UFC News - Page 245

Heavyweights Travis Browne (10-0-1 MMA, 1-0-1 UFC) and Stefan Struve (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) have been penciled in for a UFC event expected to be UFC 130. Multiple sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that verbal agreements are in place, though bout agreements have not been signed. The tentatively titled UFC 130 event is expected to take place May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Memorial Day weekend.

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A middleweight bout between former No. 1 contender Nate Marquardt and Yoshihiro Akiyama has been slated for UFC 128 in Newark, N.J., on March 19, according to multiple sources. Contracts have been distributed and verbal agreements are in place from both fighters.

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After 15 fights, four fight-night bonuses, a spot on the organization's reality series, former welterweight title contention, and a handful of high-profile international fights, Marcus Davis received his UFC walking papers following a UFC 125 loss to Jeremy Stephens. Davis' manager, Joe Cavallaro, today confirmed the release with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

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Posted by Brendhan Conlan on Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 9:41 am Fighters face adversity at any given event due to the nature of their chosen endeavor, but in the case of calamity attached to Brandon Vera’s performance against Thiago Silva last weekend at UFC 125 there’s no doubting “The Truth” hurts. Vera, once viewed as being a double-divisional title-contender, was not only soundly beaten by his Brazilian adversary but also suffered a horrific broken nose in the process in addition to an embarrassing open-handed drumming from Silva reminiscent of Randy Couture spanking Tito Ortiz at UFC 44. Were those things not enough, according to a source near the situation, Five Ounces of Pain has learned the lanky light heavyweight also received a pink-slip from the UFC as a result of the loss.

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The next time he steps into the octagon, veteran 185-pounder Rich Attonito will be a little lighter. He said today that Welterweight is a better fight for him than Middleweight, and plans to drop to that class for his next fight. He said the decision was not made because of his recent loss to Dave Branch. "It was a horrible fight for me," he said. "I didn't make the adjustments I needed to make to put myself in a position to win. But after the loss, (I was) feeling I was going to give up height and reach and size with pretty much all the guys I fight. So it was the right time after the loss to make a move and get a fresh start." Attonito has yet to receive his next booking but hopes to fight alongside teammate Thiago Alves at an as-yet-unannounced UFC event planned for Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas. Alves is expected to meet up-and-comer Rick Story.

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"The only thing that the Fake Mr. T has to do is sign the contract. Rampage is a decent club fighter and if he thinks his club fighting style can match my skills, then he is crazy as hell." "What? Is he mad because I called him an Uncle Tom or because I said Detroit wouldn't accept him? (Laughing) ... Rampage is still an Uncle Tom and I will go on record and say he is not dumb enough to stand and trade with me. Machida almost knocked him out, so what do you think I would do to him." "Rampage is a black redneck. He better stick to hanging with them white boys and keep my name out of his mouth. I ain't hard to find; sign the contract."

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Antonio Mckee's debut on the "big leagues" ended up in a split-decision loss to Jacob Volkmann on UFC 125, and it looks like he won't be getting another chance to redeem himself. Much like his Bodyshop teammate Jason High, the former MFC champion has received his walking papers despite having only one decision loss with the promotion. Five Ounces of Pain has it:

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Ever since losing the welterweight title to Matt Serra at UFC 69, Georges St. Pierre has faced questions from the media and fans regarding his seeming lack of killer instinct. Now his former hero turned nemesis Matt Hughes is piling on and makes the claim that "GSP" is only playing defense when he steps inside the Octagon. Not just because he doesn't want to lose his coveted 170-pound belt but also because he gets paid too much by the UFC.

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With David Mitchell and Mike Swick each bowing out to injury, UFC brass had an extra slot to fill at UFC Fight Night 23. Enter Will Campuzano (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Chris Cariaso (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC). MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned that the two bantamweights have verbally agreed to meet at "UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fight for the Troops 2," which takes place Jan. 22 at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.

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Not just because he's fighting another Brazillian, but it's one of those dreaded "friend vs. friend" fights. "The boss told us to fight, so we'll have to do it, but I don't like facing a Brazilian, specially when it's a friend of mine, like Cacareco. It'll be weird to see him on the other side of the Octagon ready to fight me. We've trained together for many time, we've helped each other a lot... I really like him, I consider him a good friend and training partner. As I see it, it won't change our friendship one bit, and I hope he sees it that way too."

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UFC lightweight Jacob Volkmann, following his win over Antonio McKee, declared that he wanted to fight U.S. President Barack Obama for his next fight. His words got him a visit from the Secret Service on Wednesday. Volkmann, who is based out of Minnesota, told MMAFighting.com after his win over McKee that he wanted to face Obama because he disagreed with many of his policies.

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Featherweights Pablo Garza (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Yves Jabouin (15-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) are expected to meet at UFC 129. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) confirmed the news today from multiple sources close to the event, who said verbal agreements are in place with contracts on the way. UFC 129 takes place April 30 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Cananda, and will feature a welterweight title match between champ Georges St-Pierre and Jake Shields.

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New Jersey residents Nick Catone (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Dan Miller (14-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) are expected to square off on home turf at UFC 128. A source close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that verbal agreements are in place for the middleweight bout, which was first reported by MMADiehards.com. UFC 128 takes place March 19 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and is expected to feature a light heavyweight title match between champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rashad Evans.

