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- UFC 101 bonuses and awards for ‘Declaration’ PPV fights
- UFC 101 recap and post-fight discussion for ‘Declaration’ in Philadelphia
- LIVE UFC 101 results and coverage tonight (Aug. 8)!
- UFC 101 results from the prelim card for ‘Declaration’
- WEC 42 weigh in results for ‘Torres vs Bowles’
- UFC 101 videos blog with Dana White (Episodes one and two)
- UFC 101 pre-fight party today at the AT&T Pavilion in Philadelphia
- The best of PRIDE ‘Unleashed’ on Spike TV this January
- Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos video a ‘Hurricane of Aggression’
- Follow MMAmania on Twitter!
| UFC 101 bonuses and awards for ‘Declaration’ PPV fights Posted: 08 Aug 2009 10:51 PM PDT
UFC 101: "Declaration" from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa., has officially wrapped, which means that it's time for those select fighters who went above and beyond in their respective fights to get a little extra grease for their efforts. To the tune of $60,000 each. The promotion dished out its standard post-fight monetary bonuses to four out of the 22 fighters on the card. And it may come as a shock whose wallets are leaving "The City of Brotherly Love" a little heavier. In addition to their base salaries, the UFC awarded middleweight champion Anderson Silva — who made the 20-pound jump to light heavyweight — and former 205-pound champion, Forrest Griffin, with “Fight of the Night.” Rather bizarre, considering how bizarrely it ended, and how UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn and number one contender, Kenny Florian, fought tough for four rounds. The good new is Penn took home “Submission of the Night” for choking out Florian in the main event of the evening. It was the first-ever such award for “The Prodigy” in his tenure with the promotion. Here are the special fight bonuses for UFC 101:
Again, each fighter received $60,000 extra for their performances in addition to their respective base salaries, which we will pass along as soon as possible. For complete UFC 101 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here. |
| UFC 101 recap and post-fight discussion for ‘Declaration’ in Philadelphia Posted: 08 Aug 2009 10:00 PM PDT
The UFC's first venture into the "City of Brotherly Love" was a successful one, with Philly fight fans coming together at the Wachovia Center to watch the highlights of UFC 101: "Declaration" — namely the lightweight title fight between champion B.J. Penn and number one contender Kenny Florian, and the light heavyweight pairing of Forrest Griffin and middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who moved up in weight for the second time in his UFC career. The main event title fight between Penn and Florian saw "KenFlo" looking to finally earn that victory in a major fight — something he was unable to do in The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 1 Finale against Diego Sanchez and again a year and a half later against Sean Sherk at UFC 64 for the vacant lightweight strap. Penn looked to bounce back from his welterweight loss to division kingpin Georges St. Pierre and came in with something to prove to the lightweight division players. Showing the balance that he is known for, Penn refused to give Florian a takedown in the entire fight and largely controlled each round. With about 12 seconds left in the opening frame, Penn rocked Florian, but time expired before he could finish the fight. The second round saw Florian continue to press Penn up against the cage, but again, the Hawaiian lightweight refused to go down, demonstrating why he is one of the hardest fighters to earn a takedown against. With a minute remaining in the round, Penn landed a series of uppercuts that had to have scored well with the judges. Florian again pressed the action against the cage in the third round, but aside from an elbow or two, caused little damage to the champion. With 30 seconds remaining in the third, Penn transitioned out and landed several clean strikes that seemed to sum up the fight well: Penn is the better fighter at avoiding damage, and when his opponent is least expecting it, he turns the tables on you. Despite being criticized for gassing early, between the third and fourth rounds, Penn stood in his corner, breathing calmly through his nose. He looked like a true champion in the moment. A minute 15 into the fourth round, Penn earned a takedown of his own. Finally the Philly fans could see two well-versed jiu-jitsu fighters at their best. Penn transitioned to full mount and eventually took Florian's back, securing a rear naked choke with 1:06 remaining in the fourth round. It was a dominant performance against arguably one of the best lightweight fighters in the world. And Penn leaves Philly a true champion.
