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

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• UFC Quick Quote: Martial arts is about going to war, not wearing pajamas
• Frank Mir talks UFC 111 fight against Shane Carwin (Video)
• WEC 47 drug test results come back clean from the OAC for 'Bowles vs Cruz'
• MMA Quick Quote: World's Strongest Man not afraid of Tim Sylvia -- or a 15-minute fight
• Clay Guida: It's make or break against Shannon Gugerty at UFC on Versus (Video)
• Lyle Beerbohm vs Vitor Ribeiro in the works for Strikeforce event on May 15 in St. Louis
• Paul Buentello: Cheick Kongo is not going to want to stand with me
• Joseph Benavidez: 'I’m Definitely the Number One Contender' (Video)
• Enson 'Yamato Damashii' Inoue returns to MMA on April 25 at Astra
• Jake Shields may look to the UFC for competition with a win over Dan Henderson
• The Ultimate Fighter: 'The Aftermath' returns with weekly TUF 11 webisodes on Spike.com

UFC Quick Quote: Martial arts is about going to war, not wearing pajamas Posted: 16 Mar 2010 09:12 PM PDT "As far as saying I’m not a martial artist… Because he walks out in the Octagon in his pajamas he’s a martial artist and I’m not? He knows nothing about me… I’ve been doing martial arts my whole life. I’ll brawl… but I think about what I’m doing. I’m a cerebral fighter.... Martial arts is about going to war… and it’s about messing people up. And that’s what I’m going to do.... My workout is the winning formula. You can't put muscles here (pointing to his face). And that's all I'm aiming for... He can jump higher than me. He can lift trucks. It makes no different to me. When I connect on his chin he can lift all he wants… he's still going down." -- Number one welterweight  contender, Dan Hardy, is not impressed with the athleticism and walkout gear of the reigning 170-pound champion, Georges St. Pierre. "The Outlaw" is only concerned with punching "Rush" in the face several times, which apparently all the muscles and God-given athletic ability in the world can't stop from hurting. Of course, Hardy has to remain upright to execute his gameplan, which is a rather daunting task when it comes to the crafty Canadian. Will Hardy find an opening, drop one on the button and put St. Pierre down for a nappy before he gets to put his jammies back on or is he simply talking a better game than what we will see at UFC 111 on March 27?

Frank Mir talks UFC 111 fight against Shane Carwin (Video) Posted: 16 Mar 2010 05:49 PM PDT

WEC 47 drug test results come back clean from the OAC for 'Bowles vs Cruz' Posted: 16 Mar 2010 12:59 PM PDT The Ohio Athletic Commission (OAC) today confirmed with MMAmania.com that six of the 22 competitors who were tested for illegal/banned substances after competing at WEC 47: "Bowles vs. Cruz" on March 6 have all passed with flying colors. Former WEC bantamweight champion Brian Bowles and new division kingpin Dominick Cruz as well as Joseph Benavidez, Javier Vazquez, L.C. Davis and Bart Palaszewski were all screened for performance enhancers such as steroids and drugs of abuse like cocaine and marijuana, among others. Results from these battery of tests all returned negative. The fighters mentioned above were randomly selected. However, athletic commissions typically test the main event participants and fight night winners, as well as those who have failed tests in the past. WEC 47 brought in a live gate of $401,000 as a result of just over 8700 attendees. For complete "Bowles vs. Cruz" results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here.

MMA Quick Quote: World's Strongest Man not afraid of Tim Sylvia -- or a 15-minute fight Posted: 16 Mar 2010 11:56 AM PDT "I know what it means to fight three five-minute rounds. I get another new opponent every minute when I spar and I handle that. So if I can deal with five foes in one round, there won't be any problem with only one. Obviously there's a possibility that I will break a leg or pull a tendon. It's occupational hazard, but I don't take it under consideration. I'm not concerned at all. I have a clause in my contract that once I sign it, within 24-hours I will receive certain percent of my purse for this bout. If it's not there, I'm not going anywhere. Listen, I'm not afraid of anyone. I have my next fight on May 7th and another two weeks later, if everything goes as planned I'll face Pawel (Nastula) in September. I do it step by step." Five-time World's Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski, tells Fighter's Only that he's signed on to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia at the upcoming Moosin event on April 23 in Worcester -- despite already being booked to fight for Polish promotion KSW on May 7. All in a day's work for the budding mixed martial artist, who's off to a torrid 1-0 start and hopes to step up his competition this September. Anyone think the Polish strongman has a career in MMA? Or will "Dominator" get sent back to the weight room by "The Maine-iac" in Boston?

