Saturday, October 31, 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

TUF 10 Finale: Frank Edgar vs Matt Veach booked with Kurt Pellegrino hurt

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 01:31 PM PDT

edgar_veach

H.I.T. Squad product Matt Veach will fill-in for the injured Kurt Pellegrino and take on Frank Edgar at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 Finale from the "The Pearl" at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 5.

MMAmania.com learned about the replacement earlier this afternoon shortly after news broke that “Batman” suffered a back injury during training.

More on this breaking news shortly.

TUF 10 Finale will feature a showdown between the top two finalists from the Spike TV reality show, as well as a light heavyweight war featuring Jon "Bones" Jones as he inches his way closer to contention against Matt "The Hammer" Hamill.

Tito Ortiz on his ‘exciting fight’ against Forrest Griffin at UFC 106 (Video)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 12:07 PM PDT

Kurt Pellegrino vs Frank Edgar scratched from TUF 10 Finale with ‘Batman’ back injury

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 11:31 AM PDT

Kurt Pellegrino has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming lightweight fight against Frank Edgar at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 Finale on Dec. 5 after suffering a back injury during training.

“The Answer” dropped the injury bomb via his official Twitter account earlier today and MMAmania.com has since confirmed that a back injury has felled the “Batman.”

This unfortunate news comes just hours after Thiago Alves was forced to withdraw from his UFC 107 fight against Jon Fitch after the “Pitbull” hurt his knee in practice. Add that to the UFC 106 cancellation by Brock Lesnar and it’s been nothing but bad news since UFC 104 last Saturday night.

Edgar also hinted that a replacement bout may be in the works. Like the Alves situation in the welterweight division, there should be no problem finding a suitable replacement for Pellegrino in the talent rich 155-pound weight class.

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt defeated former lightweight champion Sean Sherk at UFC 98: "Evans vs. Machida" back on May 23 for what was undoubtedly the biggest win of his career.

It's going to be a tough challenge for whoever steps up to take Pellegrino’s place.

The TUF 10 Finale will feature a showdown between the top two finalists from the Spike TV reality show as well as a potential light heavyweight war featuring Jon "Bones" Jones as he inches his way closer to contention against Matt "The Hammer" Hamill.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for an update on the status of Edgar’s participation in the Dec. 5 event as soon as it becomes available.

Vale Tudo Japan 2009 results and quick recap

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 11:30 AM PDT

Shooto promoter Sustain resurrected the classic “Vale Tudo Japan” series on Oct. 30 at JCB Hall in Tokyo where some of the venerable Shooto stars and alumni on the card earned emphatic victories at the memorable event.

In one of the two five-rounders under the specially designated VTJ rule, current Shooto 143-pound champion “Lion” Takeshi Inoue solidified his champion status in the Shooto history book by defeating the former champion, Alexandre “Pequeno” Franca Nogueira via TKO in Round 4.

“Pequeno,” the former Shooto champion, continues his devolution from the undisputed featherweight king of the world into a relic in the fast-evolving world of MMA: He has lost four of his last five fights, dating back to 2005.

Shooto pioneer and longtime fan favorite, Rumina Sato, restored himself to the winning column by making a quick work of Cory Grant via KO in the first round. Grant, fellow Team Quest member of Sato’s original opponent, Joe Warren, came in as a last-minute replacement after Warren was unable to come to terms with Sustain over the provisions of the match.

Shooto bantamweight star, Mamoru Yamaguchi broke his year-long hiatus to pound out Guamanian prospect, Jesse Taitano in the first round.

In the main event of the night, former PRIDE lightweight champion, Takanori Gomi, edged past KOTC lightweight champ, Tony Hervey, after five rounds via unanimous decision. The victory is the second in a row for the former lightweight kingpin after a deflating two-fight losing streak that led to his fall from grace.

Yet, Gomi’s performance was hardly what his fans expected from the “Fireball Kid” who once tore through his competition in PRIDE.

Gomi picked apart Hervey with superior stand-up and groundwork for three rounds; however, his running low on gas at the end of the third round.

He mustered every last ounce of grit to survive the fourth and fifth rounds, but with his gas severely depleted, he raised the specter of his loss to Nick Diaz at PRIDE 33: At the end of the fourth round, he struggled to walk back to his corner.

Once again, a thick cloud hovers over Gomi’s future, as he seemingly has lost the luster of his reign in PRIDE.

When Gomi took the mic immediately after the fight, he was out of breath and struggled to deliver his words to the crowd. He apologized to the crowd for his performance and admitted to the lack of preparation.

Curiously enough, the announcement he had in store for the fans in JCB Hall that he alluded to during the pre-fight press conference was his desire to challenge K-1 icon, Masato on New Year’s Eve. Not surprisingly, Gomi retracted his words: Masato is now set to face the newly crowned K-1 MAX winner, Georgio Petrosyan.

