Wednesday, February 17, 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


UFC 113 tickets on sale soon for May 8 show at The Bell Centre in Montreal

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 07:38 PM PST

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Tickets for UFC 113: "Machida vs. Shogun 2," which is slated for The Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on May 8, 2010, will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010.

UFC Fight Club members and UFC Newsletter subscribers, naturally, will be able to scoop up tickets prior to them being available for public consumption.

That's important to consider because UFC 83: "St. Pierre vs. Serra" back in 2008 was the fastest sellout ever for the organization. In fact, only a handful of tickets ever make it out to the public when the promotion hits Montreal -- the majority of them are gobbled up in the presales.

So be sure to get 'em as soon as you can.

Here is the UFC 113 ticket sales schedule (All times ET):

  • UFC Fight Club presale: Thursday, Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. ET
  • UFC Newsletter presale: Friday, Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. ET
  • General tickets sale: Saturday, Feb. 20 10 a.m. ET

UFC 113 tickets can be purchased through StubHub.com (Note: StubHub often has seats available even if the event is "sold out"). It will also be available to watch on PPV at 10 p.m. ET on fight night.

The card will be headlined by a rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, as well as feature a co-main event between perennial top contender, Josh Koscheck, and the explosive Paul Daley.

Kimbo Slice is also expected to make his pay-per-view (PPV) debut against fellow TUF 10 cast member, Matt Mitrione.

To check out the latest UFC 113 fight card and rumors click here.

Bellator FC: Eddie Alvarez vs. Josh Neer ‘Super Fight’ set for May 2010

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 03:13 PM PST

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CHICAGO, Ill. (February 16, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that its reigning lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez, the No. 2-ranked lightweight in the world, will square off in a non-title "Super Fight" with UFC veteran Josh "The Dentist" Neer under the Bellator banner this May.

The fight is the first Super Fight matchup to be announced by Bellator, which is now gearing up for its much-anticipated nationally-televised second season. These non-tournament, non-title catch-weight fights will pit Bellator’s Season 1 Champions — Alvarez, Joe Soto, Lyman Good and Hector Lombard — against top competition as they prepare to defend their titles from Bellator’s Season 2 tournament winners this fall.

The Alvarez-Neer fight will take place during one of Bellator’s May events and will be televised live on FOX Sports Net and during Bellator highlight shows on NBC and Telemundo. The exact date will be announced in the coming weeks.

Alvarez, the Philadelphia native and Fight Factory product, has driven his 19-2 professional record to the No. 2 ranking in the world at lightweight. He dominated Bellator’s Season 1 tournament to take home the first-ever Bellator Lightweight Championship belt.

Neer, an Iowa native who is 27-9-1 over the course of his seven-year MMA career, is a three-time veteran of the UFC with signature wins over Melvin Guillard and TUF winners Joe Stevenson and Mac Danzig. Since his last UFC fight in October 2009, Neer is 2-0, with both wins coming via first-round stoppages.

"In addition to being one of the top lightweights on earth, Eddie’s a blast to watch fight," said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "Alvarez vs. Neer should produce fireworks from the start. Our hyper-competitive tournaments, May super-fights and September title-defense fights will all create some awesome nationally televised events."

Alvarez, who underwent minor arthroscopic knee surgery on Jan. 13th, said he is itching to make his return to the cage against Neer.

"I’ve seen Josh Neer fight, and he’s a banger," Alvarez said. "I love this fight because he never puts on a dull fight and those are the kinds of matches that suit me the best. I expect my knee to be 100 percent soon and I’m expecting that this is going to be my best performance ever."

Neer said he also expects the fight to be an exciting one.

"This is definitely a tough fight because Alvarez is a really explosive fighter and one of the top two or three lightweights in the world," Neer said. "I think that if I beat him, it would be a huge win for me and would really help me increase my notoriety. It’s a great opportunity."

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

Renzo Gracie video on bringing UFC 112 to Abu Dhabi on April 10

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 11:58 AM PST

Will he be able to overcome Matt Hughes at UFC 112 in front of his "second home?"

UFC 110: We gonna do this Wanderlei Silva-style

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 11:58 AM PST

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"I thought I had a great match last time, but I don’t just want to put on good performances – I want to win fights. I badly want a victory and I want a victory Wanderlei Silva-style. I have fought everybody in mixed martial arts. I am not scared to fight anybody. Michael Bisping doesn’t scare me. How can Bisping scare me? I’ve traded punches with the best fighters in the world. Nobody can make me afraid. Every day people come up to me and say ‘Bisping has been saying this and Bisping has been saying that’. I think the reason Bisping is talking a lot is because the guy is afraid. My weight has come down great, I’ve maintained my muscle and I’m going to put Bisping in real trouble."

