Page 3 - Top MMA News and Mixed Martial Arts Headlines

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned that lightweight competitor Marcus Aurelio is the latest fighter to depart the UFC. The American Top Team member was released from his contract with the promotion soon after his unanimous decision loss Hermes Franca last month at UFC 90. s anybody else heated about this? Werdum may have looked bad in his last fight but I can't think of one fighter who hasn't had a bad fight. Keithe Jardine got beat by a no name in Houston Alexander and he got to fight Liddell in his next fight, why the hate on Werdum? I know he makes a lot of money but that division is weak and a guy like him is needed. Bring back Cro Cop.

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I wasn't sure what to make of this, worth a look though.....LOL

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Bellator Fighting Championships today officially announced its launch and television partnership with ESPN Deportes, but the organization is making it very clear that its competition will, in no way, resemble your typical reality show. In today's press release, BFC executives promise "a business model unique in the fight industry, yet followed in every other major sport." BFC, which has opened offices in Los Angeles and Chicago, will feature a format in which title shots are awarded base strictly on advancing through the tournament -- and no other factors. "We are implementing a tournament structure to determine champions and No. 1 challengers so that world-class fighters can control their destiny based on their performance," stated Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney, a former "Friday Night Fights" executive. "Simply put, at Bellator, fighters fight their way to the title." The show, which debuts in April 2009, will feature 12 two-hour episodes that air on Saturday nights. The nationally televised events will feature a combination of tournament and non-tournament feature bouts. Eight competitors will comprise each of Belator's four divisional tournaments. The weight classes included featherweight (145 pounds), lightweight (155), welterweight (170) and middleweight (185). As Bellator fighters progress through the tournament, they earn substantially larger fight purses. Opening-round winners receive $25,000, semifinal-round winners receive $50,000, and finals winners receive $100,000. Each champion also gets $175,000. That's $350,000 in total for a champion who wins each round of the tournament.

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A previously reported rematch between Anthony Johnson (5-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Kevin Burns (7-1 MMA, 2-0) set for The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale in December will headline the event, Spike TV today announced. Additionally, officials have confirmed a previously reported middleweight fight between Jason MacDonald (21-10 MMA, 5-3 UFC) and Wilson Gouveira (11-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will serve as the night's co-main event. Pretty lame in my opinion, two relatively no namers but what do you guys think?

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Quote: WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko has a message for Randy Couture following his loss to Brock Lesnar at last Saturday’s UFC 91, keep your chin up. MMAWeekly.com spoke with Emelianenko via telephone as he finished watching the first round of the fight on a nearby television. The top ranked heavyweight is currently in Thailand, filming an action movie starring Rutger Hauer and Michael Madsen. “It’s a very interesting fight,” Emelianenko said of the bout’s first round through his interpreter. “So far, it looks like Randy – he’s more active in the ring.” Asked who the winner of the first round was, he paused. “The first round, I thought Randy had the round,” he continued after a beat. “He certainly showed more skills. He was quite interesting in the first round.” If Emelianenko knew how the fight ended in advance, he didn’t make it known. But after witnessing Lesnar’s fight-ending hammerfists, he warmed to the former pro wrestler. “He’s a very good fighter,” he remarked. “He’s a very strong fighter. I’m very impressed with his speed.” Emelianenko said it was too early to say how he would have approached the fight differently. Not what you’d expect, seeing as he knows a thing or two about facing monsters. In his last three years of MMA competition, Emelianenko has faced an equal amount of giants – Tim Sylvia, Hong Man Choi, and Wagner da Conceicao Martins. Lesnar’s speed clearly set him apart from those Emelianenko had laid waste to in the rings outside the UFC. “I would certainly take a different tactic to the fight, although I do believe that Randy had a smart game plan, but it appears that he wasn’t able to control the top position, which is what I believe he was trying to do,” Emelianenko offered. Jerry Millen, M-1 Global’s American Vice President, issued a statement following the interview that welcomed an Emelianenko vs. Lesnar fight, however grim the chances of its fruition are at the moment. “We would welcome a Fedor vs. Lesnar matchup, but to act in a preemptive fashion to address the possibility that UFC officials will try and position Lesnar as the No. 1 heavyweight in the world, much like they have tried to use a marketing ploy to brand Anderson Silva as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world,” the statement read. “In a match between Fedor and Lesnar, we do not feel that at this stage Lesnar would be able to make it out of the first round.” Emelianenko has certainly resigned himself to the fact that a fight with Couture may never happen. Despite his affinity for the legend, he says it suits him fine if he never gets the chance to participate in the dream match-up. “Nothing is ever certain,” Emelianenko said. “This is something that the managers and the organizers need to resolve. But I understand that in all likelihood if Randy stays with the UFC, that the chances of us fighting are much less, and hopefully our fans will be able to overcome that. We both have our history in the sport and if a fight between Randy and I was not to materialize in the future, there will still be other fights. I’m not going to be angry or upset about it in any way.” In his usual understated way, Emelianenko stopped short of calling Lesnar out in his critique. That’s for the managers. As for a message to his friend and colleague, another pause. “I would tell Randy that – I’m sure he already knows – he’s already in the history books, that he’s a legendary fighter, and regardless of the outcome of this fight, things just didn’t go his way,” Emelianenko said. I'm not sure I thought the first round was pretty close.

