UFC News - Page 296

The upcoming 12th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality-competition series today begins production in Las Vegas in anticipation of its Sept. 15 debut on Spike TV. Officials today announced the start of the show's taping. Additionally, they confirmed that – as with the current 11th season of the show – the lightweights-only season of the show features 28 fighters for the 32-man tournament. Touted as a surprise format change with "TUF 11," the field of 28 assures that two eliminated cast members get a second opportunity to reenter the tourney as "wild card" picks. Kyacey Uscola and Kris McCray, who made the "TUF 11" cast after winning their elimination-round bouts, ultimately lost in the first round (16 slots) of the tourney. However, they got a second life as this season's wild-card picks. McCray won the wild-card fight, upset Kyle Noke in the quarterfinals, and now meets Josh Bryant in the semis.

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That weird quote basically sums up the recent UFC strugles of Mirko Cro Cop, who is only 3-3 in the Octagon going into his fight with Pat Barry at UFC 115. He claims that in addition to getting used to the nuances of fighting inside a cage, he was also never really healed from a devastating knee injury that required three surgeries to repair. The Croatian also claims that some days, whether you're healthy or hurt, just don't go the way you want them to go.

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Cage Fighting Extreme heavyweight champion Christian Morecraft has signed a four-fight contract with the UFC and is expected to face Stefan Struve in his first Octagon experience, according to reports from the MMA Fight Council. If the bout is finalized, the two are expected to meet on Aug. 7 at UFC 117 in Oakland, Calif.

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Super heavyweight match-ups take place in mixed martial arts, particularly in Japan, but UFC president Dana White isn’t interested in them in his promotion. Asked during his keynote address at the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas if the UFC would consider bringing in any super heavyweights, White quickly answered, “No.”

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The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale card received one additional fight while dropping another, and the total number of official contests for the June 19 event in Las Vegas remains at five. The rest, of course, will be revealed following this week's conclusion of the Spike TV reality series, "The Ultimate Fighter 11." But for now, a previously reported contest of John Gunderson vs. Mark Holst is official, and Darren Elkins vs. Charles Oliveira has been shifted to UFC on Versus 2 in August. The reason for the delay appears to be Oliveira having visa issues.

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Once considered among the most feared strikers in mixed martial arts, when Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (26-7-2 MMA, 3-3 UFC) first uttered the words "right leg hospital, left leg cemetery," it didn't exactly seem like simple braggadocio. An experienced K-1 kickboxer with potent striking, Filipovic has enjoyed just moderate success since joining the UFC in 2007. But with "Cro Cop" set to face fellow knockout artist Pat Barry (5-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at next week's UFC 115 event in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Filipovic said his ready to flash vintage form in a crowd-pleasing affair.

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"Right now I have a couple months off, so I've actually been toying with the idea of maybe going down a weight class. Since I don't have a fight for a couple months, I've just been watching what I eat and see how my body without trying to put size on; what my natural weight will fall now at now since I have lifted a lot lately to add size. I'm kind of curios where I think I would fall at. Because some of the guys I train with that are light heavyweight, bone structures are the same. Sometimes I stand next to Forrest (Griffin) and I think I'm in the wrong weight class." Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir ponders a career at 205-pounds during his time away from the fight game. Despite a successful heavyweight career, lopsided losses to Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin have perhaps planted the seed that his frame is better suited at 205-pounds. Can one of the UFC's most senior veterans make any kind of noise as a light heavyweight? Or would strikers like Machida and Rua make him sorry he ever considered it? Thats pretty much the whole article but I posted the link anway. Personally I think if he can make it safely then he should drop down...he's just not able to handle the big boys...either that or pray that the cruiserweight experiment in Ohio(I think) goes over well and it gets adopted.

