Sources: Ryan Roberts vs. Marcus Aurelio at UFC Fight Night 13
(mmajunkie.com)UFC newcomer Ryan Roberts (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) could fill in for an injured Spencer Fisher and fight Marcus Aurelio (15-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a preliminary bout at UFC Fight Night 13.
Sources close to the fighter tell MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Roberts has accepted the bout. However, his manager could not confirm the fight, and the UFC hasn't made an official announcement.
New Cro Cop Interview
(dreamfighters.com)1. It was your first fight after two defeats. Were you nervous about your comeback to the ring?
Mirko: I wasn't nervous, I've been fighting in the ring for many years and I feel at home in it. I was excited about fighting in Japan again.
2. You looked impressive in the ring. You bulked up, did you do it on purpose or did it just happen?
Mirko: Gaining muscle mass was a 6 months process and I did it primarily to increase my raw strength.
Liddell dishes out Angle warning
(setantasports.com)However, Angle never took up the offer - preferring instead to let his words do the talking, and Liddell did not mince his words in belittling his claims.
Liddell and the rest of The UFC world witnessed Lesnar’s promising debut, which ultimately highlighted his lack of Mixed Martial Arts as Frank Mir submitted him, and the former two-time UFC light-heavyweight champion is adamant Angle would face the same fate.
“He talks about it all the time, but he hasn’t made any movements towards doing it, to my knowledge he hasn’t done any training or cross-training,” Liddell told Setanta Sports News.
“If he’s just gonna come in and wrestle, he’s going to get beat, you can’t just be a one-dimensional fighter in The UFC".
“I don’t care how good you are, it’s not gonna work.”
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith EliteXC fight slated for CBS Saturday Night Fights on May 31
(mmamania.com)EliteXC and CBS today issued their highly anticipated news about the debut of mixed martial arts programming on CBS, revealing that EliteXC Middleweight Champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4) will put his 185-pound strap on the line against The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 alum Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (13-4), according to ProElite.com.
As expected, heavyweight bareknuckle brawler turned professional fighter, Kimbo Slice, will headline the show at The Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., against a soon to be named opponent.
Here’s a snip from Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President, CBS Primetime:
“We’re excited to introduce broadcast television viewers to America’s fastest growing sport with this prime time event. EliteXC is putting together a lineup card that showcases the unique personalities, world-class athleticism, and raw power and emotion that characterizes mixed martial arts.”
The match up between Lawler and Smith was talked about for Smith before his EliteXC debut against Kyle Noke at Street Certified: “Kimbo vs. Tank” last month. Shaw mentioned that the winner of the bout would probably be next in line for a shot at Lawler’s title.
Shaw is apparently a man of his word … at least in this case.
This will be Lawler’s first defense of his title since winning the belt with a third round technical knockout of Ninja Rua back in September 2007. He’s a fighter who loves to sling the leather — 12 of his 15 wins have come via (technical) knockout and he’s currently riding a four-fight win streak.
Smith also has enjoyed recent success, winning his last two fights with first- and second-round (t)ko’s over Jeff Morris and Noke. His style is also to stand and bang with his opponent, making a match up with Lawler a recipe for a stand up war.
"TUF 8" Likely to Feature Heavyweights and Lightweights
(mmajunkie.com)While the UFC and Spike TV have made no official announcement regarding the weight classes for "The Ultimate Fighter 8," producers are on the search for heavyweight and lightweight applicants.
The deadline to apply for the eighth installment of the hit reality series, which will likely debut on Spike TV in September, is April 5.
A new banner and link on UFC.com asks the simple question: "Heavyweights and lightweights: are you T.U.F. enough?"
Opportunity Knocked: UFC 83 interview with Jason Dooms Day
(mmamania.com)When asked about his opponent Jason had this to say:
“I’ve always said he looks good, I mean I have respect for him. I think there’s a few holes in his game that I’ve kind of picked out … he’s fast, his hands are fast. He looked sharp out there, he’s quick and he’s aggressive. I think I’m going to have the fight with Alan Belcher that I thought I was going to have with Loiseau. I think Belcher is going to be my opportunity to get out there and reveal what I’ve been working on.”
Jason is a dedicated fighter as he works full time building homes up in Calgary during the day and trains well into the nights. He is looking forward, however, to leaving that behind.
Here’s another snip:
“Hopefully over the next six months I won’t be banging nails anymore, I could just be in the gym training full time.”
Confidence is not an issue with Jason –- he’s been preparing to walk through the gates of the Octagon in the UFC for a long time. With wins over notable opponents Loiseau, Ron Faircloth and Jonathan Goulet and his only recent loss coming at the heavy hands of Patrick Cote, Jason is poised to make the most of the opportunity put in front of him.
It’s now or never.
or the full interview in audio
Zombie Strippers: Tito Ortiz and girlfriend Jenna Jameson to appear in movie
(mmamania.com)The self-proclaimed power couple is at it again.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and his girlfriend Jenna Jameson are set to appear in a new movie dubbed, “Zombie Strippers,” which is “coming soon to DVD.”
That’s never a good sign.
