Friday, July 24, 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

MMA Quick Quote: Miguel Torres witchcraft leads to Mark Buehrle perfect game for ChiSox

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 05:32 PM PDT

“I left a cup of lions blood and some cobra venom for him to throw a no-hitter. That’s how I roll. I have that effect on people…. “[The ceremonial first pitch] went good. I’d call it a strike, but the guy didn’t catch the ball, man. It made it to the plate. I did put a little bit of cut on it — I didn’t plan that, it just happened. I only wanted to make it to the plate, and I made it to the plate. Now it’s time to go beat people up at the gym.”

– WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres talks to the Northwest Indiana Times about the voodoo effect he had on the mound when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch today for the Chicago White Sox. Pitcher Mark Buele went on to register just the second perfect game in team history and only the eighteenth in Major League Baseball (MLB) history, defeating the visiting Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 5-0. In addition to Torres’ supernatural heroics, outfielder Dewayne Wise helped Buehrle’s cause with a surreal fence-leaping grab to steal a Gabe Kapler homerun and preserve the perfect game. Outside the stadium, Torres will look to ruin the perfect run of number one 135-pound title challenger Brian Bowles (7-0) and defend his title once again in the WEC 42 main event on Aug. 9.

Brandon Vera on UFC 102 fight against Krzysztof Soszynski on short notice (Video)

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 03:01 PM PDT

Jorge Santiago is still training to fight Vitor Belfort at Affliction …

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 02:14 PM PDT

… even though the camp for “The Phenom” thinks a fight against Fedor Emelianenko is a done deal and has apparently already switched gears. Santiago’s trainer at American Top Team, Marcus Conan Silveira, explains via Tatame.com:

"I know exactly what you know, that Josh (Barnett) tested positive, but the situation is the same: Jorge (Santiago) will fight Vitor Belfort. He has growth a lot, he's one of the best fighters we have at American Top Team. He's a complete fighter and I think it describes who he is and how he is now.”

The longer this takes the messier it seems to get. Of course, playing matchmaker under these types of conditions — with literally days until fight night — is an incredibly daunting task. However, the more moving parts, the harder the situation becomes. Why change two fights when you can just find a replacement for Josh Barnett to fight Fedor Emelianenko? Belfort is a big middleweight who has to cut a significant amount of weight to make 185. If this goes in a different direction, how does this distraction affect that process? It’s not like we’re talking just a little water weight — Belfort would probably come in well over 200 pounds to fight Emelianenko. It’s a fine line. And how does Santiago prepare for a new opponent who is more than likely nowhere near the caliber of Belfort — is it worth possibly derailing the great progress he has made in the last two years? Emelianenko is in the same boat. There is no real upside to accepting a fight against Belfort because he is explosive, hits hard and is overall a very dangerous opponent. He’s also a middleweight. If Brett Rogers can’t go, Jeff Monson stepping in sounds better by the second. Note that as of 3:24 p.m. ET the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has still not been approached by Affliction about a replacement for Barnett.

Josh Barnett fallout, DREAM 10 recap and much more on ESPNs ‘MMA Live’ (Video)

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 12:38 PM PDT

Ryo Chonan next fight against Jutaro Nakao at DEEP: ‘43rd Impact’ on Aug. 23

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 12:30 PM PDT

DEEP, which recently announced the acquisition of Pride FC and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran Ryo Chonan (15-10), has revealed that “The Piranha” will take on Jutaro Nakao (22-14-4) at DEEP: “43rd Impact” from the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on Aug. 23.

Chonan most recently competed under the UFC banner, amassing a disappointing record (1-3) with the promotion. His last outing was split decision loss to Canadian grappler TJ Grant (14-3) at UFC 97: "Redemption" this past April.

It marked the second consecutive loss for Chonan, which would lead to him getting handed his walking papers and released from his contract.

