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

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• Cain Velasquez on tap for Lesnar-Carwin winner later this year
• UFC 112 video trailer for 'Invincible' on April 10 (Extended)
• FightMetric statistics deconstruct UFC 111 unanimous decision for 'St. Pierre vs Hardy'
• Nate Diaz: Kurt Pellegrino 'is a traitor' (Video)
• Shane Carwin: Maybe Dan Miragliotta is a big Frank Mir fan
• UFC 111 medical suspensions and injuries for 'St. Pierre vs Hardy'
• Dana White wants Jon Fitch vs Josh Koscheck to determine welterweight contender. Fitch? Not so much (Video)
• UFC Quick Quote: Georges St. Pierre not impressed with his performance
• UFC 111 unofficial gate and tally: $4 million gate 17,000 attendance 2,200 jam Radio City
• UFC 116: Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin planned for July 3
• Ricardo Almeida goes through 'hell' to hit 170 and beat Matt Brown (Video)

Cain Velasquez on tap for Lesnar-Carwin winner later this year Posted: 28 Mar 2010 06:20 PM PDT During Brock Lesnar's prolonged absence from competition, several contenders have entered the heady race for the shot at UFC heavyweight title. On Saturday night, Shane Carwin's first-round TKO victory over former title holder, Frank Mir, sorted out the title picture for the time being. Having won the interim championship, Carwin emerged as the next challenger for Lesnar's belt. Just below him in the title contention hierarchy is another fighter who recently earned a significant victory over a top-ranked heavyweight: Cain Velasquez. UFC president Dana White announced that Velasquez's victory over former Pride heavyweight champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, positions him as the challenger to the Lesnar-Carwin winner later this year. "Cain's waiting in the wings now," White said. "Cain's probably going to wait for the next shot. (Junior) Dos Santos will not. Dos Santos will fight again." Velasquez has had a meteoric rise since entering UFC with 2-0 professional record. In UFC, he has reeled off six straight victories, including five stoppages. Junior Dos Santos, who stopped Gabriel Gonzaga on UFC on Versus event last week, has also emerged as a top contender with a 5-0 UFC record. Mir is a potential opponent for Dos Santos, though White stated that no decision has been made yet on whom either will face in their next bouts.

UFC 112 video trailer for 'Invincible' on April 10 (Extended) Posted: 28 Mar 2010 05:43 PM PDT

FightMetric statistics deconstruct UFC 111 unanimous decision for 'St. Pierre vs Hardy' Posted: 28 Mar 2010 12:48 PM PDT "Rush" was 11 for 11 in takedown attempts. Pretty much tells the tale in this one... Thanks to Bloody Elbow for the tip. Check out the striking breakdown and total performance rating for "St. Pierre vs. Hardy" after the jump. For UFC 111 results and recap of all the main card action from the Prudential Center click here and here. For a complete FightMetric breakdown of "St. Pierre vs. Hardy" click here.

Nate Diaz: Kurt Pellegrino 'is a traitor' (Video) Posted: 28 Mar 2010 08:56 AM PDT Could we possibly see a rematch of their 2008 scrap now that Diaz is considering a move back down to lightweight?

Shane Carwin: Maybe Dan Miragliotta is a big Frank Mir fan Posted: 28 Mar 2010 08:36 AM PDT Props: Fox Sports Quoteworthy: "I was confident in the game plan my coaches crafted. I would never call getting in the cage with Mir "easy" and I trained for the war I was expecting. I felt I was busy and I knew I was just going to try to pin him again so (the referee break) did not affect me too much. It was really weird as Dan was quick to break up the action but he seemed to let Frank get punched longer than necessary. Maybe he is just a big Mir fan." UFC heavyweight number one contender Shane Carwin sounds off on his "war" with Frank Mir -- which was in reality a one-sided beatdown by "The Engineer" that put returning champion Brock Lesnar on notice. Carwin was a bit surprised that referee Dan Miragliotta broke up the action against the cage during round one -- but not as surprised when he let Mir take several unanswered blows after collapsing face down on the canvas. Any Maniacs out there that don't have a problem with the stoppage?

