UFC blog for latest news, videos, results, betting odds, fighter interviews and MMA rumors - UFCmania.com

---

• BJ Penn: UFC lightweight champion and CNN tsunami correspondent (Video)
• Heavyweight Cole Konrad is Bellator-bound following second career MMA victory
• Mariusz Pudzianowski slated for return against former sumo champion at KSW 13
• UFC Quick Quote: Georges St. Pierre 'fighting for a legacy'
• WEC bantamweight champ Brian Bowles is looking for respect at WEC 47
• BJ Penn braces for a possible tsunami in Hilo, Hawaii (Video)
• Reed Harris: The WEC could be coming to Canada 'in the next few months'
• WCF 9 results from the Shriner's Auditorium on Feb. 26
• UFC Undisputed 2010: Cain Velasquez ready to kick some digital butt (Pic)
• Injuries reshuffle UFC on Versus 1 preliminary card
• UFC Quick Quote: Brock Lesnar is hoping Frank Mir beats Shane Carwin so he can shut him up once and for all
• In your face Ohio! Tim Sylvia vs Wes Sims booked for IFC 'Fight Night' in Canada
• Amoussou came out of the gates firing punches at Prangley, who covered up and countered the...

BJ Penn: UFC lightweight champion and CNN tsunami correspondent (Video) Posted: 27 Feb 2010 09:02 PM PST Sorry for the amateur video, but we'll update this post if something with better quality comes around soon:

Heavyweight Cole Konrad is Bellator-bound following second career MMA victory Posted: 27 Feb 2010 09:02 PM PST PHILADELPHIA, Penn. (February 27, 2010) — Two-time NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion Cole Konrad is the latest highly sought-after MMA prospect to join Bellator Fighting Championships growing roster of top fighters. Konrad made the revelation during a backstage interview earlier tonight following a first round TKO (doctor’s stoppage) of Joel Wyatt during a Matrix Fights event in Philadelphia. The win improved Konrad's professional record to 2-0. Konrad broke the news during a post-fight interview after he was asked about his plans for the future. He said that he had been pursued by a variety of other promotions, but made the choice to sign with Bellator. "I’m excited to sign with Bellator," Konrad said. "It’s a great opportunity to fight for a great company and I’m just really excited for what the future holds with this company." In attendance to watch Konrad's performance was Bellator Fighting Championships founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney, who addressed his promotion's latest blue chip acquisition with the media following the event. "Cole Konrad brings some great characteristics to the table that could make him a force at heavyweight," Rebney said. "Brock Lesner’s dominance in the UFC has shown the impact that an elite, world-class wrestler can have in the heavyweight division. As a two-time NCAA heavyweight champion who is aggressively rounding out his MMA arsenal, Cole’s potential is unlimited. We are happy to be teaming up with him and, as a company, we are excited with what the future may hold." Prior to making his professional MMA debut earlier this month in Fargo, N.D., Konrad's greatest claim to fame in the sport had been his role as a full-time training partner of current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Konrad is a fixture at Lesner’s training camps in Alexandria, Minn. Konrad's professional debut took place on Jan. 23 with the former aspiring NFL offensive lineman recording his first-ever win just 1:07 into Round 1 following a "polar bear choke" against Gary Hamen. With his formidable amateur wrestling credentials and close affiliation with Lesnar, Konrad's recent entry into the professional MMA ranks is a hot topic among fight fans. According to Matrix Fights promoters, ticket sales and media requests surged dramatically following the surprise announcement early this month that Konrad had been added to the co-main event of its first-ever show. "Cole has already generated quite a buzz," Rebney said. "We are happy not only to announce our long-term deal with him but to reveal that fans will be able to see his next fight on one of our nationally televised May events on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo." Bellator's second season will continue for 11 consecutive weeks following the April 8 kickoff in Florida with a third season already planned and slated to start in August. After making a strong debut in its first season last year on ESPN Deportes, Rebney announced a landmark television deal this past fall that included new partnerships with FOX Sports Net, NBC, and Telemundo. Much like Season 1, Bellator will be conducting tournaments at 145, 155, 170, and 185 lbs. during Season 2 with the winners earning title shots against the promotion's respective champions in each weight class.