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While many MMA fans had little knowledge of ION Television before the network partnered with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, more than three-quarters-of-a-million viewers were able to find the channel this past weekend. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today learned from industry sources that this past weekend's "UFC Prelims" special, which featured a trio of live fights from "UFC 125: Resolution," drew an average of 829,000 viewers. This past weekend's one-hour special marked the UFC's debut on ION Television. Past editions of "UFC Prelims" have aired on Spike TV and UFC.com. Prior to UFC 125, the most recent edition of "UFC Prelims" to air on TV was "UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida," which drew 1.5 million viewers. The figures for this past weekend's event mark a 44 percent decrease from the November broadcast of UFC 123. UFC 124 also featured two fights streaming live on UFC.com, though the promotion did not reveal the number of online viewers that tuned in. UFC officials have yet to announce if the promotion will continue to provide content to ION Television, which was launched in 1998 as PAX TV, was rebranded as Ion Television in 2007. The channel was also known as i from 2005 to 2007. The "UFC Prelims" special for UFC 125 featured three exciting contests as Jeremy Stephens knocked out Marcus Davis, Dustin Poirier earned a one-sided decision over Josh Grispi, and Brad Tavares earned a first-round TKO win over Phil Baroni. To date, the UFC has aired 14 "UFC Prelims" broadcasts. The top six "UFC Prelims" specials in terms of viewership all aired in 2010. The full list of "UFC Prelims" broadcasts and ratings, which has traditionally aired on Spike TV, as compiled by MMAjunkie.com includes: * 1) UFC 109 (February 2010): 1.7 million viewers * 2) UFC 114 (May 2010): 1.6 million viewers * 3) UFC 108 (January 2010): 1.5 million viewers * 3) UFC 121 (October 2010): 1.5 million viewers * 3) UFC 123 (November 2010): 1.5 million viewers * 6) UFC 104 (October 2009): 1.4 million viewers * 6) UFC 103 (September 2009): 1.4 million viewers * 8) UFC 119 (September 2010): 1.3 million viewers * 8) UFC 116 (July 2010): 1.3 million viewers * 8) UFC 115 (June 2010): 1.3 million viewers * 8) UFC 106 (November 2009): 1.3 million viewers * 12) UFC 111 (March 2010): 1.2 million viewers * 13) UFC 118 (August 2010): 1.1 million viewers * 14) UFC 125 (January 2011): 829,000 viewers*

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The news was first reported by TMZ.com, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) subsequently confirmed the suspension with a source close to the fighter. "Chael Sonnen has gone through a lot in the last few months, and we think it's important for him to focus on getting his personal life together before focusing on his career in the UFC," UFC president Dana White told TMZ.com. MMAjunkie.com was not immediately able to reach White for comment. On Monday, MMAjunkie.com reported that Sonnen had been targeted for a UFC 128 matchup with Yoshihiro Akiyama. That bout is now apparently on hold, as TMZ.com reports Sonnen's contract "has been temporarily frozen." The length of Sonnen's suspension has yet to be revealed.

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With the UFC's return to New Jersey official, the promotion is wasting little time filling out the night's fight card. UFC brass initially announced "UFC 128: Shogun vs. Evans" would feature Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Rashad Evans and Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland. The UFC has since upped the ante with the release of previously reported contests of Kurt Pellegrino vs. Gleison Tibau and Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Njokuani, as well as a new fight between Joseph Benavidez and Ian Loveland. "UFC 128: Shogun vs. Evans" takes place March 19 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Saturday, March 19 with the long-awaited title fight between UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and former champion "Suga" Rashad Evans. A bantamweight clash between former WEC champions "The California Kid" Urijah Faber and Eddie Wineland will also be featured at UFC 128. Tickets for UFC 128: SHOGUN VS. EVANS are priced at $500, $350, $225, $150, $100 and $60, not including applicable service charges, and go on sale Thursday, Jan. 13 at 10 a.m. ET.

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Numerous sources have informed that Rory MacDonald and James Wilks have verbally agreed, to square off inside the octagon, on Saturday, April 30th, at The Rogers Centre in Toronto. ...A source has informed me that Jonathan Brookins, will have his hands full, as he is expected to take on undefeated lightweight, John Makdessi.

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While many MMA fans had little knowledge of ION Television before the network partnered with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, more than three-quarters-of-a-million viewers were able to find the channel this past weekend. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today learned from industry sources that this past weekend's "UFC Prelims" special, which featured a trio of live fights from "UFC 125: Resolution," drew an average of 829,000 viewers. This past weekend's one-hour special marked the UFC's debut on ION Television. Past editions of "UFC Prelims" have aired on Spike TV and UFC.com. Prior to UFC 125, the most recent edition of "UFC Prelims" to air on TV was "UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida," which drew 1.5 million viewers. The figures for this past weekend's event mark a 44 percent decrease from the November broadcast of UFC 123.

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UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz has lost only one fight. In March 2007, Urijah Faber submitted him in a 145-pound contest. Now that Faber has dropped to 135, where Cruz is king, Cruz is sure he’ll get a chance for revenge. “It’s going to be a guarantee that me and Faber are going to end up fighting,” Cruz said during a recent “Savage Dog Show” interview on the Sherdog Radio Network. “Because I want to fight the best guys in the division, and for sure he’s one of the best guys in the division. You can’t take away the things that he’s done in the sport. You can’t take away the things that he’s done at the weight class above.” On Wednesday, however, it was reported that Faber’s next bout will be in March against fellow bantamweight contender Eddie Wineland.

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