Full results:

Takanori Gomi def. Tony Hervey via unanimous decision (47-45, 46-45, 46-44) R5 5:00
“Lion” Takeshi Inoue def. Alexandre Franca Nogueira via TKO (punches) R4 2:58
Rumina Sato def. Cory Grant via KO (punches) R1 3:20
Tito Jones def. Tenkei “Fujimiya” Oda via unanimous decision (30-28, 30-27, 30-29) R3 5:00
Willamy “Chiquerim” Freire def. Kenichiro Togashi via TKO (doctor stoppage) R1 2:05
Mamoru Yamaguchi def. Jesse Taitano via TKO (punches) R1 4:41
Jung Ming Kang def. Yoichiro Sato via KO (punches) R1 2:48
Kosuke “Jukucho” Eda vs. Masato Sannai was ruled a majority draw (19-19, 18-19, 19-19) R2 5:00

For our complete Vale Tudo Japan 2009 archive click here.

Brett Rogers video talks Nov. 7 Strikeforce fight against Fedor Emelianenko

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 09:53 AM PDT

Boxing promoter Don King getting prepared to monetize MMA; take on the UFC

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 09:23 AM PDT

Props: USA Today

Quoteworthy:

“UFC is a great contribution. It’s a return to glory for people who like sophisticated barbarism. Dana White and (co-founder) Lorenzo Fertitta have done a phenomenal job. I’m the people’s promoter. Whatever the people want, I’m going to promote. Whatever the public wants, that’s what I want to give them. I want to give it to them with candor so they can quantify, qualify and identify with whoever the athlete is. Who am I to say that something is wrong with them when I’m always crying about, ‘Why you’re treating me this way?’ They bring competition. They bring people. Let’s enrich it and monetize it. Let’s bring the people something. When I bring my guys in we’ll be getting prepared to take on Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta in their league vs. our league. The same thing I want to do with the sport of boxing I want to do with MMA. Make it competitive, man. Make it a comparison. Even though they’ve put on good fights, let’s see what they do with someone totally independent.”

Famed boxing promoter Don King, who once joined the likes of Bob Arum in trashing the world’s fastest growing sport, can no longer ignore the dollar signs attached to the millions of loyal fans it now draws. It also helps that Dana White and the Fertitta brothers have been doing most of the heavy lifting over the past five years and Mr. Opportunity perhaps thinks it’s now time to strike while the iron is hot. Does he pose a threat? Or will he eventually have an honorary tombstone in White’s office alongside Affliction and PRIDE?

UFC 106: Amir Sadollah vs Phil Baroni fills vacancy left by Ortiz vs Griffin 2

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 08:57 AM PDT

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 winner Amir Sadollah (1-1) will welcome Phil Baroni (13-11) back into the Octagon in a welterweight clash planned for UFC 106 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21.

And now he gets to do it on the televised portion of the card.

After an illness forced Brock Lesnar to withdraw from his main event fight against Shane Carwin, the UFC promoted the rematch between Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz into the main event slot.

That promotion created a vacancy on the main card, which the UFC has confirmed will be filled by Sadollah vs. Baroni.

Amir suffered a series of injury-related setbacks since a submission win over CB Dolloway at TUF 7 Finale. He was expected to follow up that performance against Nick Catone at UFC 91: "Lesnar vs. Couture" on November 15. However, just four days before fight night he had to withdraw because of a leg infection.

After more than a year on the sidelines, Sadollah finally got back into the cage at UFC 101 last month in his welterweight debut. Unfortunately his return was short lived after Johnny Hendricks put him down in the first round (with a little help from much-maligned referee Dan Miragliotta).

Now the likable and hard-working Sadollah will get a chance to erase those bad memories with a big win over potential opponent and master of self-promotion Phil Baroni.

"The New York Bad Ass" last appeared in St. Louis back in June of this year, dropping a unanimous decision to fellow MMA journeyman Joe "Diesel" Riggs. The loss marked his first defeat in four fights since rebounding from a three fight losing skid, as well as his first loss at 170 pounds.

The 33-year-old Pride FC, Elite XC and Strikeforce veteran recently agreed to return to where his career essentially began with the UFC, likely facilitated by his good relationship with company president, Dana White, and his colorful ability to promote fights.

Baroni competed eight times inside the Octagon between 2001 and 2005, compiling a lackluster record (3-5) during that span. He fought Evan Tanner and Matt Lindland twice (four total fights) and lost all of those middleweight matches. Baroni is perhaps best known for being upset by up-and-comer Pete Sell thanks to a guillotine choke that put the Long Island, N.Y., native to sleep.

How he performs against the up-and-coming Sadollah on November 21 will say a lot about his future in the UFC — and MMA overall.

For all the latest on the UFC 106 fight card and rumors click here.