The good news is that it didn’t take long for Chonan to return home — he has had a solid relationship with the organization throughout his career, hosting 12 of his previous professional bouts. And he once held the promotion’s middleweight title.

In fact, Chonan has stated it's now his goal to reclaim DEEP gold. First up, however, he'll have to get past crafty veteran Jutaro Nakao.

Nakao has spent most of his career toiling on the small circuits in his home country of Japan. However, he has fought for bigger organizations such as UFC and also Pride FC with varied success. He holds a handful of victories over a few household names, including current lightweight standout Shinya Aoki, which was a while back and very early into Aoki's career.

DEEP: “43rd Impact” will also feature be a bantamweight title clash between present champion and leg-lock specialist Masakazu Imanari (16-7-1) and Tomohiko Hori (10-4-3). And in other championship action will be defending DEEP featherweight champion Dokonjonosuke Mishima (19-6-2) facing off against Takafumi Otsuka (8-4-1).

Georges St. Pierre: Winning would mean everything against Anderson Silva

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 12:25 PM PDT

Georges St Pierre

Props: TSN.com

Quoteworthy:

“If I fight Anderson Silva one day, if this fight happens, I’m going to take an extra month to make sure that my weight is at 200 pounds minimum. I want to get bigger and I’m going to take some extra time to do that because if I do it I want to do it well. And if I do it I want to win … there is only one thing on my mind. I’m not going to do it just to try. If I do it it’s to win. It depends on the timing — right now is not good timing for me, but maybe one day it will be. “

Georges St. Pierre talks about needing time to bulk up and prepare for a possible clash with Anderson Silva in the future. The potential clash of champions, and perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, has picked up steam since “Rush” steamrolled Thiago Alves for five rounds at UFC 100. He’ll likely face the winner of Mike Swick-Martin Kampann at UFC 103 at a later date. And if he can pull off another dominating win he will have essentially defeated every top welterweight on the promotion’s roster, leading to a potential move up in weight to test himself against the best at 185 pounds. It’s closer than we may think — early 2010 perhaps?

Michael Bisping vs Wanderlei Silva UFC 105 main event possible for Nov. 14 (Updated)

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 10:07 AM PDT

Ask and you shall receive …

Michael Bisping demanded to face a “top fighter” after his devastating knockout loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 100 on July 11. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva was apparently listening and willing to satisfy that request.

Big time.

Wanderlei Silva is currently the front-runner on a short list of potential candidates to face Bisping in the main event at UFC 105 from the Manchester Evening News (MEN) Arena in Manchester, England, on Nov. 14, MMAmania.com has confirmed after a SunSport article about the match up appeared just yesterday.

Talk about jumping right back on the horse.

However, according to Silva’s manager via Fighter’s Only Magazine, Silva would prefer to wait until February 2010 before returning to action.

Here’s a snip:

“The rumors about Wanderlei fighting Michael Bisping at UFC 105 in Manchester or at any point are simply that, rumors. For some publication to say they have been given an exclusive statement on this from Team Wand is not truthful. This fight has not been discussed or offered to us by the UFC. Wand’s preference is to fight in February. He wants to take time off to heal his body and mind, and with his new gym in Las Vegas, he has business affairs and a growing team to attend to.”

Whether or not the middleweight contest comes to fruition now appears to be about timing, and of course, money.

Even though Silva has lost five of his last six fights, he’s an extremely aggressive and dangerous fighter who is capable of ending things early. In fact, “The Axe Murderer” has a technical knockout percentage of more than 70 in his 43 professional mixed martial arts bouts.

He’ll likely look to up that “Count” against a potential bout against Bisping … especially in front of a potentially hostile British crowd.

UFC 105 will be the first show held at the MEN Arena since UFC 70: "Nations Collide," which featured one of the sport's biggest upsets when Gabriel Gonzaga defeated Mirko Filipovic via crushing head kick.