The co-main event featured UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva — one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world — taking on the former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. And what a strange fight it was. The two legends in the sport circled one another for the first minute, before Silva seemed to flip a switch and show that he had absolutely nothing to fear from his much larger opponent. After dodging several punches from Griffin, Silva stood still and called TUF Season 1 light heavyweight winner in to stand and trade with him. Perhaps the biggest mistake Griffin could have made was to oblige, which he did. Silva was simply much too fast for his opponent and reacted as if he knew what Griffin was about to throw seconds before even he did. After rocking Griffin with a right hook, Silva knocked down his opponent, who quickly got back to his feet with a smile on his face. But you could tell it hurt him … badly. Seconds later it was much of the same, but from a straight left from the middleweight champion. Silva seemed to know the end was very near. So too did Griffin. But yet, almost knowing he was making a mistake but too frustrated to do anything differently, Griffin came at Silva guns blazing — the same way Chris Leben did in Silva's UFC debut, right before getting knocked out. It was a classic blunder. Griffin threw a right and a left, running straight at Silva, who calmly dodged the shots and then landed a … bitch slap? It certainly didn't look like a power punch, but it knocked Griffin to the ground, who sprawled out lazily, as if he was in a sparring session with a training partner. As Silva stepped in to finish it, Griffin waived him off, which prompted the referee to step end and call the fight. Equally as strange was the former light heavyweight champion's exit. Almost immediately after the fight was stopped, Griffin jumped to his feet and headed quickly for the exit of the Octagon. When a UFC official tried to stop him, he was almost shoved to the ground by Griffin, who acted as if he wanted to be as far from the crowd as possible, seemingly from embarrassment. I hate to say it about such a revered fighter, but it certainly seemed that way. Very, very bizarre ending. Regardless, you can't take anything away from Silva. The man seemed virtually invincible — it's gotta be frustrating as hell to fight him. Let the pound-for-pound discussions begin! Silva is right back on top. UFC 101 marked the long-awaited return of TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah, who has been on the shelf from multiple injuries and hasn't fought since June 2008. Perhaps it was cage rust — or perhaps referee Dan Miragliotta, who has a history of controversial early stoppages, struck again. Either way, undefeated up-and-comer Johny Hendricks took advantage of the opportunity to fight a bigger name. Just 25 seconds into the fight, the two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion landed an overhand left that set up a series of uppercuts that dropped Sadollah. As Hendricks began to rain down punches, Miragliotta stepped in just as it appeared Sadollah had started to recover and was attempting to get back to his feet. The crowd booed the early stoppage to the point that Hendricks' post-fight interview with Joe Rogan could hardly be heard. While the stoppage might have been early, it shouldn't take anything away from the former Oklahoma State University wrestler and 4-time All American. Now 6-0, Hendricks will certainly look to ride this momentum into the UFC's stacked welterweight division. Speaking of early stoppages, lightweights Shane Nelson and Aaron Riley had their chance at a rematch from their first meeting at UFC 96: "Jackson vs. Jardine" back in March, which ended in controversy just 44 seconds into the first frame. In fact, their first fight — which Nelson won via TKO — has been called one of the worst stoppages in mixed martial arts history, which prompted UFC president Dana White to call for an immediate rematch. While the rematch was slated for the preliminary portion of the UFC 101, thanks to time restrictions, the fight was bumped to the main card. Unfortunately, it was an uneventful affair that saw Riley secure the victory via unanimous decision (30-27 on all three judges' scorecards) thanks to some head kicks and better wrestling. Ironically, most of the crowd's cheers during the fight came in the third round when another fight — this one in the stands — broke out involving multiple people, at least one of which was a woman. All in a day's work in the City of Brotherly Love. In what is