PRIDE FC legend Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1) talks to Telegraph.co.uk about returning to his axe murdering roots for his upcoming middleweight scrap against Michael Bisping at UFC 110 from the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 21. The Brazilian has just one win in four attempts under the Zuffa banner but fights with such intensity and reckless abandon that no fan would dare complain about his spot among the Octagon elite on the main card of a UFC pay-per-view. Would a devastating loss to "The Count" become the catalyst for a premature retirement? Or does Silva always have a home on a UFC fight card?

UFC 109 nabs $2,273,000 at the gate with 7,432 tickets sold on Feb. 6

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 11:33 AM PST

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The Feb. 6 UFC 109 pay-per-view took in a gate of $2,273,000 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to official figures from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) released today.

The final tally was a result of 7,432 tickets sold. Those figures do not include the 3,321 comped tickets or the 84 unsold tickets.

The UFC dished out $944,000 in fighter salaries for the live event and another $240,000 in additional bonus money for the four participants who delivered outstanding performances.

"Relentless" featured a rare submission win from former heavy and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture as "The Natural" choked out Mark Coleman in the main event. "The Hammer" was released from the promotion shortly thereafter.

185-pound stalwart Chael Sonnen inched his way closer to a future title shot with a dominating unanimous decision win over the ultra tough Nate Marquardt.

For complete UFC 109 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here.

Joe Stevenson gets all wet for his UFC 110 video blog (Episode 2)

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 10:47 AM PST

"Daddy's" on a jet boat with Cain Velasquez, Wanderlei Silva, Rashad Evans and more. Almost sounds like the set-up to a punchline.

Mirko Cro Cop: 'I don't think anyone should underestimate me'

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 10:46 AM PST

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Props: UFC.com

Quoteworthy:

"I don't think anyone should underestimate me. When you have a self-made fighter like I am, with the PRIDE belt that I won, it's not good to underestimate me. Especially right now because I'm in really good shape and I'm looking forward to this fight. [Rothwell's] very good with his ground and pound as you saw with his fight against Arlovski, but I'm not afraid. Even if we go to the ground, I will manage -- but I don't think it will go to the ground."

Famed heavyweight striker Mirko Filipovic prepares for Ben Rothwell at UFC 110 from the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, this Saturday (Feb. 21). "Cro Cop" is coming off a submission (verbal) loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 103 last September -- his third loss inside the Octagon in five attempts — a far cry from the world beater who was scalping his opponents just three years ago under the Pride banner. In fact, he has not defeated a top-level fighter since he made Josh Barnett quit at "Final Conflict Absolute," which earned him the Pride FC 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix Championship. Can he return to form in Sydney? Or is it time for the Croat to finally call it a career?

Bitetti Combat 6: Paulo Filho vs Yuki Sasaki booked for Feb. 25

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 10:09 AM PST

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The Bitetti Combat 6 fight card continues to take shape with former WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho (19-1) agreeing to meet Japanese stalwart Yuki Sasaki (22-16-1) on Feb. 25 in Brazil according to GracieMag.com.

The talented-but-troubled Filho has been all over the map, both figuratively and literally since his bizarre loss to Chael Sonnen at WEC 36 in November 2008. After submitting "Marvelous" Melvin Manhoef in July of 2009, "Ely" skipped out on a return to Japan for a match against Dong Sik Yoon at DREAM 12, citing VISA issues as the culprit.

He quickly erased that snafu with a submission win over the absurdly-overmatched Tatsuhiko Nishizaka at the Bitetti Combat 5 event last December. Promoters were trying to secure a battle with Kazushi Sakuraba for the upcoming show but will instead have to settle for Sasaki.

Unfortunately, Filho has yet to face a competitor even remotely close to his level of skill in over two years and the uneven Sasaki is no exception. Aside from dropping five of his last eight, the Grabaka product has the dubious honor of being the last man to lose to Sean Salmon.

