Thursday, October 15, 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

UFC 104 Cain Velasquez video blog for Ben Rothwell fight (Episode two)

Posted: 15 Oct 2009 04:29 AM PDT

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10: Episode 5 recap and discussion

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 05:40 PM PDT

tuf10_rashad

Episode five of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 10 gets underway and Coach Evans is celebrating his 4-0 start to the competition. He does the right thing and credits his fighters and thinks he’s gotten this far because he has better coaching than Team Rampage.

That’s not saying much. Rampage is so bad even maligned TUF 3 coach Ken Shamrock is watching this season and saying “Damn that guy’s a bad coach.”

Matt Mitrione, last week’s songbird, starts looking for a cortisone shot to help with a shoulder he tweaked in practice. Rashad is not trying to hear about any shots and tells him to get a rubdown and some ice.

Marcus Jones storms into the Team Evans locker room and asks Rashad why he hasn’t been picked to fight yet. Rashad tells him to be patient and that when he picks him next, he’ll get his chance to lose just like everyone else on Team Rampage.

Speaking of Team Jackson, the BA boys start training in the Octagon and work on their grappling. Rampage continues to shit all over Zak Jensen, who aside from being picked last, has done nothing to indicate he has any business being inside the cage. Team mate Scott Junk is far from impressed.

Back at the house, Wes Sims unknowingly steps in a puddle of Zak Jensen’s albino tadpoles — or so he accuses — and proceeds to lay the ribbing on the sensitive wrestler rather thick.

Matt Mitrione gets to the gym and has Coach Evans tie him up in plastic wrap like a supermarket pallet stacked too high. He also claims to be ready to fight on a moment’s notice but Rashad thinks he’s a tough-talking phony.

Team Jackson gets to the gym and Zak Jensen blackouts while rolling with Wes Sims. Rampage thinks it’s funny that he went to sleep so easily and understands if he’s completely embarrassed.

Rampage taking the “tough love” approach it would seem.

Matt Mitrione gives his shoulder the rest it needs by shooting hoops in the swimming pool. The gang at the house is calling bullshit and thinks he’s trying to sit out while the tougher fighters eliminate each other.

Brendan Schaub thinks “Meathead” should fight so they can just put the shoulder drama behind them.

It’s time for the fight announcement and Coach Evans picks his own Justin Wren to face Wes Sims. Rashad recognizes the experience factor of Sims but thinks he’s half the fighter Wren is.

Marcus Jones blows a gasket because he thought “Sugar” would be sweet enough to pick “Big Baby” for the next fight but alas, it was not to be.

Wren gets the requisite pre-fight biography and we learn he trains out of Travis Lutter’s gym and he’s only 22-years-old. He respects Sims’ accomplishments but also thinks the big man hasn’t evolved to keep up with today’s fighters.

Sims, who trains with the boys over at Hammer House, also gets his share of camera time and whoot! whoot! — Kimbo Slice is all aboard the Sims train in this fight. Slice also predicts he will fight again before the season is over.

During the commercial break we get a trailer for a movie that is based on a mysterious box: Push the button and you get one million dollars — however someone you don’t know will die as a result.

Make it someone from the telemarketing company that keeps calling me and I’ll push it for free.

It’s time for the weigh-ins. Wren and his purple panties come in at 247.5. A thong-sporting Sims registers 251. UFC President Dana White favors Sims in this match because of his experience.

Sims thanks Dana and the Fertittas on camera for bringing him back and promises many exciting fights — starting with this one.

Heavyweight elimination fight #5: Justin Wren (8-1) vs. Wes Sims (22-12-1)

Round 1: Considerable size advantage for Sims, who looks like a white Tracy Chapman with his mop-top. Wren charges and pushes him to the fence. Rapid fire Lord of the Dance-style foot stomps from both. Sims pushes off. Jab by Sims followed with a clinch but Wren uses the off balance move to score the takedown. He immediately swings into mount and transitions to an arm-triangle. Sims tries to gut it out but has nowhere to go and takes a nap. Fight over. Dana laughs at the performance of Sims.