Mariusz Pudzianowski slated for return against former sumo champion at KSW 13 Posted: 27 Feb 2010 05:55 PM PST Five-time World's Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski is ready to return to the ring for his second professional fight. Polish MMA organization, KSW is currently trying to secure an opponent for "Pudzian." He likely will face former Sumo champion Robert Paczków at KSW 13 in late May, according to Five Ounces of Pain. Pudzianowski made a successful MMA debut last December when he dismantled professional boxer and fellow MMA debutant, Marcin "El Testosteron" Najman in less than a minute at KSW 12. While the bout against Najman constituted a one-sided beatdown against an equally inexperienced (in MMA, not in combat sports in general) and much smaller opponent, Pudzianowski will see his size advantage nullified against the equally (and possibly more) hefty Paczków: "Pudzian" stands at 6'1" and weighs around 300 pounds, while Paczków also walks around near 300+ pounds. Like Pudzianowski, Paczków is also 1-0 in his professional MMA career, with a victory over TUF 10 cast member, James McSweeney via "smother" at Cage Rage 24. For those of you wondering how one could win a fight via "smother," watch a demonstration by Paczków after the jump.

UFC Quick Quote: Georges St. Pierre 'fighting for a legacy' Posted: 27 Feb 2010 05:50 PM PST   "It's hard to become champion. And it's even harder to stay champion. Right now, I'm the target. Everybody want to take my place. I know what it take to be champion and I don't plan to let go of my title anytime soon. I'm not fighting to be champion anymore. I'm fighting for a legacy. Even if I believe I'm a better fighter than Dan Hardy, the night of the fight, I'm going to have to fight the best fight because if I don't -- it might be a bad night for me. I don't take this fight lightly. He's the most dangerous guy I've fought so far. I'm bigger, stronger, more powerful and more skilled than I've ever been. I see it like a marathon, not like a sprint. There's not one fight that will define me... it's the sum of my fights. I'm a proud champion and I want to fight the best out there. March 27 you will see the best Georges St. Pierre that ever step into the Octagon. I'm going to fight Dan Hardy like nobody has fought him before. It's easy to talk trash but harder to fight. I'm not really good at it. Fighting, it's what I'm good at."   -- UFC Welterweight Champion George St. Pierre has already written his name in the books of the mixed martial arts, establishing himself as one of the most respected champions in the history of the sport. But he tells FiveKnuckles that he is still working to cement his legacy as one of the best to ever participate in the sport.  And on March 27, the Canadian sportsman promises to put on his best performance to date when he takes on Dan Hardy at UFC 111. Will the British star be able to derail the welterweight king's journey into the history books or is he just another victim along St. Pierre's quest to be one of the best of all time?

WEC bantamweight champ Brian Bowles is looking for respect at WEC 47 Posted: 27 Feb 2010 10:13 AM PST Props: Las Vegas Sun Quoteworthy: "I don't exactly know what a lucky punch is. You're out there fighting. You're throwing punches, trying to hit somebody and you hit them. I don't know how that's lucky. It's kind of expected [the hesitance of people accepting him as champion], when somebody is as big of an underdog as I was, fighting a dominant champion, that's the way it works out. It's just like the lucky punch question. Would I have been better off to win by decision and have half the people say the decision should have gone to him? There's always going to be naysayers. I just have to know what happened. I have to know that I trained my butt off for that fight and I did things right... It's just like that [comparing his situation to Mike Brown's], Urijah was a dominant champion, he gets beat and now nobody knows what to do or what to say. They didn't know if he was a fluke or if he was really that good. He [Brown] beat Garcia and kept winning and then you realize, maybe he did deserve that win. So, that's what I have to do - keep winning... At this moment, all I'm focusing on is Cruz. That's easy to say, but that's what I'm doing. If it works out (Torres and I) fight again, cool. If it doesn't, whatever. All I have to do right now is worry about defending my title." WEC bantamweight champion Brian Bowles talks about what was one of the biggest upsets in the sport last year and the fact that people still aren't giving him the respect he feels he deserves. Bowles actually equates himself to Mike Brown in that once Brown shockingly knocked out a dominant and uber popular champion in Urijah Faber, Brown had to keep winning to show people it was no fluke. Bowles will get that chance to show fans that he's for real when he takes on Dominick Cruz at WEC 47 on March 6. So what's gonna happen? Is Bowles about to pull a Mike Brown and prove his worth, or is Cruz going to expose his weaknesses and end his short stay at the top of the division? Lets hear it, Maniacs.

