Wanderlei Silva explains 'terrible' picture featuring Shogun bromance
(mmamania.com)If you thought the above picture of two sweaty Brazilians embracing during jiu-jitsu practice was "terrible," imagine how poor Wanderlei Silva feels.
"The Axe Murderer" has been featured in one of the Internet's most infamous demotivational posters, featuring the former PRIDE stars sharing a tender moment in the gym. But as the poster indicates, unless eye contact is made, we should assume nothing.
Follow link for hilarious picture
Released from UFC, Todd Brown contemplating move to Middleweight
(mmajunkie.com)After an unsuccessful two-fight run in the octagon, Indiana native Todd Brown (15-3) has been released by the world's largest mixed martial arts promotion.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed Brown's recent UFC release with his management at MMA Agents.
However, the 5-foot-11 light heavyweight eyes a return to the bigtime, and he's considering a drop to 185 pounds to do it.
"Bulldog" made his UFC debut in August 2010 at UFC 117. With just two weeks' notice, Brown stepped for an injured Thiago Silva and lost a unanimous decision to Tim Boetsch. The loss snapped a seven-fight win streak for Brown.
'Ashamed' Michael Bisping issues apology for spitting at UFC 127, looks forward to Chael Sonnen smack talk
(mmamania.com)Michael Spitsbing has broken his silence.
The brash British banger today issued an apology for his post-fight celebration at UFC 127, telling The Telegraph that he was "out of line" for spitting at (not on) Jorge Rivera's corner team after his emotional second round technical knockout victory on Feb 27, 2011, in Sydney, Australia.
"The Count," who flew into a rage after finishing "El Conquistador," admits that the pre-fight smack talk and steady drumbeat of insulting parody videos that "crossed the line" ultimately got the best of him on fight night.
UFC champ Jon Jones scores "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" appearance
(mmajunkie.com)Where's Ed McMahon when you need him?
While the UFC's new light heavyweight champ won't get the experience of longtime announcer McMahon's signature, "Here's Johnny," introduction, Jon Jones is heading to "The Tonight Show."
UFC president Dana White today announced via Twitter that Jones will appear on Thursday night's edition of the 67-year-old NBC franchise.
"Congrats, Jon Jones," White wrote. "First UFC fighter to do the 'The Tonight Show' with Jay Leno.
"The hits keep on coming! Tune in Thursday on NBC!"
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has since confirmed the booking with additional UFC executives. The official lineup for "The Tonight Show" does not yet reflect the appointment.
Zuffa Officials Meet With Showtime, Paul Daley Expected to Fight April 9
(mmaweekly.com)The changing climate in the world of MMA took another step towards the future on Saturday night when Strikeforce advertisements aired during the UFC 128 pay-per-view broadcast.
When Zuffa purchased the second largest MMA organization, everybody knew the crossover appeal would happen sooner rather than later, but it still caught a few people off guard when it happened.
In addition to the advertisements about the upcoming Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley event, middleweight Jason “Mayhem” Miller took over the UFC Twitter account during the pay-per-view to give his thoughts on the show, while Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson sat in the front row for the action.
Rashad Evans: Disrespected by Jon Jones, Disappointed in Greg Jackson
(bloodyelbow.com)This past Saturday at UFC 128 was supposed to be the culmination of two years of hard work for former champion Rashad Evans. He was set to face Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a lightweight title bout that would give Evans the opportunity to finally reclaim the belt he once lost but instead of a moment of potential greatness, instead Evans has found himself in the midst of a bitter dispute. Several weeks from the fight Evans suffered an injury that forced him to withdraw and in his place the UFC tapped his teammate Jon Jones.
This created the potential confrontation between Evans and Jones, and while both men have publically stated this wasn't something they would take part in, after Jon Jones became the youngest light heavyweight champion in the history of the UFC, Evans was sitting right there in the number one contender's position. Now the reality of their matchup has forced a wedge between two men who were once considered close friends and training partners but Evans's frustration is not aimed at Jones alone. I caught up with Evans on the day after he agreed to face Jones later for the light heavyweight title and in his Bloody Elbow Exclusive interview, Evans spoke his mind. While Evans discussed the details of the situation between himself and Jon Jones, he perhaps showed more anger towards former Coach Greg Jackson's public declaration that he will take no part in the matchup.