Justin Wren defeats Wes Sims via submission (arm-triangle choke)

Rampage says he never thought in a million years that Wren could submit Sims. Hey Rampage — that might be why your guys keep losing. Team Jackson, for the second straight week, does not attend their fallen fighter inside the cage.

Wes Shivers says not to criticize Rampage because (by his own admission) he’s a fighter, not a coach. Dana compares Jackson to Ken Shamrock from season three.

Ouch.

Evans confronts him about being a terrible coach and Rampage admits to wanting to have nothing to do with the role. They continue to trade barbs and play it up for the camera which by now is meaningless since they aren’t fighting.

Stay tuned next week as Rashad tries to go 6-0, Darrell Schoonover gets in Coach Jackson’s grill and Zak Jensen gets caught sniffing Wes Sims underwear.

They also tease that someone gets hurt — will Kimbo replace him?

See you in seven!

Georges St. Pierre: Affliction video interview with UFC welterweight champion

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 04:56 PM PDT

Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller and Jake Shields duke it out during Strikeforce media call

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 01:50 PM PDT

shields-miller

The Strikeforce: "Fedor vs. Rogers" media conference call took place today, and while neither of the participants in the night's main attraction (Fedor Emelianenko or Brett "The Grim" Rogers) was featured, main card fighters Jake Shields and Jason "Mayhem" Miller were on hand to help promote the event, along with Strikeforce Founder and CEO, Scott Coker.

The co-promotion between Strikeforce and M-1 Global gets underway from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, airing live on CBS starting at 9 p.m. ET.

While not the main event, Shields (23-4-1) and Miller (22-6) will face off for the Strikeforce middleweight title, which was recently vacated by Cung Le so that he could pursue an acting career.

Although he's a natural welterweight, Shields made his promotional debut in June with a first-round submission victory over middleweight "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler. It was his twelfth straight victory.

He cited as reasons for the move up in weight that the 185-pound division is the promotion's "most stacked division" and that his friend and training partner, Nick Diaz, is already in line for the vacant welterweight title. Despite this, Shields admitted, "If it were up to me, I'd fight at both weights."

With 13 submission victories of his own, Miller is host of MTV's smash-hit reality series Bully Beatdown and is one of MMA's biggest personalities. When asked about what he expects from the production, Miller admitted, "You know me, I'm borderline gay with my showmanship flare."

Clearly, he feels comfortable in the spotlight.

Regarding his spokesperson duties, Miller said, "If people don't know about this fight, it's not my fault. I'm Twittering, Facebooking, MySpacing, and doing anything I can to get the word out … I might as well be spray-painting it on some walls."

Shields, who has appeared on Miller's show, Bully Beatdown, admitted that he harbors no ill-will toward "Mayhem," stating that "it's business" and that he looks forward to the stylistic match up between two "great grapplers."

Miller agreed, although he said he's not above manufacturing some drama if it will help sell tickets. "I fought my dad so many times, and we're still friends, we're cool."

While the event marks the CBS network debut for Miller, Shields has appeared twice on the network, both under the Elite XC banner. In fact, in many ways the Strikeforce card will pick up where the Elite XC promotion left off, after having aired three broadcasts, each in 2008, before ceasing operations in October of that year.

Coker expressed satisfaction with the network's promotion thus far of the event, despite criticism from Sherdog's Loretta Hunt that the network might have been "slow" to promote the card. Coker pointed to spots aired during CBS broadcasts of NFL and SEC football games, calling them "amazing."

Hunt also pressed Coker about the nature of fighter contracts — especially for Strikeforce champions — and whether or not he will pursue exclusive deals with champions to avoid future problems with fighters who refuse to defend their titles, as we've seen with former middleweight champion Cung Le and current heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, who hasn't fought for the promotion since 2007.

