UFC blog for latest news, videos, results, betting odds, fighter interviews and MMA rumors - UFCmania.com |
- UFC 121 videos blog with Dana White (Episode two)
- Bellator 33 results: Alvarez dominates Huerta, Askren claims welterweight title
- Strikeforce Challengers 11 preview and predictions for 'Bowling vs Voelker'
- Jake Shields vs Martin Kampmann UFC 121 video preview
- WEC 53: Donald Cerrone vs Chris Horodecki booked for Dec. 16 in Arizona
- Bellator 33 headliners Eddie Alvarez and Roger Huerta confident heading into tonight's (Oct. 21) main event
- Beard Science: Lesnar facial hair draws cheers at UFC 121 press conference
- UFC 121: Brendan Schaub 'more a of cerebral fighter' heading into Gabriel Gonzaga fight (Video)
- Once more, with feeling: Tito Ortiz is healthy, wealthy and wise
- UFC Quick Quote: Are teammates not fighting because one guy is scared of the other?
- Boost Mobile announces partnership with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as "Official Wireless...
- 'Nightmare' returns: Diego Sanchez 'dropping back to 155' after UFC 121
- Fedor Emelianenko: 'To my knowledge, Alistair Overeem is against fighting me' (Video)
- UFC Quick Quote: 'Cole Konrad is the key to Brock Lesnar's success'
- Former pro wrestling manager Paul Heyman snaps a pic of "the beast in his O.C. lair" prior to UFC...
- Report: Chris Leben arrested on suspicion of DUI following Oct. 19 car crash
| UFC 121 videos blog with Dana White (Episode two) Posted: 22 Oct 2010 05:00 AM PDT
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| Bellator 33 results: Alvarez dominates Huerta, Askren claims welterweight title Posted: 22 Oct 2010 04:59 AM PDT Philadelphia, PA -- Bellator Fighting Championships hailed from the City of Brotherly Love tonight with a star-studded and stacked card. Philadelphia fans were treated to a night of world-class MMA with the Bellator 33 which took place at the Liacouras Center in downtown Philadelphia. The night featured a special non-title Super Fight between Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez and UFC veteran Roger "El Matador" Huerta. Also on the card was a Bellator World Title Fight between reigning champ Lyman Good and Season 2 Welterweight Tournament Champ Ben Askren. "What an incredible night of fights, my first thank you tonight is to the city of Philadelphia," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "The crowd, the energy was great, I’m glad Philadelphia fans were treated to a world-class mixed martial arts display." In the night’s main event Bellator Lightweight Champion and hometown hero Eddie Alvarez took on former UFC fighter Roger "El Matador" Huerta in a non-title Super Fight. With Philadelphia fight fans on their feet the two took the center of the cage looking to bang with chants of "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie," echoing throughout the arena. "Definitely a success tonight, everything I could have dreamed of went exactly according to plan. Everything went perfectly I couldn’t be more happy," said Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez. The champ found his range early with powerful shots that hurt Huerta in the first round. The high octane action continued throughout the round with Alvarez buckling Huerta against the cage with heavy shots; however, Huerta was able to recover and employ some effective counter punching that kept the crowd on their fight. The two fighters traded kicks early in the second round with Alvarez becoming the aggressor yet again, taking the center of the cage and backing Huerta down. The champ consistently found openings for his upper cut and lead straight right that Huerta did not seem to have an answer for. At the end of the 2nd round it appeared that Huerta had sustained an injury, this was confirmed when the referee waved off the third round, giving Alvarez a TKO victory, much to the delight of the fans in attendance. Hailing from New York, the powerful undefeated Bellator World Welterweight Champion Lyman Good found himself with a largely hometown crowd behind him in his title fight against Bellator Season 2 Welterweight Champion Ben Askren. Askren, a former Olympian who is widely regarded as one of the most talented wrestlers to transition to MMA, took the champ down within the first ten seconds of the fight. Good looked to methodically improve his position throughout the first round with brief stints on the feet only to be taken back to the ground by Askren. Askren mounted Good easily in the second and third rounds, and the defending champion was unable to defend against Askren’s superior wrestling. The referee stood the two fighters up briefly in the fourth round, which saw exchanges from each fighter, but ended with Good on his back yet again. Late in the fifth round Good found a home for a devastating upkick that caught Askren directly on the chin stunning him briefly and giving Good the opportunity to grab an arm and sink in a deep triangle/armbar; however, with the heart of a champion Askren regained his composure and ended the 25 minute