Ortiz plays a bouncer at an underground Nebraska strip club that is tainted with a virus that turns its talent into reanimated corpses. And, unsurprisingly, Jameson is one of the infected strippers (no pun intended, seriously).
Check out the video trailer after the jump.
(And i seriously suggest you do!)
First CBS-EliteXC Event Likely Airs May 31
(mmajunkie.com)The official press release was expected Wednesday, and though it never came, ProElite.com teased some info, including a May 31 debut date. Additionally, a bulletin there said that the first event date will be promoted during this week's CBS coverage of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
Today, our friends at fiveouncesofpain.com posted some additional info about the event, including:
The event will take place in Newark, N.J. -- likely at the Prudential Center, which played host to UFC 78 this past November.
Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson will headline the event, though his opponent isn't known.
EliteXC middleweight champ Robbie Lawler will defend his title against Scott Smith.
Gina Carano is expected to fight at the event. (According to fiveouncesofpain.com. Kaitlin Young and Cris Cyborg are the leading candidates to fight her.)
Brett Rogers and Jon Murphy will likely meet in a swing bout for the event.
Paul "Semtex" Daley to defend at Cage Rage 26
(thefightnetwork.com)Two fighters seem to command a majority of the British public’s attention these days. One is Michael Bisping, the light heavyweight winner on season three of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series. The other is Cage Rage world welterweight champion Paul Daley.
Though Daley (17-6-2) recently announced his plans to retire, he will not hang up his gloves before he defends his Cage Rage title at least one more time. The Team Rough House fighter has confirmed he will compete at Cage Rage 26 “Extreme” on Saturday, May 10 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England.
“I’ll be defending my world title belt on May10 at Cage Rage,” Daley said. “No opponent has been confirmed yet.”
Washingtonpost.com bashing MMA and CBS Deal with ProElite
(washingtonpost.com)
Washington Post writer equates CBS/ProElite Deal to televising the Lions killing Christians in the Coliseum. Has some good quotes from a CBS executive and his interest in MMA. It also explains that this is a Deal with the Entertainment branch of CBS not with CBS Sports Branch, but gives a reason for that also. Very good insight what some other sports viewers think of MMA.
Frye Bows Out of Yamma; Taktarov to Face Pat Smith
(sherdog.com)
Don Frye (Pictures) has pulled out of a scheduled April 11 main event against Oleg Taktarov for the debuting Yamma Pit Fighting promotion, Sherdog.com learned Wednesday.
Taktarov will instead face UFC 1 tournament entrant Patrick Smith, according to Smith's co-managers Francois Nguyen and Tommy Rojas. A contract is expected to be signed and returned this week.
Hurray for the MMA Senior Tour!  
Brad Pickett VS. Paul Reed at CAGE RAGE 26
(mmaweekly.com)Following impressive performances at this past weekend’s FX3 fight card in Reading, England, two of the main card protagonists will be meeting each other at Cage Rage 26. MMAWeekly.com can confirm that Paul Reed and Brad Pickett will be facing each other on the promotion’s Birmingham debut at the NEC Arena.
For Pickett this fight mark’s his return to the promotion’s main stage following his successful win via guillotine choke over Frederic Fernandez and still leaves the path clear for him to fight for the FX3 world featherweight title against his previous opponent’s brother, Emmanuel Fernandez.
Paul Reed, by contrast, comes off a loss against the aforementioned Emmanuel Fernandez, but was impressive in his showing against the champion. His appearance against Pickett at Cage Rage will be an introduction for him into a division that is stacked full of potential future match-ups.
Cage Rage 26 Bouts (confirmed):
-Ian Freeman vs. Paul Cahoon
-Ross Pointon vs. Ross Mason
-Mark Epstein vs. Matt Ewin
-James Zikic vs. Rodney Faverus
-Henrique Nogueria vs. Marc Goddard
-Kev Sims vs. Popek Rak
-Harvey Harra vs. Gary Kelly
-Brad Pickett vs. Paul Reed
Cage Rage 26 Bouts (unconfirmed):
-Paul Daley vs. Aaron Wetherspoon
Just posting this really beacuse i like Brad Pickett, he's like the guy Brad Pitt plays in Snatch.
Babalu to HCF for May 10 Event
(mmajunkie.com)UFC cast-off Renato "Babalu" Sobral (29-7) will return to action on May 10 for a Hardcore Championship Fighting show to be held in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. There, 32-year-old will take on fellow Brazilian Mauricio Alonso (4-1).
Sobral will be in Quebec on March 29 for the HCF's "Crow's Nest" event, featuring UFC veterans David Loiseau, Hector "Sick Dog" Ramirez and Gideon Ray, where a formal announcement of the fight card will be made.
During the interview, Pavia was unable to confirm, but did little to deny, a rumored match-up between Sobral and UFC veteran Mike Whitehead. It is believed the bout will be contested at the debut event of the new Affliction/Golden Boy co-promotion.
Pavia also mentioned a forthcoming "big announcement" by the UFC regarding welterweight Chris "Lights Out" Lytle. The UFC is expected to soon release information regarding Lytle facing a "very big name" at UFC 86 in July. Pavia felt confident that the match-up would be the co-main event of the card.
