Friday, June 18, 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

Bellator 22: Ben Askren dominates Dan Hornbuckle to win Welterweight Tournament in Kansas City

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 10:05 PM PDT

Askren-wins_medium

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (June 17, 2010) - Bellator Fighting Championships crowned its second Season 2 champion Thursday night as former NCAA wrestling superstar and U.S. Olympian Ben Askren put on a grappling clinic to neutralize knockout artist and rising MMA star Dan Hornbuckle in a dominating and well-rounded performance.

The 25-year-old University of Missouri product drew from the vocal support of an adoring crowd at the Kansas City Power & Light District to win a unanimous decision victory and complete the metamorphosis from highly touted prospect to full-fledged MMA star that many experts had predicted.

With his new wife Amy watching cageside, Askren (6-0) controlled the fight from the start, taking the veteran Hornbuckle to the mat early on in all three rounds and holding him at bay with his world-class wrestling skills.

Hornbuckle tried to stop the momentum a few times, attempting a triangle choke mid-way through Round 2 and a kimura mid-way through Round 3, but Askren was able to escape both submissions.

"This is exactly the kind of performance we had hoped Ben would put on when we signed him six months ago," Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said. "He showed some great talent in his first two Bellator fights but saved the best performance for last. It was a tremenously impressive night for Ben all the way around. As an MMA fan, I cannot wait to see his World Title fight against Lyman Good this fall. "

Afterward, Askren told Bellator color commentator Jimmy Smith that he has already shifted his sights to reigning Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good, who he'll face in a title fight later this year.

"Lyman, keep my belt warm," he said as his hometown crowd egged him on. "Shine it up once a week and enjoy it while you can because it's mine, baby."

Joining Askren in the winner's circle was Lisa Ward, the 27-year-old Seattle-based submission artist who improved her pro record to 13-3 and gave fans a sneak preview of what they'll see when she enters the cage as part of Bellator's upcoming Season 3 Women's Tournament beginning in August.

Ward wasted no time locking 19-year-old MMA up-and-comer Stephanie Frausto (2-2) into a tight rear-naked choke, putting her to sleep and ending the fight via technical submission just 2:01 into Round 1. Ward said after the fight that she is hoping for tournament matchup with Megumi Fujii, the world's No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter, who handed Ward one of her three losses during a 2007 showdown in Canada.

"I would love another shot at Megumi," Ward said. "We definitely have some unfinished business."

Earlier, 24-year-old Missouri native Jose Vega delivered yet another Bellator "YouTube moment" with a highlight-reel knockout of North Carolina-based jiu-jitsu specialist Jarrod "The Wild Card" Card just 39.8 seconds into the first round of their "Bantamweight Feature Fight."

After setting it up with a pair of stiff leg kicks, Vega (8-3) connected with a left hook to Card's jaw, knocking him unconscious and dropping him to the canvas, bringing Vega's many hometown fans to their feet.

"I'm lost for words," an emotional Vega said afterward. "I've never had a KO before, but my hands have improved - [former Bellator fighters] Brian Davidson, James Krause and Tyler Stinson have been helping me with that. I saw the opening and I just went for it."

In the first televised fight of the night, IFL and M1 veteran Raphael Davis improved his record to 9-1 by dominating Arena Football League veteran and one-time Nebraska state high school wrestling champion Demetrius Richards (5-3). Davis took the fight to the ground early on and quickly took Richards' back, wearing him down with hammer fists and a flurry of knees to the body before Richards submitted to punches just 2:51 into Round 1.

The event also played host to five Local Feature Fights:

- Tyler Stinson def. Leonardo Pecanha via rear-naked choke (1:42)

- Rudy Bears def. Brian Green via rear-naked choke (3:49)

- Cole Konrad def. John Orr via unanimous decision

- Jared Downing def. Chad Vandenberg via rear-naked choke (11:35)

Fans who missed Thursday night's action can watch all the best moments this weekend during special highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2. Check your local listings for exact dates and times.

Bellator returns to action next Thursday night from the Fourth Street Live entertainment district in downtown Louisville, Ky., where Bellator will conclude its second season with the championship rounds of its Middleweight and Featherweight Tournaments.

The two championship fights and the rest of the Bellator 23 featured card will again be televised live on FOX Sports Net.

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

Jose Vega knockout of Jarrod Card at Bellator 22 (Video)

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 10:05 PM PDT

UFC President Dana White sitting court side in Los Angeles for Game 7 of the NBA Finals right near...

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 08:27 PM PDT

Dana_cbs_lakers

UFC President Dana White sitting court side in Los Angeles for Game 7 of the NBA Finals right near his best friend (sarcasm), CBSs Les Moonves (Pic).

