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UFC 117: 'Silva vs Sonnen' official for Oracle Arena in Oakland on Aug. 7
UFC 117: Matt Hughes vs Ricardo Almeida announced for Aug. 7 in Oakland
Georges St. Pierre preparing for a 'better' Josh Koscheck in December rematch (Video)
Programming alert: 'Countdown to UFC 115' debuts June 10 on Spike TV
Dave Meltzer reports UFC 114 brings in an early estimate of 925,000 pay-per-view (PPV) buys, making...
A-Team trailer video clip featuring 'Rampage' Jackson as BA Baracus
Conor Heun replaces 'Krazy Horse' Bennett against KJ Noons at Strikeforce 'Los Angeles'
UFC 115: Rich Franklin will no longer have to wonder if he can beat Chuck Liddell
Beep! Beep! Beep! Tito Ortiz puts it in reverse to avoid an "Iceman" confrontation after getting...
UFC Quick Quote: Minotauro Nogueira 'anxious' to get back into the heavyweight mix
Michael Bisping: Don't call me pillow fists -- I don't hit like a woman (Video)

UFC 117: 'Silva vs Sonnen' official for Oracle Arena in Oakland on Aug. 7

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 06:46 PM PDT

It's time to buy some whiskey!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today officially announced that its middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, will indeed defend his 185-pound title against the trash-talking Chael Sonnen at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 7.

Unsurprisingly, company president Dana White is looking forward to UFC 117: "Silva vs. Sonnen."

"When we offered Chael Sonnen this shot at the title, he promised us one thing: that he was going to make this a fight. I know he means it, and after beating three legit contenders in Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami, and Dan Miller, he's definitely going to bring the best out of Anderson Silva on August 7th. And as far as Anderson is concerned, he wants to remind everybody why he’s considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world."

Silva is coming off a controversial unanimous decision win over Demian Maia at UFC 112 earlier this year. "The Spider" danced the night away, taunting and floating around the Octagon much to the ire of White.

In fact, White was so enraged with Silva's antics that he refused to put the belt around his waist once he was announced the winner. He even threatened to cut the Brazilian --- widely regarded as the top mixed martial artist on the planet -- if he ever did it again.

So it's safe to say the Silva will be out for blood on fight night. Sonnen's sharp tongue will only add more fuel to the fire.

Sonnen, when he's not talking, is busy kicking ass and taking names inside the cage.

His most recent performance, during which he outworked and out-muscled perhaps the most muscle-bound fighter in the division, Nate Marquardt, earned him a crack at Silva.

However, a huge gash on his forehead prevented him from taking the fight in Abu Dhabi, opening the door for Maia.

The rest, as "they" say, is history.

Also announced for UFC 117 was a welterweight showdown between former champion Matt Hughes against Ricardo Almeida, as well as a lightweight contest between Clay Guida and Rafael dos Santos.

Thiago "Pitbull" Alves is also expected to finally (third time is the charm) seek revenge on longtime nemesis, Jon Fitch.

How's that for a card, Maniacs? For the current UFC 117 fight card click here.

UFC 117: Matt Hughes vs Ricardo Almeida announced for Aug. 7 in Oakland

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 06:46 PM PDT

Ricardo Almeida will be out for revenge when he locks horns with Matt Hughes in a welterweight showdown that is now set for the upcoming UFC 117: "Silva vs. Sonnen" pay-per-view (PPV) event planned for the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 7.

The promotion today made the long-rumored 170-pound match up official.

"Cachorrão" should be in high spirits, considering he's the winner of three straight. The grappling wizard recently made Matt Brown look mortal in their 170-pound clash at UFC 111: "St. Pierre vs. Hardy" back in March.

His celebration was short lived, however, as his master and long-time friend, Renzo Gracie, was stopped by the flinty farmboy at UFC 112: "Invincible" earlier this month.

Almeida has looked good since dropping to 170-pounds, but will he be good enough to overcome the former division champion?

Hughes battered Gracie en route to a third round technical knockout stoppage in Abu Dhabi. It was his second straight win since dining on Thiago Alves' knee at UFC 85: "Bedlam" in June 2008.

The former champ has been particular about his opponents since entering the twilight of his career, but doesn't seem to mind adding another Gracie Jiu-Jitsu fighter to his combat resume.

UFC 117 will feature the put-up-or-shut-up middleweight title fight between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva in the main event of the evening. A welterweight rematch between top contenders Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves is also expected to go down.

For the current UFC 117 fight card click here.

Georges St. Pierre preparing for a 'better' Josh Koscheck in December rematch (Video)

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 05:38 PM PDT

Programming alert: 'Countdown to UFC 115' debuts June 10 on Spike TV

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 11:14 AM PDT

Countdown to UFC 115: "Liddell vs. Franklin" will debut Thursday, June 10 at 10:00 p.m. ET on Spike TV to promote the upcoming pay-per-view (PPV) event scheduled for the GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Saturday, June 12.

The network special will provide a glimpse into the preparation and training camps of the fighters set to headline the show, featuring former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell and former UFC middleweight champion Rich "Ace" Franklin.

Also featured on the countdown special will be a closer look at a heavyweight affair that could make or break two careers when Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic answers the call of fast-rising super-striker Pat "Get Hype" Barry.

Replays of "Countdown to UFC 115" will air on Friday, June 11 at 1 a.m. ET and again on Saturday, June 12 at 6 p.m. ET.

Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of UFC 115 beginning with the PPV telecast at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 12. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of all the under card action much earlier on fight night.

To get up to speed on the "Liddell vs. Franklin" event be sure to check out the complete UFC 115 archive by clicking here.

Dave Meltzer reports UFC 114 brings in an early estimate of 925,000 pay-per-view (PPV) buys, making...

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 11:04 AM PDT

Dave Meltzer reports UFC 114 brings in an early estimate of 925,000 pay-per-view (PPV) buys, making it the fourth highest PPV draw in UFC history.

Props: Bloody Elbow

A-Team trailer video clip featuring 'Rampage' Jackson as BA Baracus

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 09:29 AM PDT

Conor Heun replaces 'Krazy Horse' Bennett against KJ Noons at Strikeforce 'Los Angeles'

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 09:12 AM PDT

Looks like former Elite XC lightweight champion KJ Noons (8-2) won't be getting that rematch against Charles Bennett after all.

First reported by MMAWeekly, "King Karl" has confirmed with MMAmania.com that "Krazy Horse" has been removed from the promotion's June 26 card for "undisclosed reasons" and that fellow Elite XC veteran Conor Heun (8-3) has agreed to step up and take his place at the Strikeforce: "Los Angeles" event slated for the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on June 16.

Bennett was previously booked to appear opposite Luis Palomino at the "Rock-N-Rumble III" event tomorrow night (June 4) in Hollywood, FL; however, neither promotion was immediately available for comment on Bennett's status.

Noons recently returned to mixed martial arts after more than a year when he took a unanimous decision from Andre Amado at DREAM 13 back in March.

It was his first bout since "retiring" from the sport in late 2008 after he was stripped of his 155-pound title for refusing to accept a rematch with Nick Diaz under the terms Elite XC was offering.

The ex-boxer made an attempt to return to his roots inside the ring, but a disappointing decision loss to James Countryman earlier this year threw a wrench into those plans. The City Boxing product did manage to put together a solid record of 4-1 as a pugilist, but he likely wasn't going to be winning a world title anytime soon.

That may not be the case in Strikeforce -- unless of course Huen has anything to say about it.

"Hurricane" made his Strikeforce debut under the "Challengers" banner, dropping a unanimous decision to Jorge Gurgel in an all-out war back in June 2009.

It was his only fight since Elite XC closed their doors in late 2008.

The June 26 event is set to air at 10 p.m. ET live on Showtime and will feature Fedor Emelianenko taking on grappling wizard Fabricio Werdum in the main event. Current Strikeforce Women's Champion Cristian 'Cyborg' Santos will also be in action against Jan "Cuddles" Finney.

For more on Strikeforce: "Fedor vs. Werdum" click here.

UFC 115: Rich Franklin will no longer have to wonder if he can beat Chuck Liddell

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 09:07 AM PDT

Props: MMA Fighting

Quoteworthy:

"I always thought about [fighting Liddell]. I wondered what it would be like to fight this person or that person, but I never thought the fight would materialize because I was a 185-pounder, he was a 205-pounder. Both weight classes at the time when we were champions had enough contenders in them that you didn't have to worry about who you were going to fight next to defend your title. Neither one of us needed to ... Chuck's already a UFC Hall of Famer and UFC legend. He's got a who's who of victories. Of course recently he's had a little bit of a rougher road, but it's Chuck Liddell."

The former middleweight champion returns from a self-imposed sabbatical to take on another former division kingpin when he throws hands with Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 on June 12 in Vancouver. Like Franklin, "The Iceman" may not be the fighter he once was, but that doesn't mean these two veterans can't put forth an exciting battle from the GM Place. Anyone expecting a gritty, three round war? Or a flash KO to open the first frame?

Beep! Beep! Beep! Tito Ortiz puts it in reverse to avoid an "Iceman" confrontation after getting...

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 08:19 AM PDT

Beep! Beep! Beep! Tito Ortiz puts it in reverse to avoid an "Iceman" confrontation after getting the boot from TUF 11.

UFC Quick Quote: Minotauro Nogueira 'anxious' to get back into the heavyweight mix

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 06:40 AM PDT

"I hope [my next fight's] soon.There’s nothing scheduled, we had Rogério’s fight this weekend, a hard fight, he did a good fight, worked on his Wrestling on the second round, won the first one, in my opinion, sure won the third and he made his game… It was a great fight! The focus was only on Rogério and now we’re starting to focus on my training, I’ll do a new camp for this next fight. Today we trained ground game, we’ve been training with kimonos, here in San Diego, two or three times a week. We started the training with the kimono and we end it without, we’re trying to improve my Jiu-Jitsu. There’s nothing scheduled yet, but I’m hoping to fight soon, I’m anxious and I have good expectations for this next battle."

Mixed martial arts legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira begins preparations for his next fight in the UFC heavyweight division. "Minotauro" tells Tatame.com that he's anxious to get back inside the Octagon, perhaps to erase the memory of his crushing defeat at the hands of rising star Cain Velasquez at UFC 110 back in February. The former PRIDE champion has nearly 40 fights over his eleven year career and boasts a resume littered with the sport's top names. Is the Brazilian capable of one last run? Or have years of abuse finally caught up to him? And which fight makes sense for him at this stage in his career? Let's hear your take Maniacs.

Michael Bisping: Don't call me pillow fists -- I don't hit like a woman (Video)

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 06:04 AM PDT