According to Pavia, "Razor" Rob McCullough will return to action in the WEC on the as-yet-unannounced June 1 WEC event in Sacramento, Calif. Although McCullough's opponent has not yet been determined, that card is believed to be headlined by Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver. Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia is also expected at the event, and Jeff Curran will also likely compete.
Lastly, Pavia said Joe "Diesel" Riggs was recovering quickly from back surgery after suffering an injury in his latest fight, and should return to action with Strikeforce in late May, when the organization looks to return to Tacoma, Wash.
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Golden Boy Promotions, Affliction & MMA
(punch.freedomblogging.com)I got a chance to interview Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Eric Gomez about Golden Boy's relationship with Affliction and possible involvement with MMA in the future.
On the relationship between Golden Boy Promotions and Affliction and whether they will be teaming up to do MMA cards:
“We’ll make an announcement shortly. But there’s some things we’re working with them. As of right now we’ve started a relationship with them and they are one of the sponsors of our shows and, obviously, we are going to give them visibility on our shows and we’re just starting the relationship. There will be more announcements in the near future.”
On his thoughts about MMA:
“It’s exciting. I mean, If you get the right kind of … it’s just like boxing in the way that if you get the right matchups people will watch. If you get the right matchups, people will watch. It comes down to styles like boxing. That’s what makes the fights good fights.”
On the possibilites in MMA:
“Obviously, there is some money being made. When you add Oscar’s name and the element of Golden Boy, so there are some opportunities there. We’re not going to leave any rocks unturned.”
On when we might here some news about Golden Boy and MMA:
“Soon. I mean, you know, look, we’re a young company. We’re hungry. We’ve had huge success in the first four years of our existance. We have a lot more time ahead of us, so we’re just going to keep working hard and see what we can do. Make a difference.”
Check out this link for the entire interview:
Shamrock dismisses Silva
(globesports.com)Veteran Frank Shamrock and EliteXC promoter Gary Shaw dismissed talk Tuesday that rival UFC champion Anderson Silva is pound-for-pound the best mixed martial arts fighter in the world.
"Well I think I've been named that guy several times over the past 14 years, so I think that it's fleeting, it's exciting but I certainly don't think he's the best in the world," Shamrock said in a conference call Tuesday to promote his March 29 Strikeforce-Elite XC middleweight title fight with Cung Le in San Jose.
"I think he's probably one of the best guys in the UFC, but all the best fighters are not in the UFC. So hopefully he can hang onto that and make something out of it and gain some fame. But I have 100 per cent confidence if I ran into him, they'd be calling me that guy."
Ben Saunders Likely to return at UFC 86
(mmajunkie.com)Sources close to the fighter tell MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Saunders has agreed to fight at the event. However, a phone call to the fighter wasn't immediately returned today, and the UFC has made no official announcement regarding the event.
Exclusive Interview: Bodog Matchmaker Eric Nichol
(cagepotato.com)Describe what you do, in a nutshell.
Not only do I focus on matchmaking, but I also look at fighter relations. I look at scouting, single fight, multi-fight contracts, purse negotiations. I look at sponsorship proposals. My day, I come in, I’ll fire up my computer and I’ll just scan through the list of guys getting a hold of my e-mail and they want to be fighters. ‘What do I have to do?’ I’ve kind of taken the approach that I’m going to reply to every single one of these guys. If they reply back, fantastic. If they actually fill out the bio stuff that I need, if they have some amateur fights, I want to see video of it. I want to see what their style is, how finely tuned their skills are. I want to see what they look like in a ring, on a canvas. I’d say out of about a hundred people that actually reply back to me, I’ll get five or six that will actually complete the bio form that I need from them. Once it gets to there, I’d say maybe two out of a hundred will actually make it to the cut, where I can say, “Okay, great, you’re an up-and-comer, I can match you against another up-and-comer and let’s see if you guys can make the cut.” It’s a swift process.
Tape is critical. Typically what I’ll do (everyday), I’ll catch up on my e-mail, I’ll go through the forums, all the message boards, all the sites, just to see what’s going on to stay up on all the news as I possibly can. If there’s nothing super important, typically I’ll have meetings — planning for different events, who we want to work with. The people we want to work with — the different organizations — is a key factor. It’s a small niche industry and I want to surround myself with the most positive people.
WEC Champ Doug "Rhino" Marshall -- An MMAjunkie.com Interview
(mmajunkie.com)MMAjunkie.com: I've heard you have one of the most unique stories about getting into the sport. How did you get started in MMA?
Doug Marshall: Well, I was always a fan of the UFC, and as a young man, I got into my fair share of fights. My dad and I were at a WEC show, and we had both had a few beers. This guy (Anthony Arria) enters the cage, and I point at him and tell my dad that I could kick his ass. My dad told me to shut up and have another beer or do something about it. I started training the following Monday at a small gym. What a lot of people don't know is the first thing I started working on was my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
MMAjunkie.com: And three short months later, you had a 32-second submission victory in your debut.
Doug Marshall: Once I had my first fight, I fell in love with the competition, and I was driven to put on a great show for the crowds.
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