UFC News - Page 279

That would be UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in his response to Chael Sonnen after he referred to "The Spider's" black belt as "a toy that you get in a happy meal" in his pre-fight trash talk but in the end was denied what could have been a lopsided win to usurp the Brazilian's title. "I’m a Nogueira brothers black belt, and I’d give my life for them. I say that and I don’t need to patronize them nor them me. Rodrigo is my master and Rogério is a brother and teacher to me. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here today. I decided to put on the gi as a tribute to them and for the things I’d said. I told Rodrigo I’d get the submission in this fight. I told him that. Everything worked out yet again."

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As expected, his UFC 117 win over Roy Nelson means Junior Dos Santos is now in line for a UFC Heavyweight Title shot after Cain Velasquez gets his later this year. Although Dos Santos had to settle for a unanimous decision win over Nelson, Dana White said the performance was good enough to earn the Brazilian big man a shot at the belt. And while Dana didn't say where Dos Santos will get his shot, there were hints dropped about having it in his native Brazil.

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Fresh off a triumphant submission victory over Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117, Matt Hughes says fighting will take a back seat to hunting this fall. "Early next year, I'll talk with the UFC, and we'll figure out what we're going to do," Hughes said. It was the former welterweight champion and recent UFC Hall of Fame inductee's third consecutive octagon victory after a disappointing run in which he lost his belt and dropped three out of four fights.

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The moments were ticking away on Anderson Silva's long reign, and the Oakland, California crowd was already preparing to crown Chael Sonnen. To the surprise of millions, the Oregon native had dominated every minute, virtually every second of their UFC 117 middleweight title fight. The bout was so lopsided, in fact, that Compustrike sent out press alerts as the fight went on to quantify the absurdity of what we were witnessing. Sonnen, the first notice announced, had outstruck Silva 51-2 in the first round. The second alert was even more astounding. Through three rounds, Sonnen had outlanded the champion 218-11. The king is dead, the announcements seemed to be saying.

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I guess it's a silver lining for Sonnen. I'm still in shock. Injured or not, I've never seen a champ get dominated like that for that long. Let alone a P4P number one. This certainly must make GSP salivate at the chance to take on Silva.

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It appears that neither Josh Koscheck nor Georges St. Pierre will get his wish regarding the locale for the pair’s Dec. 11 UFC Welterweight title fight. GSP wanted it in his home city of Toronto. Kos wanted it in his home city of Pittsburgh. But Dana White wants it elsewhere and he'll likely get his wish, of course-Las Vegas. "If I could do it (in) Toronto, believe me, I'd do it there in a heartbeat," White told Las Vegas Sun MMA writer Brett Okamoto. "We're still talking about doing a fight in Pittsburgh, but if you're going to a fight, do you want to go to Pittsburgh or do you want to go to Vegas? If we're going to do a big, major title fight like that, we've got to do it in Las Vegas." Where in Vegas isn't yet known but it's likely going to be either MGM Grand Garden Arena or Mandalay Bay Events Center, but MGM Grand might be the favorite because of a larger seating capacity.

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“We were just texting a few minutes ago and he said, ‘Hey, I’m sorry about that. I’ll come back stronger,’” said White. “I said, ‘Yeah, at one 185 you will.’ He said, ‘No, I want to stay at 170.’ “It’s not like this guy has been off for a year,” added White. “He looked lethargic tonight. He looked slow. He doesn’t belong at 170. He belongs at 185 pounds.”

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UFC 117 draws reported 12,971 attendees for $1.56 million live gate.

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OAKLAND, Calif. – Stefan Struve, Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen and Matt Hughes earned $60,000 fight-night bonuses for their performances at Saturday's UFC 117 event. Struve earned the "Knockout of the Night" award, Silva and Hughes picked up "Submission of the Night" bonuses, and Silva and Sonnen earned "Fight of the Night" honors. Silva's double-bonus performance earned him $120,000 in extra pay.

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Publicly, Vitor Belfort's middleweight title shot is not a forgone conclusion. UFC president Dana White is cautious about guaranteeing the former UFC light heavyweight champion a shot at the winner of Saturday's UFC 117 clash between current middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. "I don't know," White said Thursday when asked if Belfort was next up. "We've got to see what happens in this fight on Saturday, but yeah, he's definitely in the mix." But a source close to Belfort says it's coming after tonight's main event. Yet White hinted that Belfort's shoulder still might be an issue and that it's keeping him from signing off on a return date. "As soon as he gets healthy, we've got to see how this all plays out Saturday and when Belfort is going to be ready," White said.

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Weigh-ins have concluded. Looks live Alves managment had more to worry about than previously thought. The Silva/Sonnen stairdown looked intense. Main Event – UFC Middleweight Championship Chael Sonnen (185) VS Anderson Silva (184.5) PPV Thiago Alves (171.5*) VS Jon Fitch (170.5) Ricardo Almeida (170.5) VS Matt Hughes (170.5) Junior Dos Santos (240) VS Roy Nelson (263) Rafael Dos Anjos (156) VS Clay Guida (156) Undercard Rick Story (169.5) VS Dustin Hazelett (169.5) Rodney Wallace (206) VS Phil Davis (205.5) Charlie Brenneman (171) VS Johny Hendricks (171) Tim Boetsch (206) VS Todd Brown (206) Christian Morecraft (263) VS Stefan Struve (247) Dennis Hallman (171) VS Ben Saunders (171) *Alves failed to make 171 pounds in his return to the scales. He will fight at 171.5 pounds and be fined 20% of his purse.