UFC 118: 'Edgar vs. Penn 2' announced for TD Garden in Boston on Aug. 28

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 08:17 PM PDT

Penn-edgar_medium

The UFC is coming, the UFC is coming!

Dana White today made his homecoming official, announcing that his promotion will stage a blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) event for the first-time ever in his native Boston, Mass., at the TD Garden on Aug. 28, 2010.

UFC 118: "Edgar vs. Penn 2" (as its name suggests) will feature a rematch for the lightweight title between B.J. Penn and division champion Frankie Edgar in the main event of the evening. "The Answer" figured out the "Prodigy" at UFC 112 back in April, earning a five-round unanimous decision over the Hawaiian.

It's the centerpiece of a blockbuster weekend that has white downright giddy:

"Without a doubt, August 28th will be one of the highlights of my career, I’m thrilled to bring the UFC to Boston for the first time in our history. Boston is one of the world’s greatest fight towns, fans only expect the best, and we are bringing it with the rematch between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar, and the Octagon-debut of boxing legend James Toney vs. one of the greatest UFC heavyweights of all-time, Randy Couture."

That's right, former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Randy Couture will indeed ntroduce professional boxing champion James Toney to the Octagon in the co-featured fight of the night. Another exciting 155-pound showdown between Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard has also been made official.

There's more.

The promotion also plans to coordinate a two-day "Fan Expo" at the nearby Hynes Convention Center from Aug. 27 right up until fight time to coincide with the PPV event.

It will include meet and greets with legendary UFC, Pride FC and WEC fighters, mixed martial arts (MMA) demonstrations, grappling "Super Fights," fan-inspired special events, training and development sessions, as well as other combat related opportunities and entertainment.

For the latest UFC 118: "Edgar vs. Penn 2" fight card and rumors click here.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to appear on "The Tonight Show with...

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 08:16 PM PDT

Rampage_jackson_jay_leno

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to promote his role as BA Barracus in the "A-Team" tonight (June 17) at 11:35 p.m. ET.

UFC 116 video: Brock Lesnar training for Shane Carwin with Randy Couture

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 06:58 PM PDT

UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar trains with former foe -- and champion himself -- Randy Couture in the DeathClutch camp. Lesnar -- who has not competed since a major stomach ailment nearly killed his mixed martial arts career last year -- is preparing for his title defense against Shane Carwin at UFC 116, which is scheduled for MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 3, 2010. Is "The Natural" the X-factor in this clash of the titans or will Lesnar prevail with or without his assistance?
Poll
ABM vs Pain Train Who Wins

  1150 votes | Results

Jon Fitch: 'If Josh Koscheck beats Georges St. Pierre, then I'm moving up to 185'

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 10:50 AM PDT

110_medium

Props: Sportsnet.ca (via Cage Potato)

Quoteworthy:

"To me there's no reason to fight a teammate. It's just not a fight we're interested in at all. It's a situation where, if Koscheck is able to win the belt and defend the belt, I will move up to 185. I think I have a good size frame. I can put on 15 pounds. I may have to take a month off or so to put on some weight, but that process may take over a year from now. I'll have fought every welterweight worth fighting by then. [If Georges wins] I'll be waiting on the front doorsteps with flowers [for a title shot]."

Former welterweight number one contender Jon Fitch would rather sacrifice his title aspirations than have to fight friend and American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) team mate Josh Koscheck. Of course a lot would have to happen for that type of scenario to ever play out. In addition to "Kos" defeating fellow TUF 12 Coach and division champion Georges St. Pierre, Fitch would have to overcome the Brazilian "Pitbull" Thiago Alves later this summer. Can the stars align and ultimately boot the wrestling standout to a higher weight classn? Or will Team AKA close out the year 0-2?

Julio Paulino out, Forrest Petz in against Daniel Roberts at UFC 116 on July 3 in Las Vegas.

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 10:36 AM PDT

Ninja-tweet2

Julio Paulino out, Forrest Petz in against Daniel Roberts at UFC 116 on July 3 in Las Vegas.

DREAM 15 adds Manhoef vs Mizuno and Cavalcante vs Kikuno for July 10

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 09:56 AM PDT

Melvin-manhoef_medium

Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) today continued to bolster its upcoming DREAM 15 card with two stellar match-ups for the July 10 event booked for the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Feared striker and longtime veteran of Japanese combat sports, Melvin Manhoef, will look for a "Marvelous" return to the promotion when he opens the light heavyweight grand prix against M-1 and Pancrase product Tatsuya Mizuno.

