March 2012 MMA News Archive - Page 4

Joseph Benavidez‘s trip to Australia for UFC on FX 2 started out pretty good. The former bantamweight title contender made an easy cut to 125 pounds for the first time, and then proceeded to knock out former Shooto star Yasuhiro Urushitani to advance to the finals of the first ever UFC flyweight title tournament. That’s when the night took a turn into a strange series of events.

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Physically, Rad Martinez's father is doing well. He may still be in a vegetative state – the one that has engulfed his life since a 1991 car accident – but after doctor check-ups, Martinez hears the same joke. As a caregiver who also happens to be an MMA fighter and splits his time between the duties, Martinez doesn't get tired of them. "They say, 'Your dad is healthier than you are,'" Martinez told MMAjunkie.com. Martinez gives plenty of attention to keep his father that way. And when he gets to spend time on his own career, that works out pretty well, too. With newfound fame following an ESPN "Outside the Lines" piece on him and his father that aired this past summer, Martinez (11-2 MMA, 1-0 BFC) will take on Douglas Frey (10-7 MMA, 0-0 BFC) in a featherweight fight at Bellator 62 on Friday in Laredo, Texas. The West Jordan, Utah resident hopes that it's the next step to entering a Bellator tournament and growing as a fighter, even if he started his career later than some.

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Rich Franklin had wowed doctors with the speed of his recovery from shoulder surgery and recently returned to near-full speed training in the gym. All the while, he kept the UFC updated on his progress and talked about a return to the cage. But even he was surprised at the speed with which he went from disabled to active after his doctor cleared him this past Friday. "I'm sitting there, my phone goes off on Sunday night and I found out via Twitter that my fight was signed," Franklin (28-6 MMA, 13-5 UFC) today told MMAjunkie.com Radio. The fight, in this case, is a middleweight bout against Cung Le (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC 148, which takes place July 7 at MGM Grand Garden Arena and airs live on pay-per-view. (Preliminary-card fights air on FX.)

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After a confusing bit of nonsense last week before their Bellator 61 rematch, tomorrow's scheduled heavyweight tournament final between Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos now appears to be off. The bout was a rematch of the season 5 bout that ended when Santos landed a hard kick to the groin that left Prindle unable to continue and the bout a no contest. Mauro Ranallo's Twitter was the first place I saw the bout canceled: @mauroranallo Mauro Ranallo Just learned Thiago Santos is out of the Bellator Heavyweight tournament final against Eric Prindle.Trying to find out what now? Mar 23 via Twitter for Android Favorite Retweet Reply The two were supposed to fight last week but the fight was postponed a week when Bellator said Prindle was ill. Prindle went on The MMA Show and said that he was fine but that Santos was way over weight. It then was re-confirmed that Prindle was in fact ill and Bjorn Rebney said that Santos was only slightly overweight and could have made the weight. Word is that Santos is 11 pounds over and won't be able to hit the 265 pound limit forcing a cancellation.

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Brazilian-born Bernardo Magalhaes (11-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) says his second opportunity at a UFC win is coming on June 8. The Australian resident recently revealed on Twitter that he's booked to face Henry Martinez (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC on FX 3. UFC executives have yet to make an official announcement for the lightweight fight. UFC on FX 3 takes place June 8. While the main card airs on FX, officials haven't finalized a venue for the event.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) might be doing some matchmaking on the sneak -- either that or Mike Pyle is issuing some forward-looking statements regarding his participation at the UFC on FX 3 fight card, booked for June 8 at a location to be determined. That's where "Quicksand" says he'll be fighting Josh Neer and looking to make it two in a row after stopping Ricardo Funch at the UFC 142: "Aldo vs. Mendes" pay-per-view (PPV) event back in January. Pyle (22-8) is 4-1 over his last five fights, his only blemish a technical knockout loss to division upstart Rory MacDonald back at UFC 133.