UFC targets Belfort vs Silva II, the Axe Murderer holding out for Leben
(mmajunkie.com)For a guy who built a career on fighting anybody, anywhere, anytime, Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) is proving incredibly difficult to schedule.
UFC president Dana White said he's trying to book a rematch between Silva and Vitor Belfort (19-9 MMA, 8-5 UFC) – a fight "The Phenom" has verbally agreed to – but "The Axe Murderer" is holding out for a bout with Chris Leben (25-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC).
White admitted he's a little shocked by Silva's actions, especially considering he already turned down a UFC 130 fight with Brian Stann because he didn't want to face a U.S. military hero.
"We asked him to take [a fight with Stann], and he turned it down," White said. "He said, 'I don't like it because everybody likes this guy.' That's kind of a weird philosophy, but I'll accept that. Wanderlei's a warrior. He always goes out there. So we offered him the Vitor fight, and now he's on Twitter lobbying to fight Chris Leben."
Jason Brilz ready for a fight against UNO Athletic Director Trev Albetrs
(sherdog.com)After three straight Division II wrestling titles University of Nebraska Omaha Athletic Director, Trev Alberts, has decided to cut the program. Alberts aletered the UNO wrestling team by telephone a meer hour after the team had won its third straight title...upon returning to the school there lockeroom had been padlocked, and they were escorted by security to clean out their lockers and peacefully leave the campus.
Assistant Coach Jason Brilz is ready for a fight with the former failed ESPN announcer and new University of Nebraska Omaha AD, Trev Alberts...
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Has UFC Found Its Transcendent Star?
(online.wsj.com)You can watch it a dozen times and not believe it. The first man cinches his arms around his opponent's waist from behind, bucks forward and then simply dead-lifts him up and drops backward with him, tracing an arc of perhaps 140 degrees so that they land together, their weight on the neck of the man being thrown.
As they grapple for leverage on the mat, the first man catches onto the second man's left leg, working down toward the ankle as they rise, and then drops it, spinning to his right and catching his opponent flush with an elbow to the head that knocks him down to the mat, helpless again. From impact to impact, the whole fluid sequence lasts 10 seconds
"I've never seen anyone throw anything like that," said the second man, a tough veteran fighter named Stephan Bonnar. "I didn't even know it hit me. I was laying there thinking someone from the audience threw a bottle or something."
The fight was a test, Jon Jones's eighth in less than a year and his second in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the leading mixed martial arts promotion. Five fights, four wins and just more than two years later, Jones, 23, is preparing for his first chance at a UFC title.
Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., he is scheduled to fight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, champion of the 205-pound division, a feared Muay Thai artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu player who has finished two-thirds of his 24 professional fights by knockout or technical knockout.
At stake, though, is more than a championship. Since first gaining purchase on the American consciousness five years ago, fighting has won a hard sort of semi-legitimacy as a sport. Major televised bouts draw around six million viewers, top fights regularly sell more than a million pay-per-view orders and an upcoming show in Toronto has, according to the promotion, sold about 55,000 tickets, with an estimated gate of $11 million.
The gap between a status as underground freak show and grudgingly tolerated niche sport, though, may be smaller than the one between fighting as it is now and as it aspires to be. If it is ever to become anything near a major sport, it will have to present a transcendent athlete. Jones may not be that man, but he's likely closer than anyone yet has been—which in its way just shows how far fighting has yet to go...
Bobby Lashley re-booked to face John Ott on March 25
(mmamania.com)The finalized lineup just announced by Titan Fighting includes a late change to the night's main event, which will feature former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley. Kansas City-based heavyweight James Jack (6-2) had been scheduled to fight Lashley but has been pulled from the show and replaced by John Ott (9-7).
Jack's departure from the card comes under questionable circumstances.
Gina Carano Visiting New York Next Week to Promote ‘UFC Personal Trainer’
(cagepotato.com)The UFC’s ongoing tour of the East Coast includes a public press conference at Radio City Music Hall in New York tomorrow, UFC 128 in Newark on Saturday, and the TUF 14 tryouts next Monday. But there’s one more little surprise in store for fight fans — Gina Carano will be doing an appearance in New York next Wednesday to promote “UFC Personal Trainer,” a fitness game slated for a June release on the Xbox 360 Kinect, PlayStation Move, and Nintendo Wii.
Strikeforce champ Henderson anticipates summer return, interested in Emlianenko
(mmajunkie.com)Dan Henderson says he'll give it one more go early this summer before taking time off to be with his family.