Manhoef (24-7-1) is coming off a stunning knockout loss to "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler at Strikeforce: "Miami" back in January while Mizuno (7-5) hasn't competed since November 2009 when he stopped Ilir Latifi via technical knockout under the K-1 banner.

The victor will go on to face the winner of Gegard Mousasi and his yet-to-be named opponent.

Also slated for July 10 is a lightweight affair between DREAM and K-1 veteran Gesias Cavalcante and DEEP star Katsunori Kikuno.

Despite an impressive record of 14-3-1, "JZ" has put up goose eggs during his three fight run for DREAM, recently dropping back-to-back decisions to Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri and debuting with a "no contest" against "The Tobikan Judan."

Kikuno (13-2-2) has fared a little better, wrapping two technical knockout victories around a submission loss to Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez.

DREAM 15 will feature a lightweight grudge match between champion Shinya Aoki and challenger (and longtime rival) Tatsuya Kawajiri. Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi is also expected to compete.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more updates on this still-developing fight card.

Freddie Roach: 'The UFC is just trying to use older boxers to make their sport look better'

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 09:52 AM PDT

White-roach_medium

(Fanpost edited and promoted by MMAmania.com)

Past-his-prime pugilist James Toney will finally get the chance to prove that boxing (with takedown defense) trumps mixed martial arts on any given Saturday when he takes on former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Randy Couture at UFC 118 in Boston.

Can he do it?

Not according to famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach, who was asked to give his thoughts recently on "Lights Out" coming over to the UFC to fight "The Natural."

Courtesy of East Side Boxing:

"I think it's a bad decision. I don't think it will work. I think the UFC is just trying to say they're better than boxing because if James fought Couture in a boxing match James would absolutely destroy him, but if he fights him in a UFC/MMA style fight James does not have a ground game, once he goes to the ground it's over. It's completely two different sports and they're just trying to use older boxers to make their sport look better."

I think many mixed martial arts fans will agree with Freddy's first two sentences. Toney coming over to face a former multi-MMA champion in his first cage fight is probably not the best idea in the world.

But then his third sentence leads to something completely different. It seems as though he's saying the UFC reached out to Toney and offered him a fight with one of their former champions just to prove that UFC fighters are better than boxers.

Wow, wow, wow! I think I speak for most of us when I say that is totally NOT what went down.

James Toney made it very public that he was going to follow Dana White to UFC 108 on January 2 in Las Vegas and approach the UFC president to ask for a fight inside the Octagon.

He did so.

He was even seen in several post-fight videos with Dana immediately following the event. Two days later a video was released that featured White, Toney, and two other men talking about working out a deal for the pro boxer to get in on some UFC action.

About a month later Toney was featured on "Sports Soup" giving this interesting message to Dana:

"Dana White: F*** you, f*** you, f*** you. Be right, come with the money if you ain't...if you ain't scared put down the candy, let the little girls go and come see me. Dana White, offers there, everything is in your corner right now, so come on. Come see the man."

Several other names mentioned in that Sports Soup call-out (and HDNet appearance) were current Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, "The Iceman" Chuck Liddell, former UFC fighter Kimbo Slice, and his hopeful UFC 118 opponent Randy Couture.

It seems to me that Toney got exactly what he wanted. A few weeks after all of this nonsense, Couture actually felt the need to respond to Toney, almost immediately agreeing to a match-up with the NABO Heavyweight Champion.

I don't know where Roach is getting his information these days, but it sure isn't reality.

The UFC may be trying to show that boxers don't belong in an MMA arena by matching Toney up with such a solid opponent his first time out, but that's exactly what he asked for -- no, that's what he begged for! And Freddie really knocks it out of the park with his last statement.

Let's take a quick look back for effect:

"They're just trying to use older boxers to make their sport look better."

Really?

Someone please tell me when the last time was that the UFC put an older boxer against a current top MMA guy to prove that MMA is better than boxing. What's that? You can't think of a single time? Well, that's because it's NEVER happened.

Not to mention that Couture IS FIVE YEARS OLDER THAN TONEY! Maybe Toney is chasing fights with old MMA fighter to prove that he's not as washed up as he appears from inside a boxing ring.

Some people may be able to get away with gargling a bunch of nonsense, non-facts out of their mouth, but if you're going to do that you had better direct it at something other than MMA, because we're on point over here!

The fact is that Toney was basically abandoned by the boxing world so HE decided to pursue Dana White asking for a UFC contract of some sort.