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Promotional newcomer Jordan Smith (17-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC) has replaced Brian Foster (18-5 MMA, 0-0 BFC) in Bellator Fighting Championships' season-six welterweight tournament. Smith now faces undefeated prospect David Rickels (8-0 MMA, 3-0 BFC) in an opening-round matchup. According to Bellator officials, the Mohegan Sun Commission – which oversees MMA at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., site of Bellator 63 – Foster "will need to be screened for additional testing before he is medically cleared to fight." A UFC veteran, Foster was released from the promotion after a pre-UFC 129 medical examination revealed a brain hemorrhage. Foster was cleared shortly after, but the UFC didn't re-sign him. Since his UFC release, Foster has picked up a pair of wins outside the organization.

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A previously reported lightweight contest between Tony Ferguson (13-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and Thiago Tavares (17-4-1 MMA, 7-4-1 UFC) is now officials, and May's UFC on FOX 3 event is again complete with 12 bouts. Tavares replaced an injured Dennis Hallman in the preliminary matchup. MAIN CARD (FOX) Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller Johny Hendricks vs. Josh Koscheck Alan Belcher vs. Rousimar Palhares Pat Barry vs. Lavar Johnson PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV) Tony Ferguson vs. Thiago Tavares John Dodson vs. Darren Uyenoyama John Hathaway vs. Pascal Krauss Louis Gaudinot vs. John Lineker Danny Castillo vs. John Cholish Dennis Bermudez vs. Pablo Garza Johnny Bedford vs. Nick Denis Mike Massenzio vs. Karlos Vemola

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UFC on FX 4's dance card is quickly filling. The promotion announced a quartet of new welterweight bouts for the event, which takes place June 22 at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. Additions for the card include Dan Miller (13-6 MMA, 5-5 UFC) vs. Ricardo Funch (8-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC), Rick Story (13-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) vs. Rich Attonito (10-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC), Matt Riddle (6-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) vs. Luis Ramos (19-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC), and Brian Ebersole (49-14-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. T.J. Waldburger (15-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC). The event's main card airs live on FX while preliminary-card fights air on FUEL TV. It's not clear where the above fights will be placed on the lineup. UFC on FX 4 is the promotion's first trip to Atlantic City in seven years after UFC 53 took place at Boardwalk Hall

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Before guys like Joseph Benavidez and Jon Fitch knew limbo, Rich Franklin was the original purgatory in the UFC. He was the middleweight champion for 16 months in the mid-aughts, beginning with a declarative victory over Evan Tanner and ending three fights later where things for all men come to an end ... with Anderson Silva. Back in the day when immediate rematches were hard to come by, Franklin had to beat Jason MacDonald and Yushin Okami to get a chance at reclaiming his belt. “Ace” finally stepped in with Anderson Silva again at UFC 77, in a conflict that was dubiously dubbed “Hostile Territory.” That is, at least for Silva. Franklin was in the friendly confines of his native Cincinnati, eschewing his trademark Neapolitan trunks for those sporting Bengals colors. It was a homecoming full of furnace warmth. Until he was being fetched back into consciousness with smelling salts.

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Dan Henderson believes Michael Bisping deserves a future shot at the UFC middleweight title, but he warned that the Brit will be in big trouble if he does ever face champion Anderson Silva. Bisping was named to fight Tim Boetsch on Monday, in a bout that will take place at UFC 148. With Silva set to face Chael Sonnen this summer, victory for Bisping may be enough to secure him the next shot at the belt. Henderson knows the Briton well from their time as rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, which culminated in Hendo delivering one of the all-time great knockouts.

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The number one contender and next to challenge UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, former politician and Realtor, occasional television MMA analyst, and a one man army waging war on Blackhouse, Chael Sonnen now has another role to add to his resumé: author.

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UFC welterweight Brian Ebersole is a former member of American Kickboxing Academy, and he wasn't a big fan of some recent comments made by former AKA member Josh Koscheck. Kos, who has never been known to keep quiet about things, had some harsh words for Javier Mendez and his training camps at AKA, and has since moved to his own gym in Fresno full-time. In an interview with Vigilante MMA, Ebersole fired back at Kos in regards to the camp issue: "He couldn't get good work in? It was there to be had. He mentioned that Javier coached him but that he didn't learn anything. Really? I learn from BJJ blue belts whilst I travel the globe teaching and training. And you can't learn from a former World Champion? That's a curious comment, if you ask me, which you did."

