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

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• UFC opens offices in Asia
• Dana White: 'Kenny Florian chokes in big fights'
• Shaquille O'Neal calls out Hong Man Choi (Video)
• Fight Metric: Frankie Edgar was as good as he looked at UFC 118
• Will the real Joe Lauzon please stand up? Bostonian cruises at UFC 118
• Does Frankie Edgar loss at UFC 118 change BJ Penn's legacy?
• Report: Vitor Belfort vs Yushin Okami to headline UFC 122 on Spike TV in Germany
• UFC Quick Quote: Gray Maynard is ready to take the title from Frankie Edgar
• Dana White says no more boxing and UFC mashups (Video)
• Frankie Edgar silences critics with dominant performance at UFC 118

UFC opens offices in Asia Posted: 29 Aug 2010 09:49 PM PDT Next stop: Asia. As the UFC continues upon their quest of global domination, at least when it concerns combat sports, it was announced at the UFC 118 post-fight press conference that Asia will be the new home to UFC offices. Named as the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of this new operation was former NBA China Executive Mark Fischer. Mark Fischer at the UFC 118 post-fight press conference: "It's great to be here back in my hometown. I'm delighted and honored to work with UFC president Dana White and the Fertitta brothers to build the Ultimate Fighting Championship and our other businesses in Asia. It's a fantastic market. I think we're just scratching the surface. A lot martial arts began their tradition there. We're very respectful of that... I was with the NBA in Asia for 12 years. Five or six of those were building the NBA in China. I think as successful as the NBA was there, what we were able to do with that, I think we can just as much with the UFC and more." A couple quick notes on this move. One, Mr. Fischer appears to be extremely qualified to take on this role. He served as essentially the lead man for NBA China the last few years and has worked in Asia for the NBA for a dozen years. The NBA has undoubtedly enjoyed the most success in terms of global expansion when it comes to the big four sports in America, the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, and their conquest of Asia has been a big part of that. And two, the sheer size of the Asian market will assuredly lead to an increased fan base. Asia is the world's most populous continent consisting of more than 4 billion people. To compare, North America is home to around 530 million people.  Big business likely awaits. So, with offices now in the United Kingdom, Canada, and now Asia to go along with their headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, what part of the globe will the UFC post up at next? Let's hear from our Maniac geography buffs.

Dana White: 'Kenny Florian chokes in big fights' Posted: 29 Aug 2010 01:07 PM PDT Props: UFC 118 post-fight press conference (via MMA Fighting) Quoteworthy: "I hate to say this because I don't want to take anything away from Gray Maynard, but I think Kenny is just one of those guys who chokes in big fights. I'm not bad-mouthing him or trying to disrespect him; I'm just being honest. Every time it's a big fight and there's a lot of things on the line, Kenny just, Kenny's hands are unbelievable. Kenny's ground is unbelievable. Kenny usually kicks guys to the body and legs so hard that he busts guys up. You didn't see any of that tonight. He stood there and stared at Gray Maynard for three rounds... You'd think his corner would say, 'Dude, you just lost the first two rounds.' No sense of urgency in the third round.' Not saying, 'I need a knockout or submission in this round.' None of it. Nothing. And I guarantee you if Kenny comes back and fights one of the mid-level guys, he'll probably run through them like a f---ing freight train. But the big fights? He crumbles, man... I love Kenny Florian, I've known him since season one of The Ultimate Fighter. He's one of the best fighters in the world, but in the big fights, he chokes in the big fights. He's here in his hometown, another shot at the title and he sits in front of Gray Maynard for three rounds. He couldn't let anything go. Gray Maynard fought his fight, did what he wanted to do, and dominated him tonight." Some pretty strong words from UFC President Dana White on Kenny Florian's not-so-impressive performance last night at UFC 118 against Gray Maynard. No one likes to be known for not being able to produce in big spots, regardless of the job. While Florian's unanimous decision loss in his hometown of Boston to Gray may be more attributed to "The Bully's" dominant wrestling style than Kenny's nerves playing a role, an argument can be made that "KenFlo" just wasn't himself last night, and usually isn't when the stakes are at their highest. Anybody buying this theory that D.W. is selling? Or, was it just a bad style match up for Florian? Who thinks that Kenny will one day fight for the title again?

Shaquille O'Neal calls out Hong Man Choi (Video) Posted: 29 Aug 2010 01:06 PM PDT Shaq vs. Hong Man Choi? Who ya got?

Fight Metric: Frankie Edgar was as good as he looked at UFC 118 Posted: 29 Aug 2010 12:44 PM PDT Fight Metric, the mathmeticians of the MMA universe, have released their report on Penn vs. Edgar 2. And, like you'd suspect, it confirmed what we all saw with our own two eyes. Edgar really did dominate en route to a decision. We knew that, of course, but it's good to have the backing of math.

Will the real Joe Lauzon please stand up? Bostonian cruises at UFC 118 Posted: 29 Aug 2010 11:30 AM PDT   Props: Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting Quoteworthy: Welcome to Boston! I'm glad I got to fight here in Boston. I wanted to take his arm and that's exactly what I did...The crowd was unbelievable tonight. I love the crowd. I love Boston. I was definitely feeding off that energy. Joe Lauzon missed almost a year after a knee injury. When he finally returned to action, at UFC 108 in January he looked tentative and lacked the explosiveness that had come to characterize his career. No more. Lauzon ran through fellow The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 contestant Gabe Ruediger like a freight train. He slammed his cake eating opponent, and basically had his way with him before mercifully finishing the fight with an armbar two minutes in. Lauzon didn't just take home a win. He took home a cool $60,000 for submission of the night too. Maybe it was calibre of competition, but Lauzon looked like he had switched bodies with fellow Bostonian Kenny Florian. Is Lauzon back? Is he the real deal? Or is Gabe Ruediger just that awful?