expected to be his last fight at middleweight before dropping to the 170 pound division, Ricardo Almeida took on Hawaiian fighter and TUF 3 winner Kendall Grove. A third degree blackbelt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Almeida pressed Grove up against the cage early, looking to take the fight to the ground as quickly as possible. Earning two takedowns and a solid overhand right in the first round, Almeida continued pouring on the assault throughout the second round. But "Big Dog's" eagerness nearly got the best of him in the second, when Grove came close to finishing the fight with a deep armbar. Later in the round, Grove landed a solid uppercut, but Almeida pushed through. Despite showing some wear and tear in the third round — no doubt from being outsized by the 6'6" Grove — Almeida continued to earn takedowns. The "Big Dog" looked to have the bigger heart than "Da Spyda", avoiding most of the Muay Thai striker's knees to earn the unanimous decision (30-27 on all three judges' scorecards) and end Grove's two-fight win streak. The UFC 101 main card got underway with a lightweight scrap between Kurt Pellegrino and Josh Neer. Pellegrino used his wrestling to secure the early takedown and stay on top of Neer for the entire opening frame. But "The Dentist" stayed busy from the bottom. Mid-way through the round, Neer secured an armbar, but "Batman" picked up his opponent and dropped him right back down on his head for what was probably the highlight of the opening frame. The second and third rounds were much of the same, with Pellegrino securing top position and raining down strikes, and Neer throwing up submission attempts from the bottom. With a minute left in the second, "Batman" earned mount, which he transitioned into taking Neer's back, but wasn't able to finish. As the fight came to a close, a frustrated Neer foresaw the inevitable — that his opponent simply outworked him by maintaining dominant position throughout the fight. With all three judges scoring the bout 30-27 in favor of "Batman," Pellegrino picks up his third win in a row and is now 6-3 in the UFC. While not every fight on the card was the most exciting fight in MMA history, Philly fans seemed to lap it up. Hopefully this marks the first in a long line of UFC events for the fight-loving town. |
| LIVE UFC 101 results and coverage tonight (Aug. 8)! Posted: 08 Aug 2009 08:39 AM PDT
Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of UFC 101: "Declaration." If you're going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania.com readers be sure to do it on the main UFC 101 results post and not this one. Enjoy the show, Maniacs! |
| UFC 101 results from the prelim card for ‘Declaration’ Posted: 08 Aug 2009 08:04 AM PDT
UFC 101: "Declaration" in Philadelphia is off and running, and by the looks of the crowd, you'd think we were already live on pay per view (PPV). I've never seen a venue this packed this early. Not even in Montreal or Columbus. Philly fans love fights! Let's get to it. Jesse Lennox and Danillo Villefort are first to take to the Octagon. After feeling each other out for a bit, Lennox shoots for a takedown and gets a knee to the crotch instead, but it doesn't seem to faze him. Later in the first, Villefort looks to have the superior clench game, and Lennox also shows disinterest in engaging his opponent on the ground. The biggest hit landed in the first was a spinning body kick that Villefort lands squarely in Lennox's abdomen. It probably won him the round. We go into the second, and Lennox pushes the pace. He lands a solid uppercut early on, which seems to rock Villefort, who appears to be much more tired than Lennox. Around the three minute mark, Lennox lands a well-timed superman punch, which drops his opponent to the canvas. Lennox looks to finish, but Villefort recovers surprisingly well. We're in the third, and Lennox looks to be the fresher fighter. Villefort continues to call Lennox in to brawl, but then runs a bit from him when things don't go his way. At 2:30 of the round, Lennox takes him down, when Villefort plays his smartest card yet by locking his opponent tightly into his guard, locking his feet. He eventually rolls into an armbar, and it looks to be over. But somehow, Lennox escapes. When they get back to their feet, Villefort motions to the ref about a cut above his eye that is pouring blood down his face. The ref calls timeout, and the doctor quickly calls the fight. Game over at 3:37 of the third round. Lennox wins via TKO due to doctor stoppage. Next up, it's a battle of Xtreme Couture lightweights between George Sotiropoulos and George Roop.