UFC 111 medical suspensions and injuries for 'St. Pierre vs Hardy' Posted: 28 Mar 2010 08:36 AM PDT The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board (NJSACB) has provided MMAmania.com with its list of medical suspensions for the fighters competing at UFC 111: "St. Pierre vs. Hardy," which took place on Saturday, March 27, 2010, from the Prudential Center in Newark. With several of the bouts ending early (and violently), there were a handful of fighters who were flagged follow up visits with their doctors. And one fighter will be riding the bench for not releasing a submission on time. Rousimar Palhares slapped on a heel hook early in the first round to submit Tomasz Drwal, though he failed to break the hold when the "Gorilla" tapped -- or when referee Kevin Mulhall instructed him to upon calling the fight. The NJSACB wasn't impressed with his post-fight apology and hit him with a 90-day supension. Joining him on the sidelines is Matt Riddle, who was awarded a disqualification victory over Greg Soto after getting plunked in the face with an illegal upkick. The former TUF contestant will be out indefinitely pending the results of a CAT Scan. But that's not all. Here is the complete list of UFC 111 injuries and their medical instructions: Frank Mir: Suspended 30 days for precautionary reasons Mark Bocek: Suspended 30 days for scalp laceration Rory Markham: Suspended 30 days for facial laceration Rousimar Palhares: Suspended 90 days for failing to release submission Tomasz Drwal: Suspended indefinitely pending X-ray of left knee and ankle Jared Hamman: Suspended indefinitely pending X-rays of right foot (minimum 60 days due to foot lacerations) Matthew Riddle: Suspended indefinitely pending CAT Scan (minimum 30 days) Just a quick reminder: Fighters often return to action much quicker once doctors give them the green light. The lengthy suspensions are just a precaution in most cases. For complete UFC 111 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here.

Dana White wants Jon Fitch vs Josh Koscheck to determine welterweight contender. Fitch? Not so much (Video) Posted: 28 Mar 2010 08:35 AM PDT

UFC Quick Quote: Georges St. Pierre not impressed with his performance Posted: 28 Mar 2010 07:59 AM PDT "I was not that pleased about my performance. I won, but I haven’t beat my performance of last time, so I’m not happy. I wanted to finish, you know, have a clean win and for me, like this, it’s not clean. I forgot the technical element of it. Sometimes those technical details make the difference. I wanted to go 100 percent. I trained (submissions) to break. At one point, I was like, ‘Man, I think I broke his shoulder,’ and then one time I thought I’d broke his arm when I had the juju-gatame. I heard like ‘click, click.’ It was completely extended. I believe my standup is superior (to Hardy’s), but it could have been a risk because that’s his main asset." Regining UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre is critical of his performance at the UFC 111 post fight press conference (via Sherdog.com) when talking about his main event title fight against Dan Hardy at the March 27 event from the Prudential Center in Newark. "Rush" controlled the fight for all five rounds with a superios wrestling and top game but was unable to finish the British striker despite several deep arm locks that had "The Outlaw" grimacing in pain. While it was another unanimous decision win for the champ, he's not pleased with his performance. Any fans out there want to let him off the hook for not finishing a fighter that was clearly overmatched?

UFC 111 unofficial gate and tally: $4 million gate 17,000 attendance 2,200 jam Radio City Posted: 28 Mar 2010 07:58 AM PDT UFC 111 unofficial gate and tally: $4 million gate 17,000 attendance 2,200 jam Radio City

UFC 116: Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin planned for July 3 Posted: 28 Mar 2010 07:29 AM PDT Undefeated UFC heavyweight number one contender Shane Carwin will likely square off against division champion Brock Lesnar in a super-sized slugfest planned for the UFC 116 extraganganza at the MGM Grang Garden Arena on July 3 in Las Vegas. UFC President Dana White confirmed the plans at last night's UFC 111 post fight press conference. It seems nothing was going to stop Carwin from challenging Lesnar for the UFC heavyweight title. Not diverticulitis, not Frank Mir, not even a 2009 bout with Cain Velasquez that never materialized. "The Engineer" put on a frightening display of power at the Prudential Center on March 27, crushing former champion Frank Mir to solidify his place in line as potential heir to the throne. Lesnar was kind enough to meet him in the cage after his victory and take potshots at his newly earned Interim title, but Carwin wouldn't get dragged into a war of words. He's likely saving his talking for the fight -- and if the Mir bout was any indication, he'll have a lot to say. Lesnar meanwhile has been recuperating from the stomach ailment that booted him from their initial encounter last November. The pasty-faced goliath has a new diet, a new training camp and a new attitutde. One thing that hasn't changed is his size and strength. How much the medical layoff affects the former NCAA champion remains to be seen.  A lengthy absence didn't seem to bother Carwin all that much and Lesnar is not a techincal fighter, rather a hulking mass of power and fury. Cage rust may have little impact upon his return. Time will tell. In the meantime, let the hype begin. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more updates to the upcoming UFC 116 fight card as they develop.

Ricardo Almeida goes through 'hell' to hit 170 and beat Matt Brown (Video) Posted: 27 Mar 2010 10:54 PM PDT

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