Does Frankie Edgar loss at UFC 118 change BJ Penn's legacy? Posted: 29 Aug 2010 10:48 AM PDT It's long been a given that BJ Penn is one of the greatest fighters of all time. We hear it from Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan every time he fights in the Octagon and he's a multiple time world champion in two weight classes. But after losing two in a row, is it time to reevaluate where Penn stands in the annals of MMA history? Jonathan Snowden, who wrote a book about the history of MMA, thinks so: The raw numbers stand out like a sore thumb. In title fights, BJ Penn is a pedestrian 5-5-1. For every big fight he wins, he loses one in turn. The true greats of the sport, your Georges St. Pierres, your Matt Hughes, your Frank Shamrocks, your Fedor Emelianenkos, are defined by rising to the occasion. When the fights get tougher, these men only get better. Not so with BJ Penn. BJ Penn is a front runner. We learned that for the first time against Jens Pulver at UFC 35. Crowned as champion before even stepping into the cage, Penn had no answer for Pulver's heart and determination. When the fight got to the point where it demanded each man expose his very soul to walk away the winner, Penn faltered. Pulver stepped forward. That was the difference. Sports Illustrated's Josh Gross agrees: About that "best ever" tag that follows Penn wherever he goes, it needs to be reconsidered. Most talented? Hard to argue he wouldn't qualify. But did he get the most out of his gifts? I don't think so. And you don't need to look further than Penn's career and the choices he made to understand why. For starters, he was fast-tracked. In just his fourth fight, Penn was given a title shot against Jens Pulver. He lost. There was no grooming the Hawaiian. Then, in his seventh fight, he received another title shot. This time a draw against Caol Uno. Two fights later -- after defeating Takanori Gomi in what remains his biggest win in the lightweight division -- Penn moved up a class to fight top welterweight Matt Hughes. That victory may have been the worst thing that happened to Penn. It fed into an obsession resulting in his multi-weight excursion. Two fights later he was at 185. Next, a bout at light heavyweight versus Lyoto Machida. Back to middleweight and then a return to 170, where he lost consecutively to Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes. What do you think? Is Penn one of the sport's all-time greats? Or is he a great fighter who spent much of his time fruitlessly fighting in the wrong weight class and refusing to work hard enough to be the best? Maniacs: Sound off!

Report: Vitor Belfort vs Yushin Okami to headline UFC 122 on Spike TV in Germany Posted: 29 Aug 2010 10:47 AM PDT UFC 122 is set to take place on November 12 in Oberhausen, Germany. The event will air on Spike TV in the United States via tape delay. And now, it looks like UFC 122 has a main event. From The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer (via Bloody Elbow): Vitor Belfort vs. Yushin Okami will be the main event of UFC 122 on 11/13 in Oberhausen, Germany. This will be a Spike show in the U.S. The winner will likely face the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen winner for the middleweight title sometime next year. I think most people probably saw this match up coming. With Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen set to run it back sometime early next year, Belfort and Okami were left behind to face each other with a title shot awaiting the winner. Belfort of course has been nursing an injury that kept him out of his scheduled UFC 112 title fight against Anderson Silva earlier this year. "The Phenom" was last seen in action at UFC 103 where he finished Rich Frankin in the first round in his first fight back with the promotion since 2005. Yushin Okami, the proverbial top contender in the UFC's middleweight division, will finally get a chance to fight for a title shot. Seemingly always in the "mix," Okami has been passed over when it comes to the division's big fights likely due to his less than thrilling fighting style. While it may not be fair, it's probably a fact. Yushin has won two straight fights with his most recent victory coming at UFC on Versus 2 against Mark Munoz. "Thunder" has gone 9-2 during his tenure with the UFC with his only losses coming at the hands of Rich Frankin and Chael Sonnen. A win over Belfort coupled with another successful title defense from Anderson Silva against Chael Sonnen would set up an interesting rematch between the two fighters as Okami was the last man to defeat Silva, albeit controversially, back in 2006. Keep it locked to MMAmania.com for more news on UFC 122 as it breaks.

UFC Quick Quote: Gray Maynard is ready to take the title from Frankie Edgar Posted: 29 Aug 2010 09:29 AM PDT "You can’t let (the crowd) affect you. I’ve got bills. I’ve got all that stuff... All the odds were stacked against me. All the odds. That’s a blue-collar win for me, and I’m blue-collar..."I’ve beaten all the top guys. I’m ready" The hometown Boston Globe caught up with "The Bully" Gray Maynard after his unanimous decision win over Boston bred Kenny Florian at UFC 118. Dana White reconfirmed that Maynard will get the next title shot at Frankie Edgar's lightweight belt and Maynard believes he's up to the challenge. Can Maynard beat Edgar for a second time (the two clashed previously at UFC Fight Night 13 in 2008)? And are fans sharpening their knives, ready to slice Maynard and his cautious approach to pieces in the comments?

Dana White says no more boxing and UFC mashups (Video) Posted: 29 Aug 2010 08:01 AM PDT

Frankie Edgar silences critics with dominant performance at UFC 118 Posted: 29 Aug 2010 07:51 AM PDT Props: Yahoo Sports Quoteworthy "I built on my confidence. The first time I was in there, I had the confidence I could do what I needed to do, but I hadn’t done it before. After doing it and knowing I could do it going in a second time, that confidence added a lot to it." Frankie Edgar is the champion at 155 pounds. After UFC 112, not many people were buying that. But after completely dismantling BJ Penn over the course of five rounds there are no unanswered questions. The champion chasitized the media at the post fight press conference for not believing in him. Do you believe? Is Edgar a long term champion? Or is he keeping the belt warm for Gray Maynard?

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