Sotiropoulos takes the other George down and flattens him out, pushing his head to the canvas with his forearm. Roop rolls out of it after about a minute. They stand and exchange strikes with Sotiropoulos coming out on top, picking his opponent apart. Back on the ground with Sotiropoulos in side control. He steps over for a kimura, but fakes it, taking Roop's back instead, but he's too high. He goes for an armbar, but Roop slips out the back door. The first round ends with Roop on top, but he certainly loses the round. We head into the second, and Sotiropoulos is sporting a shiner. Roop lands some solid blows, before they both crash to the canvas with the Aussie landing on top in full mount. Roop bucks him, but Sotiropoulos is determined. He earns his way back to side control, grabs hold of Roop's arm, steps over and finishes his opponent with a kimura. Solid jits. Next up is a pair of undefeated, up-and-coming welterweights in Matt Riddle (2-0) and Dan Cramer (1-0). Riddle comes out to MJ's "Beat It" and the crowd goes wild. He's got a wide grin plastered across his mug. He's enjoying himself as always. The two waste no time in getting to work, exchanging blows until Riddle shoots in for an unsuccessful takedown. After a struggle, Cramer gains control of Riddle's back in the standing position, but Riddle muscles his way out of it. After another exchange, Riddle takes down his opponent but lands in a tight arm-in guillotine. It looks to be over, and if it's not, Cramer's arm is going to be spent because he's putting everything he has into this. It's not enough, Riddle muscles his way out and ends up taking Cramer's back. Cramer gets back to his feet, and the round comes to a close. We head to the second round with Riddle taking down his opponent early and staying there for most of the round. Eventually he takes Cramer's back and lands several short strikes. He attempts a choke, but he's got nothing. Round comes to a close. Just seconds into the third, Cramer lands a shot that drops Riddle straight to the canvas, but he might have had some help from a slippery canvas. Cramer lands in Riddle's guard, who quickly recovers and goes for an armbar. He ditches and stands up instead, taking his opponent right back down to the mat and landing in Cramer's half-guard. Riddle's elbows from the top open up a cut on Cramer's left eye. Riddle works for mount and tries to soften up Cramer by raining down fists. He continues his assault, but Cramer plays decent defense and by the end of the round they've returned to their feet, throwing punches until the round ends. Riddle's got this one, 29-27, 30-26, 30-27. It was a solid fight from the two former Team Rampage teammates of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 7. We head to a fight between the former number one contender in the middleweight division, Thales Leites, who is looking to put his oft-criticized title fight loss to Anderson Silva as far behind him as is humanly possible. His opponent: the Italian slugger and former light heavyweight, Alessio Sakara, who comes in a sizeable underdog. Sakara is sporting a scratchy-looking beard and resembles a painted Andre Arlovski with his many tattoos. The two circle one another with "Legionarius" keeping his right hand fully cocked for the heavy bomb, but his left is down by his knees. Can't see him blocking too many shots that way. Leites shoots, but comes up short. Sakara lands a combination. The two circle around for much of the round, with the crowd booing loudly. Leites tries to push the pace, but his takedown attempts are pretty weak. For his part, Sakara spends sizeable energy backing up for most of the round. We head to the second. Leites continues to push the pace, landing a good shot before taking down his opponent 30 seconds into the round. The jitz ace takes "Legionarius'" back, but the crafty Italian spins out, and we're back on the feet. After an exchange, Leites ducks an elbow and takes down Sakara, eventually gaining his back. Again Sakara escapes. Leites is starting to look tired. Sakara takes him down, but nothing comes from it. Back on the feet, some good exchanges before Leites takes him down and mounts his opponent. A small cut has opened up near the corner of Sakara's left eye. Leites tries to rain down punches, but Sakara continues to show terrific defense despite being mounted. Round comes to a close and both fighters show their respect for one another. As decent a round as the second was, the first half of the third is back to the uneventful circling we saw in the opening frame. Other than the cut on Sakara's eye, there's no noticeable damage to either fighter. With a minute 30 remaining, the ref calls a timeout and tells the two fighters to get to work. They both agree. Leites gets the takedown, but again Sakara escapes and stands over his opponent, refusing to engage on the ground. Probably a smart decision. The two end the round circling with only a few strikes. The crowd let's them hear their lack of appreciation for the effort. I'm thinking Leites has got this, but as we head to the judges' scorecards, Bruce Buffer announces the results: 29-28 Sakara, 30-27 Leites, 29-28 Sakara! Holy cow, I'm surprised. Obviously so is one of the judges who scored it 30-27 for Leites. We head to the third of four welterweight bouts between Tamdan McCrory and John Howard. It's a fast-paced opening frame that makes