Clay Guida: It's make or break against Shannon Gugerty at UFC on Versus (Video) Posted: 16 Mar 2010 10:26 AM PDT

Lyle Beerbohm vs Vitor Ribeiro in the works for Strikeforce event on May 15 in St. Louis Posted: 16 Mar 2010 10:21 AM PDT Undefeated 155-pound sensation Lyle Beerbohm (13-0) is hoping to jump into the deep end of the pool when he tangles with top-ranked Brazilian lightweight Vitor Ribeiro (20-3) at the upcoming Strikeforce event on Showtime scheduled for May 15 in St. Louis. Sources close to one of the fight camps alerted MMAmania.com of the pending match-up earlier today. Beerbohm has been a wrecking ball since his professional debut back in April 2007. Aside from staying perfect through 13 fights, "Fancy Pants" has finished 12 of those victims by either (T)KO or submission. The Washington native put the Strikeforce lightweight division on notice last year when he returned to "Challengers" with a submission win (Bulldog choke) over MMA veteran Duane "Bang" Ludwig. He quickly followed that up by stopping Josh Martin with vicious elbows at Arena Rumble: "Horn vs. Guida" last September. A win over Ribeiro could elevate him into a possible fight with one of the promotion's top lightweights. Of course getting past "Shaolin" is much easier said than done. Ribeiro returned to mixed martial arts in 2009 after a long layoff, stopping Katsuhiko Nagata at DREAM 8 in April 2009. He fought for the Japanese-based promotion just three months later but came up short against current champion Shinya Aoki after two rounds of action. Ribeiro has wins over top international names including Joachim Hansen, Tatsuya Kawajiri and Mitsuhiro Ishida. The Strikeforce event for its rumored return to St. Louis on Showtime already boasts an impressive unofficial line-up of heavyweight attractions including Brett Rogers vs. Alistair Overeem, Andrei Arlovski vs. Antonio Silva and perhaps even Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for future updates to this still-developing fight card.

Paul Buentello: Cheick Kongo is not going to want to stand with me Posted: 16 Mar 2010 08:12 AM PDT Props: MMA Fighting Quoteworthy: It depends on which Kongo comes out. It totally depends if he's going for the takedowns and trying to hold people down, or if it's the Kongo that wants to stand and strike. It all depends on which Kongo shows up. No matter what fight I get into, everybody knows which Paul Buentello is going to show up: It's going to be a standup war. We're thinking he's going to go for a takedown. He's not going to want to stand. That's our whole gameplan, he's not going to stand at all. UFC heavyweight power-puncher Paul Buentello isn't preparing for French fisticuffs when he gets down and dirty with Cheick Kongo at the UFC on Versus event scheduled for March 21 in Colorado. "The Headhunter" is coming off a majority decision loss to Stefan Struve at last December's UFC 107 event and likely needs a win here to keep himself from getting bounced from the promotion. The UFC has transformed its heavyweight division with powerful up-and-comers like Todd Duffee, Pat Barry, Junior dos Santos and two guys you've probably never heard of named Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin. Is there still a place in this division for Buentello -- or even Kongo for that matter?