Although he was unwilling to get into specifics because each contract is unique and confidential, Coker did say that they were "working to clean it up" and that he expects Overeem to defend his Strikeforce title "early next year." "From my point of view," Coker said, "the champion would fight at least twice a year."

Regarding exclusivity, Miller said that he wants to continue pursuing fights in the U.S. through the Strikeforce promotion, but not at the expense of fighting in Japan under the DREAM banner, under which he is now 1-1 (with 1 no contest).

When asked where he was when he first learned he'd be fighting on CBS, Miller joked, "Is this like one of those 'Where were you when you found out President Kennedy was shot?' (questions) because I can't answer that, I don't know. I can't say, 'I was sipping on a coconut and I dropped the coconut when I found out this thing was going to go down.'"

Shields took a more serious tone, saying that, although it's not his first fight on CBS, he still feels just as excited about it, saying his upcoming title fight against Miller is "the most important fight of my life."

In his closing remarks, Miller pointed (if only for a moment) toward the network debut of Fedor Emelianenko as the reason to watch the upcoming CBS card, stating that he's been waiting for quite some time to watch Fedor on free television. "I'll be excited to be watching in the front row … with my brand new Strikeforce belt."

In addition to Emelianenko (30-1) vs. Rogers (10-0) and Miller vs. Shields, the Strikeforce event will also feature a heavyweight matchup between Fabricio Werdum (12-4-1) and Antonio "Junior" Silva (13-1), as well as light heavyweight Gegard "The Dreamcatcher" Mousasi (26-2-1) vs. an as-of-yet unnamed opponent.

Antonio Silva: To get to Fedor, Fabricio Werdum must be eliminated

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 11:38 AM PDT

Props: BrasilCombate.com

Quoteworthy:

“Werdum is a good fighter, very experienced, cautious with good jiu-jitsu. He is famed among Strikeforce heavyweights and I want to be between the best ones to get the chance to fight Fedor, so I have to look for a knockout or a submission victory over him. I have improved my stand-up game in the past two years. I'm more confident, moving better, kicking and punching harder. I'm ready for any circumstance that may come up because my ground game is also very sharpened. It’s a fight and anything can happen, but I don't see Rogers knocking out or submitting Fedor, despite his heavy hands. If you observe, he goes towards the opponent with his guard opened and Fedor hits very well in the short distance. I will be rooting for Fedor to keep winning.”

Former Elite XC heavyweight champion Antonio Silva (13-1) heads back to the United States to challenge Strikeforce heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum at the Nov. 7 "Fedor vs. Rogers" event from the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. “Junior” has been dabbling in the Japanese MMA scene while waiting out a steroid suspension by the CSAC — based on a test result that to this day, he still disputes. Now that he’s satisfied his term and can once again fight stateside, will he have the goods to get past “Vai Cavalo” and challenge the winner of Emelianenko vs. Rogers?

Now playing: WEC 43 ‘Cerrone vs Henderson’ main event at WEC.tv

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 11:21 AM PDT

WEC 43: "Cerrone vs. Henderson" from The AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas back on October 10 delivered one of the best main events — if not fights — of 2009.

Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone staged an epic five round war for the ages as the two battled it out for the right to become the interim lightweight title with current champion Jamie Varner on the sidelines due to injury.

For anyone who got burned in the DirectTV/Versus feud or those MMAmaniacs who want another viewing of the action-packed war, head over to WEC.tv now to check out the replay.

In addition to Internet stream, Versus will replay the entire event this Thursday (Oct. 15) at 8 p.m. ET and then again at 11 p.m. ET.

For our complete WEC 43 recap click here.

Aussie rag slams MMA invasion down under; Elvis Sinosic slams back

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 09:51 AM PDT

Our friends over at Watch Kalib Run have posted an interesting article that details the pending mixed martial arts invasion in Australia and the local media’s not-so-enthusiastic reception of it.

