criticism for missing weight for her fight against Japanese import Hitomi Akano. Santos brutalized "Girlfight Monster" for two rounds before stopping her with strikes in the final frame.

Like Carano, Santos isn’t taking this title fight lightly:

“I think the one who makes the fewer mistakes will win this fight. I am expecting a war. I have been training a lot since my last fight. I am ready and very excited. This is a great opportunity and this will be a very good fight for the fans.”

Both combatants left the press conference looking confident and ready to fight. They took the time to sign autographs and pose for pictures before and after their public workout in front of the entrance to Madison Square Garden.

How much attention yesterday’s MMA event brought to “The city that never fights” remains to be seen. While it certainly garnered it’s share of onlookers, most of the slack-jawed public reacted with “Oh, that’s the UFC stuff.”

Draw your own conclusions.

Check out more pics from the Strikeforce: “Carano vs. Cyborg” press conference below.

Gina Caran “Oh!”

‘Hot’borg (Yeah I said it)

The Strikeforce Women’s Championship. Up for grabs!

Cyborg ready to strut her stuff.

MMA’s new power couple?

For more on Strikeforce: “Carano vs. Cyborg” click here.

Fedor Emelianenko talks Affliction, UFC and a superfight with Brock Lesnar (Video)

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 08:11 AM PDT

UFC 104: Jorge Rivera vs Rob Kimmons in the works for Oct. 24

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 08:03 AM PDT

A middleweight bout between Octagon veteran Jorge Rivera (22-4) and grappling stud Rob Kimmons (22-4) is expected to take place at UFC 104 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Oct. 24, MMAmania.com has learned.

"El Conqistador" has fallen on hard times over the past year. After a first round submission loss to Martin Kampmann at UFC 85: "Bedlam" back in June 2008, he was blindsided with the sudden and tragic death of his 17-year-old daughter.

Rivera — a UFC veteran who was also a former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 — notched a big knockout win over Kendall Grove at UFC 80: "Rapid Fire" earlier in 2008. He's also got a technical knockout win over Edwin DeWees and a knockout loss to Terry Martin since his most recent return to the organization.

It's safe to say that Rivera is consistently inconsistent — he has been unable to string together consecutive wins in nine attempts with the UFC. The good news for him is that he was able to get back into the win column against Nissen Osterneck at Fight Night 18 last April.

Kimmons was successful in his debut for the promotion, submitting Rob Yundt with a guillotine choke at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 Finale back in June. After falling to wrestling ace Dan Miller at Fight Night 15, he quickly rebounded with a “Submission of the Night” win over Joe Vedepo at Fight Night 18.

“The Rosedal Reaper” has been all over the place throughout his five-year professional career, competing for organizations such as International Fighting Organization (IFO), American Bushido, Titan Fighting Championships (TFC) and Victory Fighting Championships (VFC), among others.

The Kansas City-bred fighter has now won five of his last six bouts — all by first round submission.

UFC 104 will feature a main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida and challenger Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez have also been rumored to meet to determine the UFC number one heavyweight contender.

For all the latest news on UFC 104 check out our complete archive right here.
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