Here is how the Bitetti Combat 6 card is shaping up:

Paulo Filho vs. Yuki Sasaki
Glover Teixeira vs. Jeff Monson
Fabio Maldonado vs. Valentijn Overeem
Cristiano Marcello vs. Emiliano Cobra Vatt
Ediene "India" Gomes vs. Amanda Nunes
Luiz Firmino "Buscapé" vs. Francisco Drinaldo "Massaranduba"
Danillo "Indio" Villefort vs. Cassiano Tytschyo
Yuri Villefort vs. Julio Cesar Merenda
Leandro Batata vs. Johnny "Little" Eduardo
Felipe Atinelli "Mongo" vs. TBA

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for the finishing touches on this fight card in the coming days.

Gegard Mousasi, Gilbert Melendez and more gather to preview 'EA Sports MMA' at Madden Bowl 2010 (Video)

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 07:18 AM PST

Sengoku 12: Maximo Blanco vs 'Armbar Kim' confirmed for March 7

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 06:47 AM PST


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Lightweight King of Pancrase and former freestyle wrestling standout, Maximo "Maxi" Blanco (4-2-1) has been confirmed to square off with Korean submission artist, Chang Hyun Kim (15-5) at Sengoku 12 on March 7.

Sengoku 12, the inaugural event under the new "Sengoku Raiden Championship" banner will take place at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, and the event will air on HDNet in North America.

Maxi last competed at Sengoku 10 in September last year and triumphed over 19 year-old ZST prospect, Tetsuya Yamada via second-round TKO. He is currently on a two-fight winning streak since losing via DQ at Sengoku 8 last May; in his second-to-last victory, he captured the Lightweight King of Pancrase with a victory over Katsuya Inoue.

His upcoming opponent, Chang Hyun Kim, has been dubbed the "Armbar Kim" for his high win ratio by way of armbar (the technique accounts for eight of fifteen career wins). Having cut his teeth in Korean circuits such as Spirit MC, Kim made his North American debut last November at a KOTC Canada event. Currently on a six-fight winning streak, he has not dropped a match since November 2006.

At the press conference held on Tuesday, February 16, World Victory Road (WVR) public relations director, Michihiro Iida stated that WVR has settled on "Armbar Kim" as Blanco`s opponent after ruminating about who could pose a challenging but manageable matchup for the Venezuelan native.

Blanco, whom WVR has been grooming under the Sengoku Fighter Development program, has thus far demonstrated a wild, high octane fighting style underpinned by his freestyle wrestling background and developing striking game. While his training at Yoshida dojo has equipped him with the rudiments of submission defense, acquiring ground game remains an ongoing challenge for him.

Thus, his upcoming fight against "Armbar Kim" should serve as a barometer for his proficiency in submission grappling.

In the wake of the recent expiration of the contract between Yoshida dojo and Sengoku, Blanco has found a new home in a Pancrase-affiliate gym. At the press conference, he revealed that he is in no hurry to contend for a lightweight title in Sengoku. Also, he said (perhaps in jest) that he does not want to defend his King of Pancrase title because "he has been evolving as a fighter."

When the potential 2012 Olympic bid for his Sengoku Fighter Development colleague and fellow freestyle wrestling standout, Shigeki Osawa, came up, he simply stated, "I want to go to London as a tourist. I will concentrate on my professional career."

Elsewhere, Marlon Sandro has also been confirmed for participation in Sengoku 12. His original opponent (rumored to be the Sengoku featherweight champion, Masanori Kanehara) has reportedly been injured, and there is no word yet on who the new opponent will be.

Stay tuned to MMAmania for more information about the upcoming Sengoku 12 fight card.

UFC Quick Quote: Stephan Bonnar ready to 'fight his ass off' on Feb. 21

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 06:39 AM PST

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"He’s a well-rounded veteran with a lot of experience. He’s a strong guy. I’ve got some stuff planned for him. I’ve got to do certain things when the time’s right and fight smart. It’s just as important as my last fight and probably just as important as all the ones that are yet to come. It’s do-or-die. That’s how it feels, but that’s how it feels every time I go out there. I really haven’t felt any pressure until this last week. I’m going to do what I do every fight and go 100 percent and fight my ass off."

Stephan Bonnar talks to Sherdog.com about getting back to his winning ways as he prepares to face Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 110 from the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 21. "The American Psycho" has dropped two straight inside the Octagon after returning from a catastrophic knee injury he suffered while training for a big fight against Matt Hamill in April 2008. While Bonnar's contributions to the sport before, during and after his run on The Ultimate Fighter will probably keep him from being unemployed anytime soon, dropping three straight could be a major blow to his marketability as a fighter. Anyone think he's finished as a fighter -- or just getting his second wind?

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