the last fight look that much slower. McCrory goes for a guillotine early and often, pulling guard several times throughout the round unsuccessfully. The pace slows by the end of the round, which bleeds into the second. Both guys are tied now and spend much of the second round trading positions on the ground. "Doomsday" nearly has a guillotine that might have been set up by a brabo choke, but it was hard to see. The round ends with Howard going for some kind of crazy scissor leg lock ala Ryo Chonan. McCrory escapes and leaps over his opponent, but the round ends. We hit the third round. "Doomsday" gets a takedown and lands in McCrory's guard. Howard stands with McCrory still wrapped around him, then slams his opponent to the canvas, bringing his weight down on top of the "Barn Cat." Back on the feet, McCrory hip-tosses "Doom," and then later, Howard returns the favor with a slam of his own. We go back and forth for two minutes, but "Doomsday" is largely controlling it from the top with McCrory trying several submission attempts. With a minute to go, Howard is in side control, and then north-south, before McCrory reverses him and lands on top in Howard's full guard. We end the fight back on the feet. Difficult to call. Buffer calls out the split decision: 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 for John "Doomsday" Howard. The crowd loves it. Howard is very respectful toward his opponent in the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, before ending it: "UFC … here comes the Doom!" With just 20 minutes to go before the start of the PPV broadcast, the UFC has run out of time, and so has Aaron Riley and Shane Nelson, the final preliminary fight. It looks like it will be pushed back toward the end of the night. That's a wrap for me. Enjoy the rest of the fights! |
| WEC 42 weigh in results for ‘Torres vs Bowles’ Posted: 08 Aug 2009 08:03 AM PDT
The weigh ins for tomorrow night’s (Aug. 9) WEC 42: “Torres vs. Bowles” event are now in the books from “Body English” at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nineteen of the 20 fighters on the card stepped up to the scales and hit their respective marks without incident, including main event bantamweight title fight participants Miguel “Angel” Torres and Brian Bowles. Under card fighter Marcus Hicks failed to make the 156-pound division limit for his lightweight fight with Shane Roller. “The Wrecking Ball” eventually finished his day at a mark of 159 pounds. Roller agreed to accept the fight at the catchweight, and the two called it a day. Hicks will have to forfeit 15 percent of his purse to his opponent for the mishap. Check out the full results for the WEC 42 weigh ins below:
Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights. Check in early and often for all your WEC 42 coverage, Maniacs! |
| UFC 101 videos blog with Dana White (Episodes one and two) Posted: 08 Aug 2009 08:02 AM PDT Check out episode two after the jump … where Tito Ortiz and Dana kiss. On the lips. Seriously.
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| UFC 101 pre-fight party today at the AT&T Pavilion in Philadelphia Posted: 08 Aug 2009 08:01 AM PDT
Here are the details for all the Maniacs in the “City of Brotherly Love” today: … you’re invited attend the Pre-Fight Party at the AT&T Pavilion, the world’s largest arena bar featuring Chickie’s and Pete’s and the Bud Light Zone!
Remember: MMAmania.com will provide LIVE updates with blow-by-blow, round-by-round commentary of the main card action TONIGHT (Aug. 8 ), beginning around 8 p.m. ET. |
| The best of PRIDE ‘Unleashed’ on Spike TV this January Posted: 08 Aug 2009 07:44 AM PDT
So long, grainy YouTube footage. In news that's sure to excite both PRIDE fanboys and MMA enthusiasts alike, PRIDE FC will make its return to television this January on Spike TV featuring a “Best of” format that will highlight some of the greatest moments in the now-defunct promotion. UFC President Dana White made the announcement on Aug. 7 at the UFC 101 Q&A session. Zuffa — the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship — purchased the Japanese mixed martial arts promotion (and its biggest rival) in 2007. With no television deal and most of its top fighters signing UFC contracts, the entity known as PRIDE became no more. Now fans will have an opportunity to relive the glory days in early 2010 — but don’t expect to see any fights featuring famed heavyweight and recent Strikeforce acquisition Fedor ‘The Last Emperor’ Emelianenko. From White:
Some of those stars include Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira, Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic, Wanderlei ‘The Axe Murderer’ Silva and even Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva — who tapped out to Ryo Chonan at ‘Shockwave 2004′ in one of the craziest submissions you’ll ever see. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more details on the upcoming “Best of PRIDE” show as they become available. And if you can’t wait until January, you can always pick up one of our PRIDE DVD’s over in our DVD Store by clicking here. |
| Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos video a ‘Hurricane of Aggression’ Posted: 08 Aug 2009 07:43 AM PDT She’s going to make Gina Carano cry on Aug. 15: |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2009 07:20 AM PDT
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