BJ Penn braces for a possible tsunami in Hilo, Hawaii (Video) Posted: 27 Feb 2010 10:03 AM PST Created by the "massive" 8.8-magnitude earthquake earlier today in Chile:

Reed Harris: The WEC could be coming to Canada 'in the next few months' Posted: 27 Feb 2010 09:01 AM PST Props: MMAWeekly Quoteworthy: "We're going to go up to Canada, and we're hoping to do that in the next few months. We're looking at a few different cities and it's really going to depend on dates and venues, and things like that. Again, we have television concerns and so there's a lot of elements that go into it. Right now I don't have a city specifically I can announce, but I can tell you we're looking at two or three." WEC General Manager Reed Harris confirms the good news for Canadian fight fans that the UFC sister-promotion will bring its unique brand of cagefighting across the border in the next few months.The promotion recently secured an exclusive Canadian multi-platform partnership agreement with The Score to bring seven live WEC fights, online content and exclusive features to Canadian audiences beginning this year. Are they now ready for live events -- or is MMA over-saturating itself by spreading too fast, too soon?

WCF 9 results from the Shriner's Auditorium on Feb. 26 Posted: 27 Feb 2010 09:00 AM PST World Championship Fighting (WCF) put a ribbon on its ninth offering last night (Feb. 26, 2010) from the Shriner's Auditorium in Wilmington, Massachusetts. WCF 9 featured a main event between former Olympian and undefeated MMA fighter Rick Hawn against New Jersey native Tom Gallicchio. Hawn -- a four-time national champion in Judo and top 10 finisher at the 2004 Olympics -- kept his perfect record intact with a unanimous decision, passing perhaps the toughest test of his career to date. In other action, New England mainstays John Benoit and Dan Bonnell racked up more wins, defeating Noah Weisman via unanimous decision and Cesario de Souza via first round technical knockout. Check out the WCF 9 results after the jump: Rick Hawn def. Tom Gallicchio – Unanimous Decision, 30-27 all John Benoit def. Noah Weisman – Unanimous Decision, 20-18 all Stephen Stengel def. Mike Zichelle – Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:09 R1 Jamie Campbell def. Andrew Nelson – TKO 1:21 R1 Dan Bonnell def. Cesario de Souza – TKO 0:32 R1 Matt Martin def. Peter Colge – Submission (Triangle) 1:40 R1 Carlos Lovato def. Jerry Spiegel – TKO 3:15 R1 Robby Roberts def. Buster Crandell – Submission (Arm Bar) 2:08 R1 Joel Ly def. Steve Beck -- Submission (Triangle Choke) 3:19 R1 Nelson Gaipou def. Matt Johnson – Submission (Triangle Choke) 0:35 R1 Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on WCF and its upcoming shows in the Boston area.

UFC Undisputed 2010: Cain Velasquez ready to kick some digital butt (Pic) Posted: 27 Feb 2010 08:35 AM PST For more on the upcoming UFC Undisputed 2010 video game click here. Brock Lesnar and Thiago Silva after the jump (thanks to Bloody Elbow for the assist).

Injuries reshuffle UFC on Versus 1 preliminary card Posted: 27 Feb 2010 08:11 AM PST The injury bug continues to bite the Ultimate Fighting Championship as the March 21 "UFC on Versus 1" event  from the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colorado, is the latest fight card to go through some last minute changes and fighter substitutions. After an undisclosed injury forced Spencer "The King" Fisher from his undercard bout against Duane "Bang" Ludwig, UFC newcomer Darren Elkins (9-1) will make his Octagon debut against the Denver native. Also withdrawing from next month's event is Rob Kimmons. "The Rosedale Reaper" reportedly injured his leg and will be replaced by Julio Paulino (17-2), who makes his debut under the Zuffa banner against Mike Pierce. Both changes were confirmed yesterday by MMAWeekly. UFC on Versus 1 is set to feature a fantastic main event between dynamic light heavyweight strikers Brandon "The Truth" Vera and Jon "Bones" Jones. Junior "Cigano" dos Santos and Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga are also expected to be in action on what is shaping up to be a great card for the promotion's debut on the Versus network. To check out the latest fight card and rumors for UFC on Versus 1: "Vera vs. Jones" click here.