fight in the full mount position. The tremendous effort by Askren resulted in a passing of the torch in the Bellator Welterweight Division and crowned him the new undisputed Bellator World Welterweight Champion. "I’m glad people got a chance to see my heart. I’m pretty happy with my performance. I told people I was ready to five and that’s what I did," said Askren. "I’ve only been punching things for about a year, so I have a lot of room for improvement." Earlier in the evening Former Olympic Judoka Rick Hawn battled powerful striker LeVon Maynard. Both fighters were cautious early, feeling out each other’s power and range. However, after a failed trip attempt by Maynard, Hawn found his opponent in position for a perfectly executed Judo toss, which he executed beautifully, following it up with powerful hammer fists that put an end to the fight. The referee stoppage occurred at 4:53 of the first round. Also on the main card was Brazilian submission specialist Wilson Reis taking on dangerous WEC veteran Deividas Taurosevicius. In the back and forth fight, both fighters found comfort on their feet but it was Reis who proved to be the more aggressive fighter, ultimately awarding him a Split Decision victory [29-28, 29-28, 29-28]. Local Feature Fights:
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| Strikeforce Challengers 11 preview and predictions for 'Bowling vs Voelker' Posted: 21 Oct 2010 08:09 PM PDT The Strikeforce Challenger Series will resume on Showtime this Friday night (Oct. 22) from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California with "Bowling vs. Voelker," the eleventh event in the series. The main card will air live on the premium cable network beginning at 11 p.m. ET. Welterweight prospects Roger Bowling and Bobby Voelker will headline the card in a rematch from five months ago that saw Bowling win by technical decision after the bout was prematurely called in the third round due to an accidental eye poke from Voelker. Heavyweight knockout artists Lavar Johnson and Virgil Zwicker are also set to lock horns in the co-main event, while undefeated Muay Thai specialist Billy Evangelista returns to action from injury to face Waachiim Spiritwolf in a main card lightweight affair. To help get you better prepared for the festivities, I've given some quick analysis and predictions for those featured fights. Check it out below. 170 lbs.: "Relentless" Roger Bowling vs. "Vicious" Bobby Voelker The first fight between these two was entertaining as hell, but for the most part it was a one-sided beating being laid down by Bowling. Had the fight gone the full fifteen minutes, he probably would have taken his dominating decision victory and moved on up the ladder with the likes of Tyron Woodley. But since it ended prematurely after an accidental eye poke, Strikeforce is going to cash in on the rematch. I don't blame them, and I'm not complaining, either. Like I said, the first fight was action packed and very entertaining. I'm all for watching it again, but I'm not expecting a different result in the win/loss column. Sure, Voelker showed he could take a lot of Bowling's best shots and keep on fighting, but before the eye poke, he was still getting schooled in basically every aspect of the fight. Bowling was tagging him on his feet, out-wrestling him in the clinch, and beating him up on the ground. I think Bowling was more surprised than anything by how much punishment Voelker could take. He was used to finishing guys early, and with the shots he was landing, he had to be thinking he was close to putting him away. He probably came out a little bit defensive in the third round, with it being unfamiliar territory, and with him basically having the fight already in the bag at that point anyway. The fight wasn't all that close, though, and the bottom line is that Bowling is better. He proved that he can take Voelker down and be effective with ground and pound. He also confirmed what we already knew about his superior boxing and overall stand up game. And now he knows what it's like to be in a war, one-sided or not. It's hard not to be a Bobby Voelker fan, but I think he's out-classed by Bowling and it will show again in this rematch. Final prediction: Roger Bowling via decision 265 lbs.: Lavar "Big" Johnson vs. Virgil "The Rezdog" Zwicker This will be Lavar Johnson's second fight since being gunned down at a family picnic in Bakersfield, California just over fifteen months ago on Fourth of July weekend, 2009. He'll be looking for his seventh straight win by some type of knockout in this fight. Zwicker is a hard hitter, himself, with six of his eight wins coming by TKO, and his overall record is impressive at 8-1. His only loss was by decision to a last minute replacement opponent that out-weighed him by forty pounds. Still, the quality of competition he's faced versus who Johnson's been in there with, is a big difference, and that's saying something, because Johnson's resume isn't anything to necessarily shine a light on. The point is that Zwicker is stepping up onto a