It's obvious by Toney's appearance on Sports Soup (among other outlets) that Dana was not quick to give in to the idea. He even said to Toney in their post-UFC 108 meeting that he didn't want a "freak show" in his Octagon and he turned down many other offers from other boxers trying to get a deal with him for that very reason. He wants to make credible match-ups, not freak shows.

That alone completely discredits everything Freddy said up there...except one thing of course.

"James does not have a ground game, once he goes to the ground it's over."

Gotta give that one to you Freddie! Now start working on getting the Pacman/Mayweather fight together...

'Rampage' Jackson blames secret knee injury and the boredom of Greg Jackson for UFC 114 loss to Rashad Evans

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 07:32 AM PDT

Evans-shoots-rampage_medium_medium

Props: Fighter's Only

Quoteworthy:

"I apologize for the fight not so much because I lost but because of how it went down. I always like to put on exciting fights for the fans but Rashad came out to use that ‘Greg Jackson’ plan: be boring and squeak out a victory. So that bothers me more than the loss. I remember one other thing he was doing - he was punching me in my knee! It was weird because I had suffered a real bad knee injury in camp but we kept it secret, we didn’t say anything about it and we didn’t even tell the UFC. I told my doctor and that was it, he helped me out but I was going to back out of the fight. The only reason I didn’t back out was the fight had been so hyped and I didn’t want to disappoint the fans. Why was he punching me in the knee though? That’s kind of weird - did he find out about the injury? I don’t know. Its weird."

Quinton Jackson holds uber-trainer Greg Jackson accountable for his performance in the UFC 114 main event back on May 29. Despite nearly finishing him in the third and final round, "Rampage" was unable to overcome the quickness and strategy of Rashad Evans and ultimately dropped the unanimous decision to "Suga." First he blamed "ring rust," but now seems to think that bad knees and bald coaches were his real enemy. Anyone else ready to move on? Or does Jackson have a legitimate gripe?

Miguel Torres working blue during last night's Strikeforce "Los Angeles" event. Fighter bashing? Or...

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 07:31 AM PDT

9ibv5z

Miguel Torres working blue during last night's Strikeforce "Los Angeles" event. Fighter bashing? Or good sense of humor?

(Thanks to Bloody Elbow for the tip)

'Babalu' Sobral calls out Dan Henderson after 'Los Angeles' win over Robbie Lawler

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 06:34 AM PDT

Babs-hendo_medium

Props: MMA Weekly

Quoteworthy:

"I won't never punch and try to hurt my friends, but I would like to ask for a fight, and all the respect that I have, in the beginning of my career I fought Dan Henderson in Japan and lost to him. I don't want to disrespect, but I would like to fight him. It's going to be 11 years since I fought him. It's a long time, and please, it would be an honor to fight him again, to have the chance to fight Dan Henderson."

Former UFC light heavyweight Renato Sobral sets his sights on another Zuffa exile for a potential rematch with Dan Henderson, who narrowly beat the Brazilian under the RINGS banner way back in February 2000. "Babalu" outstruck "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler at the June 16 "Los Angeles" event but would rather not fight current friend and division champion "King Mo" despite taking a step up in the 205-pound rankings. Hendo is coming off a flat performance against Jake Shields and has not yet been paired up for his sophomore appearance in Strikeforce. Anyone want to see these two longtime veterans hook 'em up for another go-round this fall?

'Cyborg' Santos 'very happy' after knocking out Marius Zaromskis on June 16 (Video)

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 06:20 AM PDT

Strikeforce: Robbie Lawler 'should have done more' against Babalu Sobral in 'Los Angeles'

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 05:56 AM PDT

Lawler-babs-1_medium

"I wasn’t hurt, I just wanted to make him think I was. It was a ploy, a decoy, for him to fight me so I could knock him out. I’m disappointed with the result, but I have no complaints. The two takedowns in the first round may have been the difference. I know that I could have done much more. I should have done more."

Strikeforce middleweight Robbie Lawler talks to media during last night's post-fight press conference about his 195-pound catchweight fight against Renato Sobral in "Los Angeles." Lawler feel that perhaps he wasn't "Ruthless" enough, thus allowing "Babalu" to take home the unanimous decision win. Was the Brazilian the better fighter on June 16? Or the better strategist? And do any Maniacs out there disagree with the judge's scorecards?

A banged-up "Babalu" after his Strikeforce: "Los Angeles" win over "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler.

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 01:34 AM PDT

Strikeforcela0016

A banged-up "Babalu" after his Strikeforce: "Los Angeles" win over "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Recent Articles on Sherdog.com

Loading...

UFC rss

Loading...

Recent Interviews on Sherdog.com

Loading...