UFC 106: Karo Parisyan is going to eat Dustin Hazelett for breakfast

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 08:40 AM PDT

Props: FightHype

Quoteworthy:

“I think it’s a great style for me. It’s a great matchup. I eat Jiu Jitsu guys for breakfast a lot of times. He’s tough and he’s got really good Jiu Jitsu and good standup. He’s a well-rounded fighter, but I have fought 2 and 3-time Jiu Jitsu world champion guys man. And I’m a grappler myself so I really have some surprises for him. I have a tremendous respect for Dustin as an opponent. I don’t know him as a person, but he looks like a nice guy. But like I said, I have been training a lot with tall and lanky guys. I think it is a great matchup due to the fact that I should be able to overpower him, beat on him a little bit and catch him in submissions myself. Dustin is not going to do anything that I’ve never seen before. He’ not going to throw anything my way that I’ve never seen. He’s good off of his back and a good Jiu Jitsu guy, but that’s all he is. I’m a grappler myself, a Judo artist. I have good takedowns and my standup has come a long way, so it’s a very good matchup man. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to get in the cage and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

– Former number one welterweight contender Karo Parisyan talks about his road back to becoming relevant again in the crowded 170-pound title chase. "Heat" will embark on that journey against submission specialist Dustin Hazelett at UFC 106: "Griffin vs. Ortiz 2″ from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21. The Armenian-born Judoka has not competed since a No Contest against “Stun Gun” Kim at UFC 94 back in January. He tested positive for painkillers following the bout and served a nine month suspension. What can we expect from Parisyan — who hasn’t won since UFC 78 — when he returns?

Tachi Palace Fights poster for ‘Brawl in the Hall’ in Lemoore on Dec. 3

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 08:39 AM PDT

Details after the jump:

MAIN EVENT
Middleweights
Parlier, Calif.'s Mike Moreno (5-2) vs. Paris, France's Xavier Foupa-Pokam (20-11)

CO-MAIN EVENT
Featherweights
Las Vegas, Nev.'s Eddie Yagin (13-3-1) vs. Atlanta, Ga.'s Diego Saraiva (13-8-1)

Light Heavyweights
Milwaukee, Wis.'s Rob Smith (20-13-1) vs. Paris, France's Cyrille Diabate (14-6-1)

Flyweights
Las Vegas, Nev.'s Ulysses Gomez (4-1) vs. Sioux Falls, S.D.'s Ben Nguyen (4-2)

Welterweights
Santa Rosa, Calif.'s Kyle Pimentel (7-0) vs. Sacramento, Calif.'s Marcus Gains (6-7)

Featherweights
Seattle, Wash.'s Shad Lierely (5-2) vs. Clovis, Calif.'s John Reedy (8-3)

Featherweights
Porterville, Calif.'s Shawn Klarcyk (9-4) vs. Merced, Calif.'s Jesse Bowen (6-3)

Heavyweights
Lemoore, Calif.'s Dashi Salas (1-0) vs. Fresno, Calif.'s Mike Guirdy (1-0)

Welterweights
Lemoore, Calif.'s Andrew Martinez (5-2-1) vs. Coarsegold, Calif.'s Nikk Covert (3-4)

Lightweights
Oakland, Calif.'s Romulo Melo (2-0) vs. TBA

Tickets are now on sale and start at just $30. Tickets can be purchased at www.tickets.com or charge by phone at 1-800-225-2277. Tickets may also be purchased at the Tachi Palace Gift Shop.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and fights start at 6:30 p.m.

The weigh-ins will take place at the Den Sports Bar located on the third floor of the Palace. Weigh-ins are slated to begin at 5 p.m. and fans are encouraged to come mingle with the fighters.

Knee injury forces Thiago Alves to withdraw from UFC 107 rematch against Jon Fitch (Updated)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 07:19 AM PDT

Former number one welterweight contenders Thiago Alves and Jon Fitch are no longer fighting at UFC 107 after the “Pitbull” was forced to withdraw from the Dec. 12 event with a knee injury, according to MMA Fanhouse.

Fitch was taken off the UFC 106 pay-per-view and inserted into the Memphis show after Ricardo Almeida bowed out of the Nov. 21 event with knee problems of his own.

Like Fitch, Paulo Thiago was also scheduled to throwdown at the FedEx Forum until he was abandoned by Alves, who got the call to replace “Cachorrao” on short notice for the incoming Fitch.

Alves was hoping to avenge his 2006 loss to the Purdue wrestler prior to getting hurt.

From a logistical standpoint, filling the now-vacant slot with Fitch vs. (Paulo) Thiago makes perfect sense; however, they recently met at UFC 100 on July 11, a bout Fitch won in convincing fashion via unanimous decision.

A second fight is likely out of the question.

What plans the promotion has for either of these fighters remains to be seen (Thiago is rumored to be fighting Jacob Volkmann), but the positive side to this is that the 170-pound division is not short on talent.

UFC 107 will feature a main event between lightweight division champion, BJ Penn, defending his title against number one division contender, Diego Sanchez. In the co-featured fight of the night, former two-time heavyweight champion Frank Mir will "begin his quest for a third title" when he takes on Cheick Kongo.

Keep it locked in to MMAmania.com for more updates on a possible replacement for Alves. In the meantime, you can check out the latest UFC 107 fight card and rumors here.

***Update: MMAmania.com has been able to confirm that Alves will not compete at UFC 107 and that a request will be made to rebook the fight for late January or early February.
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