bigger stage against a tougher and more skilled opponent, and I don't think he's going to last very long, especially with his aggressive style. I think he's going to end up like most of Johnson's other recent opponents, on the wrong end of a knockout. Final prediction: Lavar "Big" Johnson via knockout 165 lbs.: Billy Evangelista vs. Waachiim Spiritwolf This has "showcase" written all over it for Evangelista. Strikeforce hasn't had the opportunity to get their undefeated prospect any cage time over the past eleven months because of an injury he suffered to his thigh in the Jorge Gurgel fight at "Challengers 4," but before that setback he was considered to be near the top of the Strikeforce 155 pound division. There were even talks of possible number one contender bouts on the table for the Muay Thai specialist. He was on the fast track to a potential title shot. But now that he's been on the sidelines for so long, the promotion has clearly given him a tune-up fight here with Spiritwolf, no disrespect. Spiritwolf has competed fifteen times in just over four years of professional fighting, and during the time Evangelista has been out with the injury, he's only been getting better by staying very active and compiling a record of 2-1-1 in four fights. But even so, a healthy Evangelista should prove to be too much for him because a healthy Evangelista has enough wrestling to keep the fight standing, and he has enough technique and power to earn some type of finish from there. Cardio has always been an issue for him, though, and the longer this fight goes, the more chance there is for cage rust to become an issue. It's also worth noting that the fight will be contested at a catchweight of 165 pounds because Evangelista has apparently put on a little bit of weight. I will say this, if Evangelista isn't completely healed up or he's not in fighting shape, he may be in for a much tougher battle than I'm giving credit for. But I still say he'll come out firing and win by knockout early. Final prediction: Billy Evangelista via knockout That's a wrap. Sound off with your predictions in the comments section below, and remember to check back on fight night for our live blow-by-blow coverage of the event. |
| Jake Shields vs Martin Kampmann UFC 121 video preview Posted: 21 Oct 2010 02:15 PM PDT |
| WEC 53: Donald Cerrone vs Chris Horodecki booked for Dec. 16 in Arizona Posted: 21 Oct 2010 12:13 PM PDT An intriguing lightweight battle between two 155-pound warriors will take place at WEC 53 on Dec. 16 in Glendale, Arizona as top WEC lightweight title contender Donald Cerrone takes on once top undefeated prospect Chris Horodecki. Sources close to bout agreements confirmed the matchup with MMA Weekly. Cerrone recently put on one of the best performances of his career, defeating long time rival Jamie Varner late last month. The "Cowboy" has gone an even 2-2 in his last four bouts, losing to the current WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson twice. Holding victories over Anthony Njokuani, Rob McCullough, Ed Ratcliff and "Showtime" Varner, Cerrone is ready to make Horodecki his next victim. Horodecki was a top undefeated lightweight prospect before running into Ryan Schultz who delivered an upset TKO loss to the Canadian back in 2007. After losing to Njokuani in stunning highlight reel fashion in his WEC debut, "The Polish Hammer" racked up two much needed wins over Danny Downes and "9 mm." Horodecki will try to build on his momentum by defeating Cerrone, which would be the biggest win of his young career. In the main event of WEC 53, Ben Henderson will look to continue his impressive run as WEC lightweight champion as he defends his title against "Showtime" Anthony Pettis. Also on the card is another title bout as Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz defends his belt against Scott Jorgensen. Stick with MMAmania.com for more updates on WEC 53: "Henderson vs Pettis" as they become available. |
| Posted: 21 Oct 2010 11:22 AM PDT Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez will meet Roger Huerta in a non-title match-up tonight (Oct. 21) at Bellator 33 live from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And both "The Silent Assassin" and "El Matador" believe they have the skills to knock the other one off their perch. This long-awaited bout has been under consideration ever since Huerta made his Bellator debut earlier this year. The former UFC lightweight standout was able to win his first contest with the organization by submitting Chad Hinton, however, was not able to keep the momentum going as he suffered an upset unanimous decision loss to Pat Curran in the lightweight semi-finals tournament less than a month later. "The Silent Assassin" on the other hand, has been on quite a roll as of late. The 26-year-old champ hasn't lost since New Years Eve of 2008 when he was submitted by current Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki. Since then, Alvarez has been on a five fight winning streak. He defeated all five opponents by submissions