It appears that the promotion is looking to ensure that United Kingdom fans are treated to even more fireworks, while stateside fans get to enjoy the show for free via tape-delay on Spike TV.

Whether it’s Silva or some other “big name” opponent for the local product, who is looking to get back in the 185-pound title picture sooner rather than later.

Hello, Mr. Atencio? I have Jeff Monson on line two…

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 09:36 AM PDT

“I'm the guy to beat Fedor. He's a great fighter. It's a perfect match-up. He's the guy I'm destined to fight. I want to be the guy to beat him. I'd definitely love to be carried off afterward…after I submit him. My goal is to be the best in the world, even if it's for one fight.”

– Cocky and stocky submission specialist Jeff Monson tells Five Ounces of Pain that he’s available for work on August 1 should the promotion happen to need a last-minute replacement for Josh Barnett against Fedor Emelianenko. “The Snowman” is notorious for fighting at will and wouldn’t mind a little Soviet-flavored tune-up before his titanic tilt with Pedro Rizzo at Biletti Combat on September 12. Does the self-described anarchist have the grappling goods to topple the Russian Rancor? More importantly, would anyone pay to see it?

CSAC insists Barnett test was ‘random,’ confident with integrity of result

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 08:19 AM PDT

“It was just a random selection … and in some cases if there’s prior history, that is also a flag … it allows us that opportunity to test that individual and require a clean test prior to renewal of a license … The inspector that observed this particular test is one of our drug testing experts in terms of the correction procedure, and works on many events of this nature, and oversees a lot of the drug testing that’s performed by our staff. In this particular case, this was a hands-on test that he performed himself … And in terms of the lab itself, we have been using the same lab that tests the NFL and the International Olympic Games, as recently as the last Games, they tested every sample ever took there. They test the NCAA for all the sports, all minor league baseball. It’s a very, very tough lab to dispute - the best of them all. So it was almost a trial, so to speak, to see what the process was going to be like moving forward so we can learn from this. And it just so happens that the first one we’ve ever done here in California produced a result. First one ever. I mean, right out of the gate.”

California State Athletic Commission’s assistant executive officer, Bill Douglas, talks to MMA Fanhouse in wake of the pre-fight drug test that returned a positive result for Affliction headliner Josh Barnett — the second of his career. “The Babyface Assassin” has been denied a license to compete at “Trilogy” on August 1 against Fedor Emelianenko and is expected to be replaced by Vitor Belfort in the main event. Barnett previously stated that his drug test was not random and that he was planning an appeal pending the results of his second sample. No matter what the outcome, Barnett will have an uphill battle trying to market himself to a stateside promotion going forward.

Josh Barnett ‘had no reason to believe there would be any issues’ with pre-fight drug test

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 06:42 AM PDT

Props: MySpace.com

Quoteworthy:

“Many of you are wondering what’s happening. What I can say is that when applying for my license, the CSAC asked for me to submit a urine sample for testing prior to granting my license as they do with everyone, I believe. It was not a random test. I had no reason to believe there would be any issues and went in to submit my sample at the earliest possible opportunity on June 25th. I never once thought there would be a problem. My representatives and I are working to gather as much info as possible and handle this situation as best as we can. I am embarrassed and want for nothing more than to resolve this issue and receive a license from the State of California as I have done many times already and for other states as well. I am very thankful for all the great family, friends and fans that still support me.”

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett responds after the California State Athletic Commission denied him a license to fight Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction 3 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Aug. 1, after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a pre-fight drug test. While Affliction officials scramble to find his replacement for “Trilogy,” Barnett plans to file an appeal and is awaiting the results of his second sample, currently being tested to either uphold or call into question the original results. “The Babyface Assassin” certainly does not have the court of public opinion on his side after testing positive for anabolic steroids and getting stripped of the UFC heavyweight title back in 2002. But conversely, the CSAC doesn’t have the greatest reputation either. It’s a lose-lose situation for everyone involved.
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