Then it's back to the gym in the fall and a possible fight at the end of the year, if all goes well.
Who's next on his list? Henderson today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that a fight with the winner of Gegard Mousasi vs. Mike Kyle is logical. But the new champ said he's also open to a future meeting with his favorite fighter, Fedor Emelianenko.
Edit: Milestone post! :D War Hendo! War Legalizing!
Heath Herring Wants MMA Return, but Only on Own Terms
(mmafighting.com)Away from MMA competition for nearly three years, UFC heavyweight Heath Herring says he definitely wants to return to the cage -- but only under the right circumstances.
"It would have to make sense not only business-wise, but financially as well and I just don't know if that's in the cards at this moment," Herring told Ariel Helwani Monday on MMAFighting.com's The MMA Hour.
On the show, Herring said he has not been training MMA full-time and would need to devote the majority of his time towards training if he wants to be fight in today's competitive landscape.
New Jersey commission: Emelianenko will honor suspension, not fight in sambo tourney
(mmajunkie.com)Fedor Emelianenko (31-3 MMA, 1-2 SF) will pass on competing in combat sambo to honor a medical suspension issued to him by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.
NJSACB legal counsel Nick Lembo today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Emelianenko's camp has assured him the heavyweight won't participate in a national sambo tournament to be held this weekend in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Sambo is a martial art system originally developed for the Russian military and bears many similarities to MMA in its emphasis on both striking and grappling. It's considered a national sport in Russia, and many competitions are held worldwide.
Emelianenko, a longtime sambo devotee, received two medical suspensions following a TKO loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the quarterfinals of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix, which was held Feb. 12 at IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. He was suspended indefinitely pending a clear CT scan of his head and facial bones and also suspended 90 days for strikes to the head, as MMAjunkie.com previously reported.
Keith Hackney: Where Is He Now?
(sherdog.com)
Held on Sept. 9, 1994, UFC 3 had some notable tweaks from its two predecessors. It remained in a one-night, tournament format but with an eight-man field, instead of 16. The canvas, previously white, was replaced with a more viewer-friendly blue. It was, in a sense, a social phenomenon coming to terms with its own success, which was accompanied by an equal dose of notoriety.
Naturally, that was exactly when Art Davie, then co-owner of the UFC, made the call to Keith Hackney. It came during the peak time for Hackney’s primary business, a heating and air conditioning company he founded in 1980 and still runs today.
His background included boxing, tang soo do, five years of kenpo and a year of high school wrestling, in which he made the state tournament as a 98-pound sophomore. After Hackney responded to a magazine ad, event organizers told him the roster was full but that, perhaps, a future slot could be in the works.
“He said somebody backed out and they had a space for me. It was one week before the fight,” Hackney says. “I thought if I said no, they wouldn’t call me back in the future, so I said, ‘I don’t care. I’ll fight. Get me on a plane.’ Art said, ‘Whoa! Let me tell you who you’re competing against.’ I didn’t care. I wanted to fight.”
Rich Franklin Gets Tattooed After Losing UFC 126 Bet With Forrest Griffin
(mmafighting.com)This one's gonna leave a mark.
Prior to their UFC 126 co-main event fight, Rich Franklin and opponent Forrest Griffin joked about the loser getting tattooed. At least it seemed like a joke.
But don't ever say Rich Franklin isn't a man of his word. True to his promise, Franklin -- who lost the fight via unanimous decision -- visited a tattoo shop on Friday to begin the process of getting inked.
UFC site coordinator Burt Watson: "I like it when it's wacky, baby. It's what we do."
(mmajunkie.com)If you've ever attended a live UFC event or other pre-fight activities, you may recognize the man – but may not know his name.
He's most visible at the official weigh-ins. He's the first man on stage revving up the crowd before UFC commentator Joe Rogan grabs the microphone to introduce the UFC management, octagon girls, and shortly thereafter, the fighters.
He's Burt Watson – UFC site coordinator, part-time hype man, part-time counselor, part-time disciplinarian, jack of all trades.
Despite a laundry list of responsibilities, his main focus centers on monitoring the weight of fighters throughout any given fight week to ensure they are able to compete.
"Making weight is a part of what we do," Watson recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "It's what these guys know they need to do. It's disrespectful if they don't. It shows me they're not trying.
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