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UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva is still at risk of being cut after tomorrow's UFC 117, but a loss to Chael Sonnen won't be the deciding factor. In fact, according to UFC president Dana White, even a poor performance from "The Spider" won't necessarily dictate his release. But don't think for one second that White is backing down from his original claim that he will cut perhaps the world's top pound-for-pound fighter if Silva doesn't act properly in the cage. "Lots of guys are going to have nights where they don't have a good performance," White said on Thursday. "It's not about that." Silva, of course, has been heavily criticized in the past for having off-nights. The Brazilian was widely panned for a UFC 90 win over Patrick Cote when most observers felt Silva simply toyed with his opponent before a third-round knee injury forced the Canadian to bow out of the match. The champ followed that performance with a lackluster decision win over Thales Leites at UFC 97. While Leites' butt-scooting attack was also to blame for the lack of action in that matchup, much of the blame again fell to Silva for a refusal to engage. But it's not those types of performances that White says will have him reaching for a pink slip. Instead, the UFC exec says it would take a repeat of Silva's UFC 112 display against Demain Maia – complete with mat-slapping, trash-talking and general unsportsmanlike behavior – to get his blood boiling on Saturday night. "It's about acting like a lunatic," White said. "If he ever goes out and acts like a nut, like he did [at UFC 112], yes, I would cut him."

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He of course refers the fight and not himself. "It's an honor to be on what I think is the most stacked card of 2010. Everyone knows how it is when I get in the ring. It's going to be a battle, a war, and it ain't going to be pretty. I bring attention to my fight on my own, with just my enthusiasm and my action. You see my walkout, the introduction with me drooling on myself, burping in the cage and stuff. I bring plenty of excitement in my own way ... Fighting is what I do, and it's who I am. ... I'm rededicated to the sport, and more passionate about it now than ever before."

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t's been a few years since Gabe Ruediger stepped into the Octagon, but the one time "Ultimate Fighter" competitor will get a second chance as he has signed on to face Joe Lauzon at UFC 118 in Boston after original opponent Terry Etim was forced out of the fight for undisclosed reasons.

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The replacement opponent now faces a replacement opponent. Two weeks after fast-rising middleweight prospect Gerald Harris (17-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) agreed to replace an injured Jorge Rivera and face Alessio Sakara (15-7 MMA, 6-4 UFC) at UFC 118, the Italian boxer has now bowed out with an ailment, as well. Two-time UFC veteran Joe Vedepo (11-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has agreed to step in on short notice, and bout agreements for the new matchup are expected to be finalized shortly.

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The CSAC has announced the medical suspensions coming out of UFC On Versus 2. 9 fighters were suspended for 30-60 days but John Howard & Damarques Johnson are out for 180 days unless cleared to return early.

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UFC Middleweight Aaron Simpson had been preparing for a potential bout with Dave Branch at Ultimate Fight Night 22 in Austin, TX. Now, Simpson is recovering from surgery performed late Wednesday night to battle an unknown infection. Simpson went through a typical sparring session with teammate Ryan Bader on Thursday of last week, but was alarmed on Friday morning when his nose was sore. After a visit to the doctor on Friday, the infection spread to Simpson’s elbow by Saturday. After five days of infection, surgery was performed and Simpson is now recovering in the hospital.

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SAN FRANCISCO – The winner of Saturday's UFC 117 co-main event between Jon Fitch (22-3 MMA, 12-1 UFC) and Thiago Alves (16-6 MMA, 9-3 MMA) will, in fact, get a shot at the title. UFC president Dana White confirmed the expected plans during today's pre-UFC 117 press conference at the Hilton San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf hotel in California. The winner will be in line after Josh Koscheck, who meets current champ and "The Ultimate Fighter 12" rival coach Georges St-Pierre at a tentatively planned Dec 11 UFC 124 event.

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Thiago Alves caused a stir Wednesday when he no-showed an open workout in Concord, Calif., for this Saturday's UFC 117 event because he reportedly had trouble cutting weight. That has led to wide speculation that Alves will come in heavy for a highly anticipated rematch with Jon Fitch. But Alves' manager, Malki Kawa, said the worries are much ado about nothing and that his client will make 170 pounds. In fact, he said that Alves currently is 177 pounds and in "high, high spirits" as he preps for Fitch.

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Rome plays the clip, Sonnen says not him.

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Former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin appeared on Fox and Friends this morning to discuss his second book, Be Ready When the Sh*t Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse. Although the release of the book isn't necessarily a newsworthy event, what is worth noting is that Griffin will be donating the entire proceeds of the sale of the book to a number of charities, including one that has been set up for the young son of his dear late friend John Grantham, who was referred to throughout his first book "Got Fight" as "Big John." Here's the lowdown courtesy of theultimatefighter.com: "Even if they get nothing out of [the book], I hold myself free from harm, because I donated every penny that I make from this book to charity. I didn't keep any money from the book at all to help you survive the apocalypse. That's how much I care about you the reader. There’s a couple of different [charities the money will go to]: Fisher House, Three Square, a food bank in Las Vegas, our church, and then a couple more personal ones. The guy Big John, in the book, he passed away, and he’s got a five-year-old son, and he’s got a trust set up, so some of it’s for that as well. I kept no money from the book. It didn’t go to charities like the 'Forrest Griffin Needs a New Car Foundation.'”

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