The Sydney Morning Herald ran the usual MMA hatchet job when covering the UFC venture into the land down under, peppering the article with all the tried-and-true anti-fight buzzwords like “human cockfighting” and “brutal,” to name a few.

Our staunch allies at WKR, Zak Woods and E. Spencer Kyte, took their case to Australia’s own Elvis Sinosic — and “The King of Rock and Rumble” wasn’t exactly pleased with the depiction of the sport he’s been calling home for over 12 years.

His scathing reply, after the jump.

My name is Elvis Sinosic. I am Australia's most well know Mixed Martial Artist (you would no doubt label me a cage fighter). I have been fighting in the sport of MMA since 1997. I read your recent article “Cage Rage coming here” and it read more like a fairy tale than a factual newspaper article. It starts with conjecture stating an opinion that is inaccurate and of someone so irrelevant that it is not sourced at all. First of all the sport is not and has not been referred to as human cockfighting for many years and then only by those who were uneducated to what MMA was. The sport does not promote any sort of “street fighting” as your article claims. If anything it says fighting is for the cage not for the streets.

He even refers to a move called “Pound and Ground”. He hasn't even bothered to check his facts. When you read things like this you realize that the writer has not taken any effort to check his facts and information. The move is called “Ground and Pound”. It then mentions the absence of a blood rule. Where does he get his facts from? Friday night late night movies? The sport has doctors ringside. The sport allows the referee to stop the match to check for cuts and injuries. Making false claims only makes your paper look like a story book not a newspaper. It even mentions that you cannot throw in the towel. It does not bother to mention that nothing can be thrown into the octagon. It doesn't then state that the corner can stop the fight by signaling the referee. They just cannot stop the fight by throwing in the towel, it must be done verbally. It then goes on to state that the sport of cage fighting started in 2007. Once again does the writer even bother to check his facts or was that just the first time he saw the sport advertised in his local TV guide? The sport of MMA has been in Australia since March 22nd 1997. The sport has been going on, and safely at that, for over 12years. The false and inaccurate claims and facts just reeks of unprofessionalism.

Then the writer degenerates even further attempting to compare it to fighting animals. Where does he come off? Fighting animals is illegal and unethical. I'm a fighter and was also at one time a volunteer for Sydney wildlife and I find the comparison disgusting. The animals are mistreated and have no choice in the matter. Fighters on the other do have a choice. They choose to fight. They are treated very well by the promoters who look after them and lets not forget that they are also paid for their efforts. Not only that but the sponsors look after their fighters well. When have you ever seen a sponsor at an animal fighting event? Then you have the fans who do look up the fighters. And if you think they are all thugs you are greatly mistaken. Watch the end of a match. You will see two great competitors who, regardless of the result, will congratulate each other in a mutual show of respect, something that is not seen in many less “barbaric” sports. The writers comparison's are appalling.

I challenge your paper to write a factual article on the sport of MMA. I've seen other papers take the time and effort to do their research and write a fair and factual account of the sport. I offer up my services as well. I am a professional MMA fighter. I have been competing in the sport since it first started here in Australia in 1997. I was the first Australian to fight and win in the UFC. I was also the first Australian to get a World Title shot in the UFC. I have competed in MMA across the glove in countries such as the US, Canada, Japan, England and Sweden. Not only have I been involved in the sport as a fighter I have also been involved as corner man helping fighters during the matches. I have also been a commentator in different events such as the UFC, Warriors Realm and The CFC. I also run a martial arts school and teach students who are may become fighters in the future. I have a great understanding and passion for the sport. I hope that your paper decides to do the right thing and write a follow up article that is correctly researched and fair and balanced.

I look forward to hearing back form you.
Regards,
Elvis Sinosic
The King of Rock n Rumble
www.ElvisSinosic.com
www.myspace.com/ElvisSinosic
www.Facebook.com/Elvis.Sinosic
www.spma.net.au

While it’s unlikely the newspaper will respond or change the way it approaches the sport of mixed martial arts, it’s refreshing to see a local fighter stand up for what they believe in and not just “accept” the negativity from haters like the ass-clowns over at the Sydney Morning Herald.

