February 2008 MMA News Archive - Page 2

The UFC today confirmed that long-rumored fights between Keith Jardine (13-3-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1 MMA, 1-3 UFC), and Tito Ortiz (15-5-1 MMA, 14-5-1 UFC) and Lyoto Machida (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), have been booked and are now official. The two light-heavyweight bouts are set for UFC 84, an event that takes place May 24 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. UFC lightweight champ B.J. Penn meets former champ Sean Sherk in the night’s main event.

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check it out if you go to the page before this it also includes other interviews including nick thompson, josh barnett, and yoshida

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Interview with Big Nog: On whether Silva is the best striker in MMA: “I think so, in MMA, for sure. He hits hard, that guy. It’s like someone throw a chair on your head, a big chair. It’s like a heavyweight. There’s not many heavyweights that can hit like him. It’s different because it’s so powerful, but got a good speed. You cannot see the hands coming. When you cannot see, that’s the one that knocks you out, the one you are not ready to get.” You can listen to the audio of the entire interview, which is about 18 minutes, or you can check out a rundown of the interview at this link:

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This is a match I have personally been waiting for and advocating for years. Believe me, I am excited that it is finally here. If you leave Henderson’s teammate Matt “The Law” Lindland out of the equation (and sadly the UFC seems to have done just that, which to me is the sport’s loss), Anderson Silva versus Dan Henderson is the greatest middleweight fight that MMA has to offer or could produce at this moment in time. Expectation-wise this ranks up there with the first match of Fedor Emelianenko and Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira (Pride 25) or the second clash between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes (UFC 65)....

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LOL @ the "Raging Bull" reference later in the article

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UFC® President Dana White will be making a major announcement at the UFC® 82 PRIDE OF A CHAMPION pre-fight press conference in Columbus, Ohio. UFC.COM will feature the official announcement at 1pm EST. Look for video highlights of the press conference featuring Dana White, along with a special guest, making the announcement later in the day.

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Team Quest’s Ryan Schultz seemed like the perpetually snake bitten fighter for much of his career. Momentum built up by big wins over fighters such as Eddy Ellis, Gil Castillo and Roger Huerta were often derailed shortly thereafter by inexplicable losses. Consistency often eluded Schultz, until last year.

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The timing couldn’t have been worse for Jake O’Brien. Fresh off the biggest win of his young mixed martial arts career over Heath Herring in January of 2007, the Indiana native had an unbeaten record, a victory over a perennial heavyweight contender, and was a couple of wins away from being in contention for the title. He was also dealing with ‘stingers’, a nerve injury usually seen on the weekly injury reports in the NFL, and something he had been experiencing since his days wrestling for Purdue. But while he would usually work through the pain, which was then followed by numbness in his arms, eventually it got to be too much.

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The third time should have been the charm for Heath Herring. In the first round of his third bout with soon to be interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira last July, the ‘Texas Crazy Horse’ struck ‘Minotauro’ with a kick to the face that dropped the Brazilian as if he had been shot.

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“UFC 85: London” takes place June 7 at the O2 Arena in London, England. Chuck Liddell is expected to meet Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the night’s main event. The UFC hasn’t announced broadcast plans for the event, but MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) was told by a source close to the organization that UFC 85 had been pitched as a possible Spike TV broadcast. The cable station’s executives are expected to make a decision as to whether they’ll carry the event soon.

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WOW!, if we get to see chuck vs shogun for free that would be crazy!!!! Kudos to the UFC if they make this happen....2008 so far seems by far the Best year for the UFC and MMA, with PPV events as stacked as 82 through 85, free fight nights like UFC fight night 13 plus a new TUF, now with 32 contestants,and now possibly UFC 85 on the fee market....

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little bit more on topic posted earlier, mentions kimbo as a possible headliner lets petition to see nick diaz on cable tv!

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Adam Swift at MMAPayout has this interesting tidbit in the aftermath of the CBS/Elite XC rumors:

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Multiple sources have told MMAPayout.com that FOX is believed to have interest in MMA with rumors suggesting that the network even went so far as to make a bid on the UFC during recent negotiations. UFC President Dana White alluded to an unidentified network bidder in an interview with Steve Cofield earlier this month.

