Tuesday, January 26, 2010

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


Chuck Liddell: 'I have to go out on my own;' Wants four more fights

Posted: 26 Jan 2010 04:28 AM PST

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Props: Las Vegas Review-Journal

Quoteworthy:

"I miss fighting and I want to fight, so that's what I'm doing. I'll keep arguing and (White) will keep arguing with me. I just have to show him that I can perform. I would like another fight and then I want another fight after. Hopefully, Dana's happy with my two wins and I get a shot at a contender and then a shot at a title. That's four fights and that's about as far forward as I've thought. I have to go out on my own, the way I want to go out. It has to be my decision. I'm not going to let fans or people that aren't that close to me and don't watch me train, don't see what I can still do, make that decision for me."

Former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell talks about his future plans as a mixed martial artist. The UFC Hall of Famer was nearly forced into retirement after losing four of his last five fights and sustaining three brutal (technical) knockout blows during that span. He's been given another chance by his good friend and boss, Dana White, to see if there is anything left in the tank, coaching opposite nemesis Tito Ortiz on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 11, which is scheduled to debut on Spike TV in April. Shortly thereafter, Liddell and Ortiz will hook 'em up for a third time. After that, "Iceman" wants three more fights, including a title shot if he can win three straight. Does Liddell, 40, still have what it takes to compete at the highest level or has he possibly taken to many shots to the head?

Gegard Mousasi: I will probably fight in April against King Mo (Video)

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 10:19 PM PST

(Mousasi talks King Mo fight at the 0:42 mark)

UFC Quick Quote: Georges St. Pierre asks Gegard Mousasi to help him prepare for Dan Hardy

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 09:17 PM PST

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“I am nervous being away from my family and friends for two weeks and I don’t think of it like Georges is calling me for help. I think he is a great athlete that wants to train with different fighters to improve himself.... To be honest, I’m curious about everything, curious how he does things and if I have to say something specific that would be how he puts everything together to be able to take down opponents with ease.... I always train for my fights in Holland. This is just a learning experience. I don’t have a fight right now, so I’m trying to learn how they fight, how they train, how they do stuff. I will take what I learn and try to do it in Holland, but I don’t prepare for fights in other gyms. I always try to prepare for my fights in Holland.”

-- Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi talks to Sherdog.com about training for the first time ever in the United States alongside UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. "Rush" apparently reached out to "Dream Catcher" while he was stateside, asking him if he could help get him ready for his showdown with Dan Hardy at UFC 111 on March 27. Mousasi accepted, viewing it as an opportunity to improve his own game and learn from one of the best in the business. St. Pierre is among the top wrestlers in the sport, which can't hurt when Mousasi likely collides with "King" Mo Lawal later on this year, right?

Report: Joe Riggs vs. Jay Hieron to air live online at EASports.com on Jan. 30

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 05:08 PM PST

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Fear not, fight fans -- the previously untelevised welterweight showdown between rough-and-tumble brawlers, Joe Riggs (32-10) and Jay Hieron (18-4), will air live on EASports.com at 9:05 ET on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010.

Sherdog.com passes along the good news, setting the table for the Strikeforce: "Miami" event slated for the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., which begins at 10 p.m. ET on Showtime.

That means that at least five bouts will hit the airwaves this weekend on fight night.

Riggs, a former UFC welterweight number one contender, has found success since leaving the Octagon, racking up a solid record (4-1) under the Strikeforce banner. "Diesel" also competed twice in December under smaller promotions, ending both in the first round and capping off the year with an undefeated (3-0) run.

Hieron, on the other hand, went on to stymie UFC washout Jesse Taylor via unanimous decision at Strikeforce: "Carano vs. Cyborg" back in August 2008. He was originally booked to battle Nick Diaz for the vacant welterweight title; however, the Stockton scrapper pulled out of the match on short notice because of issues with the state athletic commission.

"The Thoroughbred" hasn't lost since June 2007 and is probably best known for his reign of terror in the now-defunct IFL and Affliction promotions. Perhaps a win this month (for either man) could set up a potential title fight against the winner of Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis.

Strikeforce: "Miami" features a main event between Nick Diaz and DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis for the promotion's vacant 170-pound world title. Female powerhouse Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos will put her 145-pound title on the line against Marloes Coenen in the co-featured fight of the night.

In addition, feared K-1 striker "Marvelous" Melvin Manhoef will make his Strikeforce debut opposite the power-punching "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler.

For more on Strikeforce: "Miami" click here.