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Kevin Iole's mail bag addresses this issue on Yahoo! Sports. Brock Lesnar’s win over Randy Couture on Saturday at UFC 91 in their match for the heavyweight title created a lot of interest, both pro and con. I’ll answer questions about Lesnar’s win and his future, as well as other UFC 91 topics, in this edition of the weekly mixed martial arts mailbag. My answers, as always, are in italics after the questions. My personal opinion is that he deserves it until he loses it. I'm not a Lesnar fan at all, but that's the facts jack. There's no use crying over spilled milk and if he doesn't lose who else deserves it?

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WEC apparently is planning to kick off 2009 in a big way with WEC 38. Scheduled to be held in San Diego, former Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber is scheduled to headline the event although he won't get his title rematch yet (Mike Brown is injured), but Lighweight Champion Jamie Varner and Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit will both defend their belts. The card is likely to air on Versus and not PPV.

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"Following one of the most exciting fights in all of 2007 in a win over Jason Black at UFC 77, Oklahoma native Matt Grice took some time off from competing in MMA to attend the police academy and help solidify a future for his wife and young daughter. Grice asked permission from the Ultimate Fighting Championship to take the time off to attend the academy. They were accommodating to let him do what he had to do, while holding his contract in place to allow for his return to the Octagon."

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Lesnar, who defeated Couture with a second-round TKO for the UFC heavyweight championship, is suspended until Dec. 16 with no contact during training until Dec. 7 for precautionary reasons. Couture, meanwhile, has been suspended until Jan. 15 with no contact until Dec. 31, also due to precautionary reasons. Josh Hendricks, a UFC newcomer who suffered a 61-second TKO to Gabriel Gonzaga, has been suspended until Dec. 16 with no contact until Dec. 7 for precautionary reasons. Tamdan McCrory, who dropped a first-round submission loss to Dustin Hazelett in a main-card bout, needs his right foot and ankle X-rayed to rule out factures. If the X-rays come back positive, McCrory is suspended until May 15 unless cleared early by a doctor. Aaron Riley, who defeated Jorge Gurgel via unanimous decision in the UFC 91 Fight of the Night, has been suspended until Dec. 16 with no contact until Dec. 7 for precautionary reasons. Gurgel, meanwhile, must have an MRI on his left shoulder and an X-ray on his right ankle to rule out fractures. If fractures are detected, Gurgel is suspended until May 15 unless cleared early by an orthopedic doctor. Finally, Rafael dos Anjos, who loss to Jeremy Stephens via a stunning third-round TKO, has been suspended until Jan. 15 with no contact until Dec. 31 for precautionary reasons.

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A new promotion to be known as the World Cagefighting Alliance is scheduled to announce its planned launch later this week, FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned. Sources within the organization confirmed to us that the WCA plans to adopt the same business model as Strikeforce, with the notable exception that it will operate in the Northeastern corridor of the United States as opposed to the West Coast. WCA’s founders are looking to build up the East Coast MMA scene and take advantage of a void created by the demise of both the International Fight League and Elite Xtreme Combat, both of which promoted several major events in the Northeast region.

