GORAN RELJIC VS. WILSON GOUVEIA AT UFC 84
(mmaweekly.com)Goran Reljic is set to make his debut in the Octagon on May 24 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the MGM Grand Garden Arena according to his manager, Zoran Saric.
The 23-year-old Croation fighter has signed a multiple-fight contract to fight for the UFC. Terms of his contract were not disclosed.
Saric stated that Reljic’s first bout, at UFC 84, will be against American Top Team fighter Wilson Gouveia in the light heavyweight division.
Splitting his training between Croatia and England (where he trains with Roger Gracie), Reljic has a strong background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has submitted nearly every one of his opponents and has not gone to a decision en route to a 7-0 record.
Gouveia is currently riding a four-fight winning streak. He is a UFC veteran with a 4-1 record in the Octagon, his only loss being a decision to Ultimate Fighter veteran Keith Jardine.
Matt Lindland Update: Will Not Be Returning To The UFC
(mmafightline.com)Both Matt Lindland and Dana White have recently confirmed that the two had tossed around the idea of a Lindland return to the UFC. However after UFC 81 Lindland made it clear that the UFC would not be making him an offer.
“Dana has made it clear they are not going to make me an offer to return to the UFC,” said Lindland. I feel there are a lot of good fighters in the UFC, and I feel like I could beat most of them.”
Frank Mir Reflects on Brock Lesnar, Looks to Future
(mmajunkie.com)Fresh off a 90-second submission victory over the much-hyped Brock Lesnar (1-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (11-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) joined the crew of TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com) Tuesday to discuss the experience — and the potential consequences of the victory.
“I knew that it would have to be a combination of submission attempts,” Mir said. “He was too explosive for me to just flat out grab him in one submission and be able to catch it… Like anything, it’s kind of hard to catch a guy with one punch if you just keep throwing one shot. But combinations? That can catch anybody.“
Tito Ortiz Trashes Dana White, Hints at Starting New Fight Promotion on “Howard Stern Show”
(mmajunkie.com)UFC light heavyweight Tito Ortiz had some harsh words for UFC President Dana White and hinted that he might eventually start his own fight promotion when he leaves the UFC. Ortiz discussed both topics while a guest on today’s “Howard Stern Show,” which airs on Sirius as satellite radio’s most popular program.
Ortiz was a guest on the show with his girlfriend, former porn superstar and mogul Jenna Jameson. While much of the interview focused on Jameson and her new book, Stern did ask Ortiz about his current feud with White and plans for the future.
“He’s an egotistical egomaniac,” Ortiz said of White. “He wants to be a fighter and a superstar.
Kid Yamamoto's NYE Win Stands
(sherdog.com)After an investigation resulting from Rani Yahya's protest of his loss to Norifumi "Kid' Yamamoto on December 31, FEG, parent company of K-1 HERO'S, has announced that the result stands and Yamamoto keeps his win. Yahya contended that the stoppage was produced by illegal blows (soccer kicks), and should be grounds for a No Contest, or a disqualification.
UFC 83 Pre-Sale Tickets Sold Out!
Just got the email from the UFC
Due to incredible demand, nearly all of the tickets to UFC® 83: SERRA vs. ST-PIERRE 2 have been purchased by members of UFC® Fight Club in its exclusive presale which started on Sunday. Over 21,000 people will rock the Bell Centre on Saturday, April 19th, and the vast majority of them will be UFC® Fight Club members. The UFC® organization is honored to welcome so many of its most devoted fans to the event that night.
Because of the unprecedented size of this presale, the normal UFC® Newsletter Presale will not take place. The scheduled public onsale date for this event is this Friday, February 8 at 12pm ET. On that date and time, a very limited number of tickets will be released for sale via Ticketmaster and at the Bell Centre Box Office.
Additional viewing options for fans in the Montreal area, or those wishing to come to Montreal for the event, are currently being researched. Information will be made public as it becomes available via UFC.com and this UFC® Newsletter.
Referee Steve Mazzagatti Discusses Lesnar-Mir Fight — An MMAjunkie.com Interview
(mmajunkie.com)MMAJUNKIE.COM: OK, onto the fight. When we spoke earlier, you mentioned that the decision to deduct Lesnar one point for strikes to the back of Mir’s head was pretty clear. Can you explain?
STEVE MAZZAGATTI: These fighters are extremely skilled fighters, and a grappler like Frank, that’s what they’re trained to do: when you have a guy in half guard on top of you, you don’t want to give the guy room to punch. So that was Mir’s defense. You suck up close to (your opponent’s) chest, tuck yourself up under them, and that covers you from getting hit. At first, Brock started to do the right thing by winding up with the hook from behind and pushing Mir’s head away from his stomach. Then you can blast him in the face… but to have to worry about getting struck in the back in the head in a situation like that isn’t something Frank should have had to worry about. But that was a target that presented itself to Brock.
for the full interview go to
UFC 81 Draws Live Gate of $2,437,890
(mmajunkie.com)
The paid-attendance figure is the second-lowest ever recorded at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, which has hosted 15 UFC events to date. The only UFC event to draw a smaller paid attendance at the venue was UFC 48, which featured a main event of Ken Shamrock vs. Kimo Leopoldo. Just 6,528 fans paid to attend the June 2004 event.