DREAM 13: Joachim Hansen drops to featherweight to challenge Bibiano Fernandes

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 04:32 PM PST

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After illustrious career as a top flight lightweight, Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen (19-8-1) looks to terrorize a lower weight class.

According to multiple sources, the Norwegian fighter will move down to featherweight and, if the current negotiation comes to fruition, face current DREAM featherweight champion, Bibiano Fernandes (7-2), in a title bout.

The bout has been agreed upon, but awaits official confirmation from DREAM. If signed, the bout will likely be part of the upcoming DREAM fight card, which has been rumored to take place in March.

Hansen last fought in October at DREAM 11 where he dropped a rubber match against Shinya Aoki and subsequently lost his DREAM lightweight title.

The bout was his first in over a year: A prolonged layoff resulted after he suffered a freak injury less than 24 hours before a scheduled title defense against Gesias Cavalcante on New Year's Eve 2008 at the annual Dynamite!! event. He was subsequently forced to withdraw from the bout and wait until DREAM 11 to make his first title defense since becoming a surprise winner of the DREAM Lightweight tourney.

On the same night that Hansen lost his title, Bibiano Fernandes was crowned the DREAM Featherweight champion. As a dark horse in the promotion's featherweight tournament, he bested Takafumi Otsuka and Masakazu Imanari to reach the semi-final round. At DREAM 11, he earned a quick submission victory over the fast-rising Joe Warren and edged Hiroyuki Takaya via split decision in the final.

Fernandes, a decorated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner from the Brazilian Amazon, is currently on a six-fight winning streak. He suffered his two career losses against arguably the two best fighters in the division (at the time): Urijah Faber and Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto.

Stay tuned to MMAmania for more information about the potential Hansen-Fernandes showdown and upcoming DREAM 13 fight card.

Behind the scenes video of UFC GYM Grand Opening with Dana White and Chuck Liddell

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 03:45 PM PST

(Thanks to MMACanada.net for the tip)

Scott Jorgensen vs Chad George set for WEC 47 preliminary card

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 01:30 PM PST

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World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) is beginning to round out its March 6 card after the promotion announced a 135-pound match up between brawling bantamweights Scott Jorgensen and Chad George earlier today. 

Jorgenson (8-3) is coming off a dominant performance of Takeya Mizugaki, who simply failed to mount any sort of offense until the waning minutes of the fight. The victory gave the Idaho native his fourth in his past five contests, as Jorgensen looks to build up to a title shot at 135 pounds.

George, appropriately nicknamed "The Savage" is rolling off a unanimous decision victory over John Hosman in his WEC debut. "The Savage" is on a six-fight rampage and looks to continue his streak of beat downs with a win over a bantamweight contender.

While the bout does indeed hold implications in terms of the division's contenders, Jorgensen and George will not find themselves on the Versus telecast come March 6, as the two will do battle on the evening's preliminary card.

WEC 47 features a bantamweight title bout between champion Brian Bowles and top contender Dominick Cruz set for Columbus, Ohio this March. The evening's participants also include WEC legend Miguel Torres and the first-ever UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver. The two giants of the sport are looking for a shot at redemption after each man has fallen on hard times in recent history.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com as this card continues to blossom in the weeks building up the the March 6 event in Columbus.

Former UFC Champion Carlos Newton set to face Chris Clements at W-1 MMA on March 20

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 12:40 PM PST

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Carlos Newton, the former UFC Welterweight Champion, is set to face Chris Clements at the Canadian based W-1 MMA show on March 20 in Montreal according to Top MMA News.

Just yesterday, news broke that W-1 had also signed recently released UFC fighter Denis Kang. 

Newton (15-13), best known for being on the receiving end of a Matt Hughes power bomb at UFC 34, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Shonie Carter in a W-1 match last October. This will be Newton's third fight with W-1.

The most notable bout for Clements (6-3) came in the form of a loss to rising UFC prospect Rory Markham in the now defunct IFL. He was however victorious in his last fight with a win over Mark Blackburn in a Ringside event last March.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more additions to the March 20 fight card as they develop.

Programming alert: WEC 46 'Varner vs Henderson' replay on Versus tonight (Jan. 25) at 11 p.m. ET

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 11:46 AM PST

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For those of you who didn't catch Ben Henderson's upset win over Jamie Varner back on January 10, Versus will air the replay of WEC 46: "Varner vs. Henderson" tonight (Jan 25) at 11 p.m. ET.

The card saw Varner cough up his 155-pound strap to the out-of-nowhere Henderson after "C-4" imploded under a "Smooth" guillotine in round three of their main event. Also in action, former WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown got back to his winning ways by taking a bite out of Anthony "Cheesesteak" Morrison.