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Highly regarded as one of the top middleweight fighters in the world, but not having fought anywhere in nearly a year, Matt Lindland on Friday confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that he has just signed a contract with a new fight promotion. Seems like everyone wants a piece of the pie. I smell someone losing some money on this new promotion.

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LAS VEGAS, Feb. 26 -- Lawyers for Zuffa LLC, parent company of the UFC, had hoped to come away with a preliminary injunction Tuesday enjoining both Randy Couture (Pictures) and his Xtreme Couture brand from lending their stature to the UFC's rivals. However, after hearing nearly two hours of arguments, Judge Jennifer Togliatti delayed her ruling to allow Couture's legal team to secure an affidavit from the International Fight League regarding the promotion's intentions should the Xtreme Couture moniker be barred from use at the IFL's Feb. 29 show in Las Vegas. The parties will be back in court Thursday at 4:30 p.m. for a limited comment period narrowly focused on the IFL affidavit. Togliatti is then expected to issue her ruling. Zuffa is hoping the court will stop Couture from "engaging in any promotion or production of any events or programming related to unarmed combat during the one-year restricted period in his employment agreement."

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Ok.. I read a report yesterday (dont have the source, it was on another website) that Mirko Cro Cop was returning to the UFC next winter of 08 to finish his contract to the UFC... and that he has joined DREAM because he prefers to fight in Japan and thinks fighting there will help get him back on track.. He also commented on what people have said about him on the internet and Cro Cop ensures that he is not hiding from the UFC and has plans on returning to finish his contract and still making an impact inside the octagon. The post I read supplied a source which I did not copy (sorry) and im sure it was genuine as everybody who replied seemed to agree with the TS... im just wondering what your thoughts are on this and if anybody else has read this report or has heard any news on the subject. Thanks, and once again sorry about not having the source. --- EDIT NOTE: After reading the forum rules I went and got the link, found it on google rather easily... I also realized that this news isnt exactly recent.. so I apologize if this has already been discussed. LINK: http://www.sportal.hr/vld/sportal/os...13000/index.do

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hope the link works, if not its on mmajunkie.com not sure how this unfolded but didnt see it posted so here

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Efforts to get mixed martial arts sanctioned in Maryland appear on track after a senate committee showed no signs of opposition yesterday to a bill that would give the state athletic commission regulatory power over the sport. The committee on education, health and environmental affairs likely will decide by Friday whether to forward the bill to a vote by the entire state senate, said sponsor Joan Carter Conway, a Baltimore Democrat. But no one spoke against the legislation at yesterday's hearing in Annapolis. Senators posed only a few questions about safety regulations. Conway said Maryland is losing out because the sport is sanctioned in Washington and in such nearby states as Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey. "We're sitting in the middle of our region, where all of our dollars are going elsewhere," she said.

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When (and who) will Marcus Davis and Sokoudjou be fighting next? Was Fightlinker’s guerilla-email campaign successful? And what are my thoughts on Strikeforce and MFC? Plus, 8 questions to be answered at UFC 82!

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congrats to jake - the most under-appreciated fighter in the world imo

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"This is for the fighters, fans, promoters and trolls alike. As of now i will be stepping down as Cage Rage Champion (British and world), FX-3 Champion and KOTR champion. I vacate all these titles. Futher more i consider my self retired (from all MMA/Thai boxing) as of March 29th. March 29th i will fullfill my contracted commitment for Pro Elite, against a yet un named opponent. No speculation, No futher annonucments, once i’ve found the path i originally set out on in the Martial Arts, i may return to this SPORT, Maybe 6months-Maybe 6 years, who knows. Who will be the next welterweight CRC champ. FX-3 champ????… Thanks" What!? He's only 25 years old and is a great prospect.....I can't believe this.

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http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/02/26/michael-wilbon-and-tony-kornheiser-agree-kimbo-slice-mma-repre/ watch them rip on mma i am so sick of people talking about a sport they know absolutely nothing about

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