The UFC is coming to Australia in 2010, they might as well get used to it.

Shawn Tompkins video explains his resignation from Xtreme Couture

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 09:50 AM PDT

Who wins if Cain Velasquez fights Fedor Emelianenko?

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 07:09 AM PDT

“Definitely me. I’m a proud Mexican fighter. Anybody who steps in that ring with me, it’s like fuck them, I’m gonna beat them. The guy’s gonna have to kill me. I think he’s an awesome fighter, he’s the best. It’s not like the movies or TV with the biggest and most muscular guy going out there and he’s the baddest guy, it’s not always like that. Like Cheick Kongo, I don’t look anything like him, but if you got the heart and the fighter spirit, that counts for a lot.”

– So says UFC heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez, who chats with MMA Fanhouse while doing the rounds to promote his fight against Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 from the Staples Center on Oct. 24. While it’s widely believed the “Last Emporer” will never step foot inside the Las Vegas Octagon, it’s not unrealistic to think that if he did, there would be plenty of guys waiting to take a crack at dethroning him (assuming Brett Rogers doesn’t beat them to it on Nov. 7). Would Velasquez have a chance? Or would the Russian juggernaut be too much, too soon?

K-1 and DREAM announce ‘Dynamite!!’ New Year’s Eve supershow

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 06:42 AM PDT

Dynamite!!

At an Oct 14 press conference hosted by Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), president Sadaharu Tanigawa and DREAM event producer Keiichi Sasahara unveiled the synopsis of this year’s annual “Dynamite!!” show on New Year’s Eve.

The event will be held at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on a similar scale as the last year’s event, with the maximum stadium capacity of more than 40,000 people.

Regarding the much-anticipated fight card, Tanigawa told the media that FEG will start releasing the fight cards once DREAM 12 and K-1 MAX 2009 World Championship Tournament, scheduled for Oct. 25 and 26, respectively, are in the books.

With a total of 18 K-1 and MMA fights scheduled, the tentative line-up includes the following high-profile fighters: Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, Kazushi Sakuraba, Kiyoshi Tamura, Shinya Aoki, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Hideo Tokoro, Hong Man Choi, Badr Hari, and Jerome LeBanner.

The main event of the night will be a farewell bout for the two-time K-1 MAX champion and Japanese K-1 icon, Masato.

Masato, who announced his pending retirement earlier this year, fought his second to last bout in July, dispatching the PRIDE/DREAM veteran and K-1neophyte, Tatsuya Kawajiri, with a second-round TKO. He was originally scheduled to face the winner of this year’s K-1 MAX tournament on the NYE for his retirement bout; however, Andy Souwer’s name has surfaced as another potential opponent.

Souwer, the two-time K-1 World MAX champion and one of the four finalists in the upcoming K-1 MAX World Championship, has defeated Masato twice in as many encounters.

Tanigawa noted that Masato-Souwer will be unlikely if Souwer loses by a knockout on the 26th. Otherwise, regardless of who becomes this year’s K-1 MAX World Champion, Masato’s revenge match against Sower will remain a possibility.

As for the special rules reserved for Masato’s bout, Tanigawa revealed that FEG is considering at least a five-rounder, unlike the usual three-minute, three-round K-1 matches. He noted the FEG’s desire to avoid a close decision at all cost: In order for the clear-cut winner to emerge, FEG is willing to implement a 7-rounder or even a 10-rounder for Masato and his opponent to give the proverbial 110%.

Elsewhere, when asked about the status of Musashi, who announced his retirement after his loss to Jerome LeBanner last month, Tanigawa commented that Musashi has “no desire to fight at the moment.” Thus, it is unlikely that Musashi will fight on NYE or enter the reserve match for the K-1 World Grand Prix Final on December 5th.

Stay tuned to MMAmania for more announcements on the “Dynamite!!” event as they become available.
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