WEC 47 attracted 640,000 viewers for "Varner vs. Henderson," which took place from the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif., earlier this month. It was a nice ratings bump -- and significantly more than the recent numbers the promotion and the network have been pulling in.

By comparison, WEC 45: "Cerrone vs. Ratcliff" -- the promotion's final event of 2009 -- managed to only bring in 330,000 viewers. And the network likely has the "California Kid" to thank for the meaty chunk of additional viewers.

Urijah Faber made his return to the blue cage against Raphael Assuncao, submitting the Brazilian in an exciting, fast-paced war that had the fans screaming for more and helping the promotion bring in the most viewers for a WEC event since the Versus and DirecTV fallout.

Now you can watch it all go down once more tonight at 11 p.m. ET.

For complete WEC 46 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here.

Bitetti Combat 6: Kazushi Sakuraba sought as potential opponent for Paulo Filho on Feb. 25

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 10:48 AM PST

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The organization of Bitetti Combat is making every effort to sign legendary mixed martial artist Kazushi Sakuraba to fight in Brazil against Paulo Filho at the promotion's upcoming sixth event on Feb 25, according to Tatame.com.

Alex Hooligan of Bitetti Combat is traveling to Japan this week to negotiate with Japanese fighters including Yuki Kondo, among others.

"The Gracie Hunter” became famous after beating three honorable members of the Gracie Family: Royler, Royce and Renzo at the now-extinct Pride Fighting Championship. Sakuraba fought at Dream 11 and 12, managing two submission wins over Rubin Williams (Kimura) and Zelg Galesic (kneebar).

After losing his WEC middleweight belt to Chael Sonnen, Filho squared off Melvin Manhoef at Dream 10 in his return and finished the fight via submission (armbar), after suffering a flurry of punches from the vicious striker. “The Bullet” also scored two additional wins over Alex Schoenauer and Tatsuhiko Nishizaka at Bitetti Combat, slowly climbing the steps back into the spotlight.

Here's how Bitetti Combat 6 is shaping up thus far:

Glover Teixeira vs. Jeff Monson
Fabio Maldonado vs. Valentijn Overeem
Cristiano Marcello vs. Luciano Correa Izzy
Ediene “Índia” Gomes vs. Amanda Nunes
Luiz Firmino “Buscapé” vs. Francisco Drinaldo “Massaranduba”

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information regarding Bitetti Combat 6 in the coming weeks.

Miguel Torres: 'A rematch with Brian Bowles is more important to me than a title shot'

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 09:22 AM PST

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Props: Las Vegas Sun

Quoteworthy:

"I've used the same training partners for 11 or 12 years, and I haven't brought any of them back for this fight. What ended up happening was — I wasn't getting cocky, they got cocky. They would say, 'Oh, you're going to kill this guy. He's only got seven fights. The guys I had coaching me were there just to give me water and talk my face off. They weren't giving me anything I could use. Looking back, I can see there were a lot of things off. But I was in a bubble at the time and couldn't see it. I was trying to go out there and put on a show, impress the crowd and make them look at the 135-pound division. This is a chance for me to come back and show I can be a better fighter. I don't think your wins define your career, I think you're defined by how you come back from a loss. I want Brian to lose (at WEC 47). He'll want to come back strong and then I'll have the best Brian Bowles there is. If he loses that fight against Dominick and he loses the belt, I wouldn't want a fight with Cruz. I would want Brian Bowles. A rematch with Brian is more important to me than a title shot."

Former 135-pound kingpin Miguel Torres goes back to basics after a stunning defeat at the heavy hands of new bantamweight champion Brian Bowles at WEC 42 back in August 2009. Bowles will make his first title defense at WEC 47 on March 6 in a bout that will have Torres driving the Cruz bandwagon so that he can get back into the cage with Bowles and prove his loss was a fluke. Will Torres get his revenge? Or has his storied championship reign come to an end, much like Urijah Faber's did at WEC 36 now that the WEC has a stacked roster? Of course none of that matters if Torres can't get past Joseph Benavidez, also at WEC 47. What say you?

Mike Swick 'super motivated' to beat Paulo Thiago at UFC 109 (Video)

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 09:22 AM PST

Strikeforce weigh in results, information and details for 'Miami' on Jan. 29

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 09:00 AM PST

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The official weigh-in event for Strikeforce: "Miami" is set to take place on Friday, Jan. 29, at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., with the first fighter scheduled to tip the scale at 6 p.m. ET.