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The 17th installment of Spike TV’s “UFC Fight Night” fight series is set to take place on Saturday, February 7, 2009. FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news on Tuesday morning after contacting a source close to the event who spoke on the condition of anonymity. As of now, few details are known about the planned Spike TV special as a venue has yet to even be finalized. The next UFC Fight Night, “UFC Fight Night 16: UFC Fights for the Troops,” is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 10 at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The event is being held to help raise contributions for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund

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Here's a interview from KFAN a local sports radio show in Minnesota. Nothing groundbreaking but worth a listen. He's been on this show a few times before so that's why they sound all buddy buddy with each other.

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Strikeforce middleweight Tony Johnson doesn’t have any trouble knocking people out, even if it has to be done on short notice. With just three days to prepare, Johnson stepped up to face Marcus Gaines at the War Gods event on September 21 at the Salinas Sports Complex in Salinas California and stopped the more experienced Gaines in just 25 seconds. As Johnson tells MMAmania.com (www.MMAmania.com), taking the fight was his only option, regardless of the time frame, because it had the potential to give him unprecedented exposure. “We fought in Selinas, California in the War Gods Show. It’s a local show here, but they are doing a reality show with it. It’s airing on Comcast. It seems to be a big deal here in California.” It’s not uncommon for fighters to be injured in training, and an unfortunate mishap at the American Kickboxing Academy left Gaines original opponent taking an unscheduled nap in the middle of training camp.

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WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko has a message for Randy Couture following his loss to Brock Lesnar at last Saturday’s UFC 91, keep your chin up. MMAWeekly.com spoke with Emelianenko via telephone as he finished watching the first round of the fight on a nearby television. The top ranked heavyweight is currently in Thailand, filming an action movie starring Rutger Hauer and Michael Madsen. “It’s a very interesting fight,” Emelianenko said of the bout’s first round through his interpreter. “So far, it looks like Randy – he’s more active in the ring.” Asked who the winner of the first round was, he paused.

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This may soon become reality according to Dana White: White said he is thinking of inviting Gina Carano to fight in the WEC. Carrano had been fighting in the now defunct EliteXC. "Gina Carano is a star, I think she's talented. I think she's got all the tools, so what I'm willing to do is bring Gina into the WEC. We could do fights whenever there's a challenger for Gina. That's how I'll test the waters and see how it goes." In the past, White has dismissed talk of having women fight in his organization, saying there wasn't enough talent out there. The proposed scenario would be a major modification to Zuffa's approach in promoting MMA. Not only would this be their first foray into female fighting, but the experiment would not involve a full division of fighters but only Carano fighting various challengers as they materialize.

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M-1's Official Statement on Brock Lesnar's victory "In a match between Fedor and Lesnar, we do not feel that at this stage Lesnar would be able to make it out of the first round," the statement read.

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Top welterweight contender Jon Fitch (17-3) has signed the bout agreement to fight Akihiro Gono (29-13-7) at UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs Penn 2” on January 31 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, MMAmania.com (www.mmamania.com) has learned.

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"There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be in Toronto," White continued. "We’ve got a (clean) nine-year record of health and safety. There is absolutely no reason for Canada to not accept this sport. There’s an education factor; we need to educate people. "I’m going after Canada after (I get approval in) New York and Massachusetts. I’m attacking Canada. I’m going to spend so much time in Canada I’ll have to buy a house. I’m going to live here until it’s done. I’m going to be sitting on the porch every day they come to work." "Everybody I bumped into was from Canada," he said, adding that having St-Pierre fight in Toronto is a no-brainer. "This fight (between St-Pierre and Penn) should have been in Toronto or Hawaii. "Canada is a huge market for us. Toronto is the mecca, this is the place to be as far as MMA is concerned."

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I would most definitely go to an event in Toronto. My guess is that it will happen in late 2010 or mid 2011 for the UFC to get through Ontario. Glad to see his enthusiasm.

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While the search to find a permanent replacement for fformer executive Armando Garcia goes on, the CSAC today appointed staff analyst Bill Douglas to oversee administrative functions of the state office and assist chief inspector Dean Lohuis, who will now oversee its field operations. A new executive director is to be appointed in March.

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