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Rousimar Palhares is a simple man with a penchant for rearranging limbs. Alan Belcher, on the other hand, happens to be content with the current aesthetics of his anatomy, thank you very much. Belcher (17-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) will attempt to maintain the status quo when he meets the submission specialist Palhares (14-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) on the FOX-televised main card of UFC on FOX 3. The event takes place May 5 at IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., and features a Jim Miller vs. Nate Diaz headliner. "If he beats me, he's going to injure me," Belcher told MMAjunkie.com Radio. "So I think it's a little extra nerves going into it about actually damaging your health or something.

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A Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva match-up has been discussed ad nauseum for years. Sometimes the biggest fights that can be made are between two fighters in different weight classes. It’s happened before and St-Pierre was involved. B.J. Penn put his lightweight title on hold to move up to face St-Pierre at for the welterweight championship at UFC 94. A match-up with Anderson Silva has been something St-Pierre has considered.

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A welterweight scrap between Matt Riddle (Pictured) and Luis Ramos was added to the freebie fight card. Speaking of 170-pounders, Dan Miller has decided to shed 15 pounds and make his welterweight debut against Ricardo Funch. Another welterweight affair featuring Rich Attonito and Rick Story, as well as a middleweight tussle between Chris Camozzi and Nick Catone were confirmed for the roster

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Former Middleweight hopeful Dan Miller, who has struggled against the top 185-pound competition in the last few years, will shed 15 pounds and take on Ricardo Funch at UFC on FX 4 from the Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., on June 22, 2012. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) tonight (March 21, 2012) made the Welterweight bout announcement on its official website. Miller, a "Garden State" native, has battled turmoil inside and outside the Octagon, losing a newborn child and then caring for an infant who was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease. All the while, he's attempted to reach his true mixed martial arts (MMA) potential that was evident when he made his promotional debut back in 2008.

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Ronda Rousey will soon bare (mostly) all in a new photo shoot. The Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion is expected to be featured in the 2012 edition of ESPN The Magazine's "The Body Issue," multiple sources close to the fighter today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). The issue's release date could not be confirmed, though it could hit stands this fall. "The Body Issue" features pro athletes in various states of undress (with strategic hand and equipment placement). Other MMA fighters, including Gina Carano and Jon Jones, have been featured in the always-popular edition of the magazine. Earlier this month, Rousey (5-0 MMA, 3-0 SF) cemented her status as one of Strikeforce's brightest stars when she won the bantamweight title by submitting Miesha Tate in painful fashion at "Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey." The event scored an impressive 431,000 Showtime viewers, a 25 percent increase from the promotion's previous big event, "Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine." The March 3 event peaked with 506,000 viewers during Rousey's bout. In the weeks leading to the event, which took place at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Showtime produced a series of lavish promos for the women's title fight. The headliners pitched in with a series of verbal exchanges in the press that boiled over into a brief physical confrontation when Tate head-butted Rousey at the event's weigh-ins...

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The long-awaited rematch between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen apparently now has a destination in Brazil. While not officially set, UFC president Dana White today said he expects the fight to take place in Rio de Janeiro in a stadium that could accommodate 80,000 fans. Initially, the pay-per-view event was expected to take place in Sao Paulo, though venue and local-ordinance issues recently popped up. UFC 147 is expected to take place June 16 or June 23.

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UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre's road to recovery is ongoing and the 30-year-old native of Saint-Isidore, Que., is increasing the intensity of his rehab. While preparing for a bout with Nick Diaz late last year, GSP suffered an injury to his knee that required surgery. The Canadian is expected to return to the Octagon late this year, possibly in November. Judging by this video it looks as though he will be in excellent shape as usual. TUF news -- TUF Live competitor Jeremy Larsen was placed on medical suspension after suffering a cut to his head in his unanimous decision win over Jeff Smith to get onto the show. It's unclear at this point what will happen to Larson and his spot in the TUF house.

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