In addition, newly-signed middleweight Dan Henderson will join promotion veterans Cung Le and Scott Smith for a free autograph session during the event.

As usual, MMAmania.com will provide the latest coverage of the Strikeforce weigh-ins, as well as provide a detailed recap of the festivities as soon as they conclude.

Strikeforce: "Miami" features a main event between Nick Diaz and DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis for the promotion's vacant 170-pound world title. Female powerhouse Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos will put her 145-pound title on the line against Marloes Coenen in the co-featured fight of the night.

In addition, feared K-1 striker "Marvelous" Melvin Manhoef will make his Strikeforce debut opposite the power-punching "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler. And joining them on the main card is Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy and Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims.

Here is the current Strikeforce: "Miami" fight card:

Main event:

170 lbs.: Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis

Main card (Televised):

145 lbs.: Cristiane Santos vs. Marloes Coenen
265 lbs.: Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims
185 lbs.: Melvin Manhoef vs. Robbie Lawler
205 lbs.: Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy

Under card (May not be broadcast):

170 lbs.: Jay Hieron vs. Joe Riggs
170 lbs.: David Zitnick vs. Michael Byrnes
155 lbs.: Craig Oxley vs. David Gomez
145 lbs.: Sabah Homasi vs. John Kelly
145 lbs.: Pablo Alfonso vs. Marcos Da Matta
155 lbs.: Ryan Keenan vs. Hayder Hassan

For those fortunate enough to be in "The Sunshine State" this weekend remember that the weigh-in is FREE to attend and open to the public. Doors to the weigh-in will open around 5:30 p.m. ET for the general public.

Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of "Miami," beginning with the SHOWTIME telecast at 10 p.m. ET on Jan. 30. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of all the under card action as it starts to flow around 7:30 p.m. ET.

It’s going to be a fun night of fights so don’t miss it. And remember to check us out for all the pre, during and post-fight "Miami" coverage you can handle.

Up-and-coming lightweight Carey Vanier signs with Bellator Fighting Championships

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 08:59 AM PST

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CHICAGO, Ill. (Jan. 25, 2010) – The lightweight division of Bellator Fighting Championships’ upcoming Season 2 tournament continued to take shape today with the addition of Carey Vanier, a former All-American wrestler and student of prominent MMA coach Greg Jackson.

Vanier boasts a solid overall professional record of 7-2 (all but one of his wins have come via TKO or submission), but his career has taken on an entirely new trajectory since he began training at Jackson’s Submission Fighting school in Albuquerque, N.M.

"That’s when it all started to come together for me," Vanier said. "To work with a world-renowned trainer like Greg and to train alongside guys like Keith Jardine and Donald Cerone, it just elevates your game. Over the past few months, I’ve started to realize that I’m getting pretty close to their level, which gives me a lot of confidence going into the Bellator tournament. Now I have my sights set on shocking the world and taking home that belt."

Vanier is the third confirmed competitor in Bellator’s Season 2 155 lbs. tournament, along with 5-0 Mike Ricci (a training partner to UFC champion Georges Saint-Pierre) and 13-5 former Olympic judoka Ferrid Kheder. Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 145, 170 and 185 lbs. with the winners of this season’s tournaments being declared No. 1 contenders to Bellator’s current roster of champions. Each of Bellator’s 24 events during Seasons 2 and 3 will be televised on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo. Season 2 begins April 8th.

"We’ve been very impressed by Carey’s skills and the work-ethic that he brings to his training," said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "He’s come up alongside some of the best fighters in the sport and has the drive and the hunger to shock some people in our 155 tournament."

Vanier, now 28, was born and raised in Minnesota, where he was a high school wrestling star. During his senior year, he finished sixth at the state finals before moving on to wrestle at Ridgewater College where he was eventually named an All-American.

After graduating, though, he made the decision to put his fighting dreams on the back burner in order to support his young son, Carey Jr. He took a job at the local Best Buy and worked his way up the ranks until he was named store manager.

Vanier never lost his passion for the fight game, though, and continued to train part time until a Best Buy supervisor asked him if he was truly happy with his full-time job.

"I told her that I liked my job but that I didn’t really love it … I love being a competitor," he said.

Accordingly, he began to scale back his hours at the store and, eventually, in late 2007, handed in his resignation.

"I sold my house, I moved back in with my mom and just committed full-time to fighting," he said. "I said to myself, if I’m going to do this, I’m going to go all in."

He began training in boxing, Muay-Thai and Jiu-Jitsu and, this past November, was invited to train with Donald "Cowboy" Cerone at Jackson’s gym in Albuquerque, where he has stayed ever since.