including three rear-naked choke wins over Eric Reynolds, Toby Imada and most recently Josh Neer. Alvarez (20-2) realizes that Huerta (21-4) has heart, but the champ believes he has the skills to finish his opponent. Through Bellator, he stated "My intentions will be to finish this fight, especially in my hometown. I want to make sure I give them what they paid for." In the past, some fighters haven't exactly been on the best of terms with Bellator such as Dave Herman, but don't expect the lightweight champion to bad mouth the organization. "The relationship I have with Bellator right now is amazing. They're really giving me a voice as a fighter and treating me like a professional athlete. They're compensating me correctly and I couldn't be happier. It makes me want to give back to them even more." Alvarez will be competing in his hometown when he steps into the cage tonight. "The Silent Assassin" feels that will be a big advantage for him. "The only times I've ever lost have been outside of the United States. I've never even lost a fight here in the states so I'm definitely not going to start in my hometown of Philadelphia with all of my people there. That's not going to happen. Not a chance." Going into his bout with "El Matador," Alvarez won't be satisfied with an unconvincing victory. He wants to beat Huerta like he's never been beat before. "Roger is a great fighter and I love this fight, but my fight is never with my opponents. It's more about me. I'm not going to be happy unless I completely control and dominate Roger in this fight. It's important for me to go in there and dominate this fight and prove that I'm one of the best lightweights in the world. I've fought a lot of guys that supposedly had "iron chins" and almost every time, they're the guys I put away." If you thought "The Silent Assassin" would come into this fight looking to outpoint "El Matador," think again. "My intentions will be to finish this fight, especially in my hometown. I want to make sure I give them what they paid for. I know I can fight. I know I'm one of the top lightweights in the world, and I know I can finish my opponents -- whoever they put in front of me." Huerta has competed with top lightweights including Clay Guida, Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard, but Alvarez believes he's capable of defeating any challenge thrown his way. "I feel like there's not a lightweight out there that I can't beat. This is something I've been looking for. This is something the fans have wanted to see for a long time now. I don't care where you fought in the past, but if you come to my promotion and you have a big name and you're obviously marketable, and the promotion signs you, they're obviously trying to make moves." Alarvez has a ton of confidence going into tonight's bout, but will he be facing the most dangerous Huerta yet? "El Matador" seems to think so. Huerta explained why he's more focused than ever. "Losing to Curran put the fire back into my training and completely revived my hunger for competition. I respect Eddie for all of his accomplishments in the sport. I believe that he's one of the best lightweights in the world, if not the best." Knowing that it's been a tough road thus far, Huerta want's to prove to the world that he's still a threat at 155Ibs. "This is the biggest fight of my entire career. "I believe that I'm one of the best fighters in the world and being matched up with Eddie will bring the best out of me. When I beat Eddie, I'll show that I'm one of the best in the world too. I've lost a lot of close decisions and they're all very heart breaking for me every time. I just can not leave it in the judge’s hands. Nobody can. Those hard decisions have taught me to try to finish my fights." "El Matador" wants people to realize that not only is he still relevant in the lightweight divsion, but he's also one of the best. Huerta looks to prove it tonight. "I believe that I'm one of the very best in the world. I just need to show up. I need to go out there and prove it. I need to be ready. The last few years have been quite a slump for me. I've a lot of issues in my personal life, but it's up to me to come back and me strong. I feel like I'm in a better place mental than I have been for a while." Who will come out on top in this thrilling lightweight clash? |
| Beard Science: Lesnar facial hair draws cheers at UFC 121 press conference Posted: 21 Oct 2010 10:19 AM PDT Props: MMA Fighting Quoteworthy:
Sorry conspiracy theorists, but UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is not getting scruffy to give his chin an extra layer of padding in his UFC 121 title fight against Cain Velasquez. The crowd shows its hairy love after the jump (1:57 mark):
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| UFC 121: Brendan Schaub 'more a of cerebral fighter' heading into Gabriel Gonzaga fight (Video) Posted: 21 Oct 2010 10:10 AM PDT
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| Once more, with feeling: Tito Ortiz is healthy, wealthy and wise Posted: 21 Oct 2010 09:55 AM PDT Props: Sherdog.com Quoteworthy:
Hear ye! Hear ye! "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" is alive and well! A surgically repaired Tito Ortiz wants to make sure the fans know he's perfectly healthy and had a "great" training camp heading into his UFC 121 fight against Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 3 pupil Matt Hamill on Oct. 23 in Anaheim. Of course if he loses, what will he have to say for himself? If every loss in the past four years can be attributed to an injury, what does it mean if the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion falls on Saturday night? It could mean he's done, and the stakes have never been higher for his "Punishment" career. Can he pull it off? |
| UFC Quick Quote: Are teammates not fighting because one guy is scared of the other? Posted: 21 Oct 2010 09:51 AM PDT According to UFC President Dana White, that may be the case:
The Zuffa boss was on the Jim Rome show (via MMA Weekly) talking teammates and not surprisingly, he's trying the psychological approach to perhaps goad some stubborn camps into throwing down. Now all he needs is the media to play their part in his scheme at the next press conference. "Excuse me, this question is for Mr. Koscheck. Dana White said you might be afraid to fight Jon Fitch? Your response to that?" |
| Posted: 21 Oct 2010 09:39 AM PDT  Boost Mobile announces partnership with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as "Official Wireless Partner" beginning with UFC 121: "Lesnar vs. Velasquez" on Oct. 23 in Anaheim. |
| 'Nightmare' returns: Diego Sanchez 'dropping back to 155' after UFC 121 Posted: 21 Oct 2010 08:42 AM PDT Props: UFC.com Quoteworthy:
The original "Ultimate Fighter," Diego Sanchez, may be making his final appearance as a welterweight when he takes on Paulo Thiago at UFC 121 this Saturday night (Oct. 23) in Anaheim. Promotion President Dana White, along with many mixed martial arts pundits, believed his "nightmare" loss to 170-pound rising star John Hathaway at UFC 114 back in May was a clear indication that he was better suited for the lightweight division. Is there a chance we may finally see that long awaited rematch with "KenFlo" in 2011? |
| Fedor Emelianenko: 'To my knowledge, Alistair Overeem is against fighting me' (Video) Posted: 21 Oct 2010 08:41 AM PDT
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| UFC Quick Quote: 'Cole Konrad is the key to Brock Lesnar's success' Posted: 21 Oct 2010 07:35 AM PDT That's according to MMA analyst Franklin McNeil, who shares a few words from the undefeated Bellator Heavyweight Champion (pictured) on ESPN.com. Says Konrad:
Will "The Konrad Factor" come into play against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 in Anaheim? McNeil thinks the experience Konrad has against Velasquez as a collegiate wrestler could be the edge Lesnar needs as they prepare for his Oct. 23 title defense. So how about it, does Brock benefit from having Konrad at his gym on a daily basis? Or will it make no difference since the NCAA and MMA are two completely different animals? |
| Former pro wrestling manager Paul Heyman snaps a pic of "the beast in his O.C. lair" prior to UFC... Posted: 21 Oct 2010 06:53 AM PDT  Former pro wrestling manager Paul Heyman snaps a pic of "the beast in his O.C. lair" prior to UFC 121 in Anaheim. |
| Report: Chris Leben arrested on suspicion of DUI following Oct. 19 car crash Posted: 20 Oct 2010 08:18 PM PDT
UFC Middleweight Chris Leben has reportedly run afoul of the law for the second time in the past three years, as "The Crippler" was allegedly arrested on suspicion of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) after crashing his vehicle in the early morning hours of Oct. 19. From the Hawaii News Now:
Leben, who has admittedly struggled with substance abuse throughout his adult life, served time for a DUI charge back in 2008. The original Ultimate Fighter (TUF) bad boy was released from the Clackamas County Jail in Portland, Oregon, back on May 15, 2008, after serving time behind bars for a probation violation stemming from an outstanding DUI arrest in 2005. He was sentenced to a 35-day bit with credit for time already served and was originally slated to go home on May 27, but was able to complete his time under home detention. His time behind bars wiped out a fight against Michael Bisping at UFC 85, but it eventually took place a few months later at UFC 89. Leben would go onto lose the fight via unanimous decision and then test positive for performance enhancing drugs. He was suspended by the promotion for none months shortly thereafter. Leben -- who recently resurrected his career with back-to-back wins over Aaron Simpson and Yoshihiro Akiyama in a span of two weeks is currently booked to battle Brian Stann at UFC 125, which is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Jan 1, 2011. It's unclear at this time if this latest brush with the law will change those future fight plans. Stay tuned for more details. |
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