UFC News - Page 283

It could be the biggest fight in UFC history. It could break all the records. And according to UFC president Dana White, everyone keeps asking for it, so he might just have to give it to them. The longstanding fight fans have been asking for is to see widely regarded pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva match up with the fighter closely nipping at his heels for the top spot in UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. The fight has been brought up to White for years, and both camps have expressed interest. and that means bringing in whoever is going to present the biggest challenge.

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"I have no intention and no illusion that I'm a world class boxer," said Couture. "I'm a mixed martial artist. I've won the majority of my fights by taking guys down, putting them on their back and punching the until they don't want to be punched anymore. That's not going to change." Couture has made interesting choice of training partners to try and replicate what Toney brings to the table. Couture didn't bring in any high level boxers and is working with his usual cast of characters.

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The world's most dangerous "Janitor," Vladimir Matyushenko, plans on mopping up the mess Jon Jones has made in the light heavyweight division when they clash at UFC on Versus 2 on Aug. 1 in San Diego. "Bones" has looked nearly invincible in his meteoric rise to the top of his weight class and a recent UFC poll found an anemic 8-percent of fans who think that Vladdy's got the chops to defeat the dynamic young up-and-comer.

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In his head, that is. The TUF 3 winner seems convinced his fight with Yoshihiro Akiyama in October will be the Fight Of The Night in front of the hometown crowd. “The British fans have always given me unbelievable support and I’ve never lost at home, so I am looking to help make this another special night for British MMA. Akiyama is a very dangerous guy. He strikes very well, he has power, and he will keep coming at you. He is very strong with his judo takedowns, and I will have to train seriously hard to come up for an answer for those. But I think that if I set a fast, hard pace in the first round, that by the third I will have taken over and will be in a position to finish him. Akiyama will obviously be looking to do the same thing – that is the way he always fights – and I am already spending my ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus in my head.“

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At least the TUF 9 winner thinks he is. “We’re all very good at doing what we like to do. BJ’s ground game and wrestling is unbelievable, but I feel I’m a far better striker than he is. I might never be as good as he is at one thing, but he might never be as good as me at another. I’m not near a BJJ black belt, but a fight is a fight and anything can happen, that’s what makes the sport so exciting.” Should be noted, however, that Pearson TKOs opponents at a lower rate than Penn in his career to date-less than 30% (3 of 14) to Penn's 40%.

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Patrick Cote & Tom Lawlor are scheduled to meet at UFC 121 according to sources close to the event, who said that bout agreements have been signed, though it's unknown whether the fight will air on the evening's televised card. Both are coming off losses in their last fights.

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Diego Sanchez tells PennyJoMMA.com on Facebook that he'll be fighting Paulo Thiago at UFC 121 in Anaheim in October. Sanchez has moved back to New Mexico and is now training at Albuquerque MMA. Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez Jake Shields vs. Martin Kampmann Tito Ortiz vs. TBA Patrick Cote vs. TBA

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The match-up Dana White teased fans with a couple months ago now seems to be in the works. Former light heavyweight champions Lyoto Machida and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson are expected to meet at an as of yet unannounced event in the fall, possibly in November. The fight was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com as being in the works by sources close to the bout, and Jackson himself posted on his Twitter account that he was issued a bout agreement for a fight and was about to sign it late Tuesday evening.

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While UFC middleweight Mario Miranda (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) picked up his first win in the octagon at June's UFC 115 event, he's had little time to relax and savor the moment. After all, you don't say no when UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is asking for help.

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Highly touted lightweight prospect Willamy "Chiquerim" Freire (17-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will have to wait just a bit longer to make his octagon debut. An injury suffered in training forced Freire to withdraw from a planned contest with Thiago Tavares (14-3-1 MMA, 4-3-1 UFC) at UFC on Versus 2.

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"The Ultimate Fighter 11" cast member Rich Attonito (8-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) returns to the octagon on Sept. 15 to welcome UFC newcomer Rafael Natal (12-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) to the organization. UFC officials announced the matchup today.

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Although he's got to get through James Toney first, Randy Couture appears ready to jump onto the bandwagon that is an Anderson Silva fight. "I'm definitely interested at fighting at 205. I think Anderson would be a great fight. I'm not sure what his perspective has been the last couple of times, though. I think since the Cote fight he's taken on a different style and hasn't been as explosive, not trying to finish fights early on. I don't know if it's concerning, but it's interesting where he's coming from with that. He certainly still has that capability. Maia, Cote, he could have finished those guys if he wanted to take the risk, so I'm not sure what's going on where he doesn't want to step up and take that risk. I think he's a fantastic fighter, and if that's someone they want me to compete against I'd be all over that."