However, while those figures are below average for the venue, UFC 81 likely registered higher-than-normal pay-per-view buys. The event featured a headline bout between Tim Sylvia and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the UFC’s interim heavyweight title, but the main attraction was the debut of former World Wrestling Entertainment performer Brock Lesnar, who took on one-time UFC champ Frank Mir. The UFC marketed Lesnar’s UFC debut extensively, hoping to attract part of the WWE’s substantial fan base.
Unfortunately, we’re unlikely to know if the UFC was successful. Because the organization is a privately owned company, the UFC doesn’t publicly release the number of pay-per-view buys for its events
The past 10 events at the Mandalay Bay Events Center:
UFC 81 (2/2/08) — 10,583 attendance (7,167 paid) for $2,437,890 live gate
UFC 79 (12/29/07) — 11,075 attendance (10,968 paid) for $4,994,000 live gate
UFC 74 (8/25/07) — 11,118 attendance (9,622 paid) for $3,307,000 live gate
UFC 67 (2/3/07) — 10,227 attendance (8,700 paid) for $2,767,130 live gate
UFC 64 (10/14/06) — 10,173 attendance (8,913 paid) for $1,790,490 live gate
UFC 62 (8/26/06) — 9,859 attendance (8,954 paid) for $3,040,880 live gate
UFC 61 (7/8/06) — 11,167 attendance (9,999 paid) for a $3,350,775 live gate
UFC 58 (3/4/06) — 9,569 attendance (8,183 paid) for $1,758,450 live gate
UFC 57 (2/4/06) — 11,000 attendance (10,301 paid) for $3,382,400 live gate
UFC 51 (2/5/05) — 11,072 attendance (9,268 paid) for $1,493,100 live gate
Rage In The Cage XVI
(scrubsports.com)"Wildfire" Johnny Rage returns with his weekly column. In this week's column he tackles UFC 81, a preview of UFC 82, World Victory Road and his thoughts on MMA "Smart Fans" and his thoughts on the Super Bowl.
Cards Announced for Upcoming UFCs
(sherdog.com)Lineups for the next two UFC pay-per-view events were made official Monday.
Joining the highly-anticipated March 1 UFC middleweight title fight in Columbus, Ohio, between champion Anderson Silva and challenger Dan Henderson are four main card attractions featuring recognizable names across three weight divisions.
UFC 81 proved how the sport's elite rose to the top
(sportsillustrated.cnn.com)Over the years, the lexicon of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has become entrenched in the language of mixed martial arts. Royce Gracie introduced the masses to the potency of the discipline in the earliest Ultimate Fighting Championships, and since then, fighters hoping to make a dent in the sport have had to incorporate a significant amount of BJJ knowledge into their own repertoire. Understanding how to use BJJ as an offensive weapon, and simply learning how to defend against its various joint locks and chokes is a must into today's MMA.
And just in case BJJ's importance had been forgotten, UFC 81 served as a stark reminder of its continued presence, and need. The technique ultimately decided four of the five main card fights and both main event fights. Height, strength, and hype proved sadly ineffective when confronted by BJJ.
Five Questions in the Wake of UFC 81
(sherdog.com)The UFC's media campaign has repeatedly stressed that the spectacle of MMA -- those bygone days when fighters showed up in wife beaters and singlets, listing Tae Bo as a discipline -- is ancient history.
Yet that weird buzz in one's central nervous system, the one you used to get when watching athletes of unknown origin and ability, was present during Saturday's UFC 81 card. Observing Brock Lesnar (Pictures), a human being of formidable proportions, rain hammer fists down on Frank Mir (Pictures) helped recapture some of the early knot-in-stomach jitters of the cruder, single-digit events. (Lesnar's knife tattoo, so ignobly displayed on his mammoth chest, might as well have been a giant question mark.)
We got at least one answer: Lesnar, while seemingly the most athletic 265-pound man ever to step into a cage, has a ways to go before promoters need to resize the heavyweight strap.
New Dana interview.
(mmafightline.com)I listened to it but you've got to laugh at some of the stuff he says!
He can't be serious can he?!
On Couture and Fedor Emelianenko:
Randy Couture, right now is the best fighter in the world. Fedor is a farce. He [just fought] "Long Duck Dong"...we'll just call him that. It's a joke. This guy hasn't beat anybody since 2005 and you know who was the last guy he beat in 2005? Mirko Cro Cop who just lost to two guy's that nobody's...you know.
- Shawn Bias realeased, starts road to recovery
(mmaweekly.com)Shawn Bias is on his way to making a full recovery from injuries allegedly sustained in a recent struggle with Oroville police.
The former Palace Fighting Championship featherweight champion was released from the Oroville Hospital on Wednesday and spoke about his incident for the first time.
Bias allegedly ran from officers outside an¬ apartment complex in Oroville at about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20. Oroville police were called to investigate a disturbance and upon making contact with the 22-year-old mixed martial artist, Bias reportedly ran and ignored orders from police to stop or be shot by a taser.
The Chico Enterprise Recorder reported that Bias was eventually caught by two officers and was tased a total of five times according to Oroville Police Chief Kirk Trostle. Some of the tasings were “drive stuns” which involves the taser making direct contact with the victim.
Bias was restrained and taken to the Oroville Hospital where he was treated for a heart attack and went into kidney failure.
Good to hear he is going to make a full recovery, especially after being given only a 30% chance to survive.
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