"I’ve come along way," he said. "I’ve reached the point where I’m ready to show the world what I can do."

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

MMA Quick Quote: Herschel Walker can keep up with Cain Velasquez

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 08:39 AM PST

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"I don't know how he does it, but just throw the age thing out the window ... He is the best student I've ever had. Every day he comes to practice 10 to 15 minutes early. He's never late. Every day he gets better. For a normal 47-year-old, it would be a big disaster... He eats one meal a day, at night... He has salad, soup, maybe chicken soup, and bread, and he's not afraid to put butter on it. He eats no meat and no fish... And he keeps right up with Cain."

High praise coming from AKA boss Javier Mendez, speaking to Yahoo.com's Dave Meltzer, whose stable of fighters includes top guys like Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Mike Swick, and the aforementioned Cain Velasquez. While the legitimacy of Walker's surprising jump into MMA will surely continue to be debated, a lot of questions will finally be answered when he takes on Greg Nagy this Saturday, January 30, at Strikeforce: "Miami."

Anderson "The Spider" Silva earns his Capoeira yellow cord.

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 06:52 AM PST

Anderson "The Spider" Silva earns his Capoeira yellow cord.

Nate Marquardt: Georges St. Pierre 'is going to kill' B-level fighter Dan Hardy

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 06:51 AM PST

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Props: TSN.ca

Quoteworthy:

"I think Georges is going to kill him. I think Dan Hardy's an up-and-comer guy, he's a young guy. He has a lot of potential. In my opinion, he's a good B-level fighter and I think Georges is going to destroy him. He's young, that's the thing. He could be a great fighter one day. But he's not there and he's getting his shot way too early."

Nate Marquardt, friend and team mate of current UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, has an unflattering assessment of number one contender Dan Hardy, who meets "Rush" in the main event of UFC 111 on March 27 in Newark, New Jersey. "The Outlaw" earned his shot at the 170-pound crown by default, in sort of a last-man-standing elimination of potential heirs to the throne. "The Great" thinks Hardy is getting his title fight too soon -- but is there anyone (not a rematch) you would rather see first?

UFC lightweight Corey Hill returns to MMA with a win at Raging Wolf VI

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 06:16 AM PST

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After suffering one of the gnarliest injuries in UFC history on the UFC "Fight for the Troops" card over a year ago, "Ultimate Fighter" (TUF) season five cast member, Corey "The Real Deal" Hill, finally made his return to action last night in Niagara Falls, New York on the Raging Wolf VI "Mayhem in the Mist" card.

Hill took out Jason Trzewieczynski by unanimous decision in the co-main event. And while there did seem to be some hesitation on his part to engage early on, he was still able to out-work the youngster, whose first professional fight was only 9 months ago.

The 6'4" lightweight suffered a brutal leg break courtesy of a leg kick that was checked to perfection by Dale Hartt at "Fight for the Troops" back in December of 2008 ... over 13 months ago.

The 31-year-old Floridian had shown promise before the injury, although he was still a very raw prospect at the time, which was apparent by his less than impressive record of (1-2) in the UFC.

The word is that Hill is still under contract with the UFC and the promotion allowed him this fight as a warm-up of sorts, which means we probably haven't seen the last of the lanky fighter inside the Octagon.

Fellow UFC veteran Luigi Fioravanti was also a winner on the Raging Wolf VI card, taking out TUF 8 alum Shane Primm by unanimous decision in the night's main event.

"The Italian Tank" is now (3-1) since parting ways with the UFC at the beginning of last year.

Amir Sadollah featured on tonight's edition of Pro MMA Radio

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 06:16 AM PST

Amir Sadollah

Not long after his impressive win over Brad Blackburn at UFC Fight Night 20 earlier this month, UFC welterweight sensation Amir Sadollah (3-1) will stop by Pro MMA Radio TONIGHT (Jan. 25) to give us the skinny on his UFC career since winning it all on The Ultimate Fighter 7 back in June 2008.

Hosted by Larry Pepe, Pro MMA Radio is professional, guest-driven program that features some of mixed martial arts biggest names.

If you’re looking for a radio show that revolves around a couple of MMA fans ranting and raving about everything that’s already been covered ad nauseam, then Pro MMA Radio probably isn’t for you.

However, if you want to hear from actual fighters and industry insiders answering questions that are relevant to the current MMA scene, tune in every Monday night at 9 p.m. ET for our exclusive live feed.

See you tonight at 9 p.m. ET!

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