UFC Quick Quote: Brock Lesnar is hoping Frank Mir beats Shane Carwin so he can shut him up once and for all Posted: 27 Feb 2010 07:48 AM PST "You know I don't know what he [Frank Mir] thought... he's still trying to pull his foot out of his mouth and when you say something like that and your wife has to go out and apologize for you, you know you pissed somebody off. I think his wife made the apology before he did probably... But you know in this sport of fighting. Fighting has come so far in such a short amount of time. We want to perceive ourselves as athletes and get the respect of the general public. Yeah it was out of line but in the fighters mentally I don't want to go in the Octagon and kill somebody but I do want to do whatever I can to win. And maybe that's what he was saying, I don't know... But the guy should probably just focus on the task in front of him, which is Shane Carwin because if Shane Carwin beats his ass he won't be fighting me.... Hopefully he gets past Shane Carwin so I can put another beat down on him. For a guy to take an ass whopping like the last I gave him and for him to get up and keep running his mouth. You know I just got to laugh at it... But I am truly hoping that Frank wins this fight so it sets us up for July and maybe the next beat down will shut him up." -- UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar talks to KFAN Sports Radio 1130 (via BloodyElbow.com) about his nemesis Frank Mir and the potential for a trilogy fight with the only man to ever beat him in the UFC. Obviously Brock isn't too offended by what Mir had to say and is taking this whole situation rather calmly... for him at least. But aside from having a rooting interest in UFC 111, isn't it a bit ironic that Lesnar condemned Mir for not presenting himself as a respectful athlete after his now infamous meltdown at UFC 100? And is he hoping Mir gets by Carwin in March because he really wants to take it to Frank one last time, or does he view Shane Carwin as a greater challenge to his crown?

In your face Ohio! Tim Sylvia vs Wes Sims booked for IFC 'Fight Night' in Canada Posted: 27 Feb 2010 07:42 AM PST You know back in my day when you couldn't book fighters for a carnival-style freak show or lopsided mismatch, you simply packed your bags and headed off to a dirt floor arena somewhere in Alabama. That was until "The Heart of Dixie" went and got itself some good old fashioned regulation. Now promoters who can't squeak past an athletic commission will have to take their dog and pony show up north because after all, the show must go on. First up is the highly anticipated rematch between Tim Sylvia and Wes Sims, as the two former UFC heavyweights headline the main event of the International Fighting Confederation (IFC) "Fight Night" from Harbour Station in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada on June 5. Canada's own Telegraph Journal passed along the good news earlier today (via Bloody Elbow). Sylvia and Sims were originally booked to headline a planned Adrenaline MMA show on March 20 in Youngstown, Ohio -- until the Ohio Athletic Commission rejected the bout for being "non-competitive." Brandon Lee Hinkle was expected to replace Sims; however, Sylvia tweeted that it was "off" because "something else was in the works." Now "The Maine-iac" will face "A Whole Show" as part of a ten bout fight card that also includes Jeremy Horn vs. Dante Rivera, among other UFC veterans. From event promoter Jack Livingston: "This is the first time we'll experience superstars of this level in Atlantic Canada. It's never been done before and people can't believe it's coming. Star bound, star struck and the destination is Saint John, New Brunswick. You get down to a world championship fight with these two super athletes, people are going to come from the State of Maine, Eastern Quebec and all over Atlantic Canada to see this event. I'm just ecstatic we could bring this to the entertainment capital of Atlantic Canada." Sims is coming off a "Miami" beatdown at the hands of Bobby Lashley just last month. Although he's won three of his last four (the exact opposite of Sylvia), he did not compete at all in 2009 except for his stint on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 10, where he was quickly submitted by Justin Wren. In addition, "A Whole Show" already owns a TKO loss to "The Maine-iac" when the two met at "Superbrawl 38" in December of 2004. No question he wants revenge -- but it's hard to imagine he has anything left at this point -- even against Sylvia. After exiting the UFC in the wake of his loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81, Sylvia went on to get steamrolled by Fedor Emelianenko in his Affliction debut in July 2008. He then tried to mail it in against boxer-turned-MMA fighter Ray Mercer almost a year later and was knocked silly in just nine seconds. He restored himself to the winning column with a first-round TKO victory over Jason Riley at the Adrenaline MMA 4 event in September 2009. Though he broke his right hand in the bout, the injury has reportedly fully healed. Now he looks to make it two in a row when the pair head north. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for further updates regarding the upcoming IFC MMA show as they develop.

Amoussou came out of the gates firing punches at Prangley, who covered up and countered the... Posted: 27 Feb 2010 06:01 AM PST Amoussou came out of the gates firing punches at Prangley, who covered up and countered the Frenchman's assault with his own hands. Prangley scored a takedown, but was unable to advance his position from half guard. After the referee stood up the fighters, Prangley, with an open left hand, accidentally poked Amoussou in the right eye. The ringside physician immediately entered the cage and examined Amoussou, who was unable to open his eye, and declared the fighter unable to continue at the 4:14 mark of the first round (According to MMA rules in the state of California, the ringside physician has the discretion to stop a bout in the event that an accidental foul causes an injury).

You are subscribed to email updates from MMA Mania To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610