Joseph Benavidez: 'I’m Definitely the Number One Contender' (Video) Posted: 16 Mar 2010 08:10 AM PDT

Enson 'Yamato Damashii' Inoue returns to MMA on April 25 at Astra Posted: 16 Mar 2010 07:57 AM PDT Former Shooto Heavyweight champion and MMA icon, Enson Inoue returns to competition for the first time in six years at Astra, the retirement event for Hidehiko Yoshida. Inoue, who is synonymous with his life credo of "Yamato Damashii," will face the former kickboxer, Antz "Notorious" Nansen on April 25 at Nippon Budokan. He last fought in April 2004 against Tom Sauer at SuperBrawl 35. Upon losing the bout via TKO, he announced his retirement from fighting; however, he has since hinted at a return on several occasions. Now, he will re-assert his presence once again to the MMA world and commemorate the retirement of fellow MMA icon, Hidehiko Yoshida. Given his long hiatus and short notice of the upcoming bout, Inoue spoke about the uncertainty regarding his physical condition and in-ring reflex come fight time. Nevertheless, he stated that his "spirit and heart are 100% ready" and that he is "willing to die" in the fight. His opponent, Antz "Notorious" Nansen made his MMA debut at Sengoku 10 and earned a first-round knock out victory against the fellow MMA newcomer and 2004 Olympic judo silver medalist, Hiroshi Izumi. New Zealand native and disciple of K-1 veteran, Jason Suttie, Nansen captured WKBF and IKF titles during his kickboxing career. Inoue holds a notable victory over Randy Couture at Vale Tudo Japan 1998 and has had memorable battles against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Heath Herring, Igor Vovchanchyn, Mark Kerr, and Frank Shamrock over his 19-fight career. Outside his fight career, he made a cameo appearance in the David Mamet-directed martial arts film, Redbelt in 2008. He also runs several MMA gyms in Japan, Guam, and Saipan under the Purebred brand and has played an instrumental role in launching the career of Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto. In October 2008, he was charged with the possession of up to 16.9 grams of marijuana. After a nearly month long stint in Japanese slammer, he was released on bail. He still resides in Japan, but his visa status has come under review. Stay tuned to MMAmania for more information regarding the Astra event in the coming weeks.

Jake Shields may look to the UFC for competition with a win over Dan Henderson Posted: 16 Mar 2010 06:40 AM PDT Props: Graciemag Quoteworthy: "I’m a fighter who takes it one opponent at a time and my next fight is in Strikeforce against (Dan) Henderson. When you talk about guys like Anderson Silva and St.-Pierre, the best in the world, obviously I fight want to fight them. I want to be the best in the world and to be the best you have to beat the best. GSP’s a complete fighter standing and on the ground. But that’s why I want to fight him, that’s the challenge. I want to test my skills and see what happens. Now I’m focused on Dan Henderson for this fight and after that my contract with Strikeforce ends. I’ll talk with Strikeforce and the UFC to find out which one I will work for." Current Strikeforce middleweight champion and undeafeted since 2004, Jake Shields comes off thirteen victories in a row and now has the hardest match of his career versus Dan Henderson on April 17. Shields has been training jiu-jitsu with friends Nick and Nate Diaz and experienced a six-week camp with Robert Drysdale in Las Vegas recently where also had the opportunity of helping Chuck Liddell as BJJ coach for the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter. Jake is going to do the last fight of the current contract and after that will talk to both Strikeforce and UFC to decide what organization he will fight for. Is Shields a good name for UFC? Do you think he is able to beat Silva or St-Pierre --or won’t even get past Henderson?

The Ultimate Fighter: 'The Aftermath' returns with weekly TUF 11 webisodes on Spike.com Posted: 16 Mar 2010 06:24 AM PDT In case you don't get your fill of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 11 on Wednesday nights, the UFC and Spike.com are bringing back "The Aftermath," a 15-minute Webisode that airs following every episode on Spike.com. "The Aftermath" will feature an exclusive roundtable discussion with insight from some of the reality show contestants and recurring Spike host, Stephan Bonnar. "The American Psycho" takes over for Amir Sadollah, host of last season's TUF 10 "Aftermath." In addition, the Webisodes will feature unaired content, exclusive bonus material and a sneak peek of the upcoming televised episode. TUF fans can go to the Spike.com message boards to submit questions and sound off on "Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz." Questions will be selected at random and answered on the "Aftermath." As always, MMAmania.com will have complete recaps following each new TUF 11 episode, which begins on March 31 at 10 p.m. ET. For more on TUF 11: "Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz" click here.

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