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A middleweight matchup between "The Ultimate Fighter 11" cast member Chris Camozzi and undefeated UFC newcomer Dongi Yang is in the works for UFC 121. Verbal agreements are in place, paperwork pending. Yang is also known as Dong Yi Yang, which is how he was officially introduced when he signed with UFC. He becomes the second Korean Top Team fighter to sign with Zuffa, the other being WEC star Chan Sung Jung.

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When Dustin Hazelett steps into the cage on Aug. 7 for his bout with Rick Story, "McLovin" will be doing so against his doctor's advice. But armed with an intense passion for fighting and a lack of a "Plan B," Hazelett says he can't wait to set foot in the octagon. Hazelett suffered a broken orbital bone in his January fight with Paul Daley, and the injury required some extensive recovery time. Hazelett said he adhered to all recommended guidelines and elected to remain patient as it healed. "There was a two-month suspension with no contact whatsoever," Hazelett said. "Basically, I couldn't do any type of actual training except for mitt-work and conditioning – no sparring or grappling or anything like that. Then there was a six-month suspension from fighting, so it was kind of a lengthy layoff there, but I really didn't want to rush back and end up re-fracturing it. "They said, 'If you rush back into sparring, and you get hit hard, it will end up fracturing again, and it will be even worse.' I wanted to give it time to make sure that it completely healed so that I wouldn't rush into a fight, get hurt, and I'd be off even longer. I wanted to make sure I was completely 100 percent coming back." The Nevada State Athletic Commission gave Hazelett the opportunity to return early with a doctor's clearance, but when the 24-year-old visited a professional line up by the UFC, he received some startling advice. "They sent me to a leading expert in my area, I guess, and he was not too keen on the idea of me coming back early," Hazelett said. "In fact, he refused to let me come back early, and he said, 'If you were my son, I would suggest you never fight again, obviously.'

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As has long been rumored, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to England on Oct. 16 when the O2 Arena hosts UFC 120. UFC made the event official today. As previously reported, a middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama headlines the event. The event will air in the US on Spike via same-day tape.

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The "Stun Gun" has been temporarily disabled-Dong Hun Kim is now off UFC 120 due to an undisclosed injury. He was to have faced John Hathaway. Mike Pyle has been tapped as the replacement-verbal agreements are in place, paperwork pending.

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Dan Hardy gets the pre-fight trash talk started ahead of his 10/16 fight against Carlos Condit, promising we'll see a new Hardy among other things. "It is a great fight and one I am already excited about. Condit is a former world champion who has only lost once in nearly five years, and that was on a split decision to top contender Martin Kampmann. He's a great opponent for me, after losing my UFC welterweight title challenge to Georges St-Pierre in March. I didn't want to drop too far down the pecking order and a win over Condit will make sure I stay right in the title mix. Carlos actually asked for the fight. He went to the UFC and requested me as his next opponent, I guess thinking that beating a world title challenger would look nice on his record. It is very much a case of 'be careful what you wish for' because I've taken it upon myself to do him a favour and beat the stupid out of him. I think I will get him out of there in the third, I think he won't be able to withstand the pace or the punishment late on in the fight. I will refine a game plan, but right now I am predicting a third round KO. I can also promise you'll see a new version of me in the Octagon come October, Outlaw 2.0."

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According to Josh Koscheck, the date for his post-TUF 12 UFC Welterweight Title fight with George St. Pierre is set: December 11. That will be UFC 123 at a location TBA. Kos has been lobbying for his hometown of Pittsburgh, but that likely won't happen because the likely host-the new Consol Energy Center-is already booked that day with NCAA Basketball. This could mean Las Vegas but there's no confirmation yet.

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It won't be one & done this time for Seth Petruzelli. Despite a disappointing loss at UFC 116 he said he received hundreds of social-media messages after the fight that raved about his performance. He said today that he also recently received a small bonus check from the UFC. He also noted that UFC was happy with his performance and asked when he'd like to fight again.

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September's UFC 119 pay-per-view event will get a "UFC Prelims" special, after all. Originally the plan was not to air one of the one-hour specials on Spike prior to the PPV, a source close to the event said officials since have changed their minds. An official announcement could come as soon as today. The TV fights are expected to be C.B. Dollaway vs. Joe Doerksen and Joey Beltran vs. Matt Mitrione.

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