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Former TUF contestant Gerald Harris (15-2, 2-0 UFC) will look to continue his streak inside the octagon against Renzo Gracie standout Dave Branch. Branch, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native who's studied Brazilian jiu jitsu for nearly a decade with Gracie, turned pro in 2007 and his since posted a 6-0 record with six stoppage victories (three via knockout and three via submission). Most recently, he stopped Derrick Mehman (5-1 at the time) with a second-round rear-naked choke at Bellator 15 in April. Main Card Lesnar vs Carwin W. Silva vs Akiyama Lytle vs Brown Bonnar vs Soszynski II Sotiropoulos vs Pellegrino SpikeTV Schaub vs Tuchscherer Reljic vs Grove Prelims Petruzelli vs Romero Harris vs Branch Roberts vs Paulino Madsen vs Vemola

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2 Brazilians are set to face off in a Lightweight matchup at UFC on Versus 2 as Thiago Tavares appears set to face newcomer Willamy Friere (Chequerim). Verbal agreements are in place, paperwork pending. Friere signed with UFC recently and vacated his Shooto Welterweight Championship after defending it in Japan this past weekend as a result. Tavares was to have faced Melvin Guillard at UFC 114 but withdrew due to injury.

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Seth Petruzelli (12-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC), a former UFC fighter who rose to fame after famously knocking out Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson at an October 2008 EliteXC show, has rejoined the UFC and meets fellow light heavyweight Ricardo Romero (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) next month at UFC 116. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed with Romero's manager, Mike Constantino, that verbal agreements are in place, though bout agreements have not been signed. Petruzelli initially announced the July 3 bout via Twitter this afternoon.

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Walking through the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas during the recent UFC 114 weekend, Tom Lawlor heard the familiar bassline of the David Bowie and Queen classic rock collaboration "Under Pressure." Ever the showman, Lawlor filed it away in his mind, well aware that it could make for another entrance spectacular, hot on the heels of his Apollo Creed/"Rocky IV" homage at UFC 113. But the underlying reason the song struck Lawlor is not lost on him. After two straight losses in the octagon, he's well aware that it's coming down to do-or-die for his UFC career. "I just need to look at some things I did wrong in those fights and correct them so I don't make those mistakes again," Lawlor told MMA Fighting. "Because really I'm on the bubble right now as far as my career in the UFC goes. I can only come up with so many more entrances that keep my job. I've got to start winning fights."

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After nearly 14 months away from fighting and a series of camps designed to bring him back in pristine condition, legendary UFC star Chuck Liddell is set to return to the octagon at UFC 115 in Vancouver. Though Liddell (21-7) returned with the expectation of fighting Tito Ortiz at the conclusion of the currently airing season of The Ultimate Fighter, an injury knocked Ortiz out, leaving an opening filled by former middleweight champion Rich Franklin. In an interview with MMA Fighting, the 40-year-old Liddell spoke about the Ortiz fallout, facing Franklin, changing his lifestyle and whether his June 12 fight is a must-win affair.

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Following Thursday's official announcement of UFC 117 and three main-card bouts, including a headliner of UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen, UFC officials have unveiled the night's preliminary card. Most of the fights were already known but there was a new addition to the card today: Rodney Wallace vs. Stanislav Nedkov. Wallace is on the Losing Streak Of Doom and needs a win to keep his roster spot while Nedkov will be making his UFC debut after fighting internationally including a 2-0 mark in World Victory Road Sengoku events.

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To unionize or not. Lorenzo Fertitta says it's up to fighters. This past Saturday at UFC Fan Expo 2010, the UFC executive said collective third-party representation – an issue that's long shadowed the sport's explosive rise to popularity – is not under his company's domain. "We have no role," Fertitta said. "So we're not in a position to say we support it, or we're against it. That's entirely up to [the fighters]."

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Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields' exclusive negotiation period with the San Jose, Calif.-based promotion has expired, though negotiations with the company remain ongoing. Shields' manager and father, Jack Shields, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he will begin non-exclusive negotiations tomorrow. "The options are all good," Jack Shields said, though he did not confirm whether Strikeforce had yet offered a new contract.

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Light heavyweight Ricardo Romero has signed a four-fight deal with the UFC according to his new manager, Mike Constantino, who announced the news today in a press release. Romero (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is a former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion of the New Jersey-based Ring of Combat promotion and carries a five-fight win streak into the octagon.

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Jamie Yager may have had a rough night on Wednesday watching his elimination from “The Ultimate Fighter" Season 11, but nothing like the storm of controversy he was hit with first thing Thursday morning. An account on Twitter that was said to be Jamie Yager’s went on a hate filled tirade aimed at Tito Ortiz, and several media outlets picked up on the back and forth, reporting the heated exchange between the former coach and fighter. The only problem, Yager says it wasn’t him. "Basically, I woke up today about like 9 o'clock west coast time, and my phone's blowing up like 'dude, what's going on? What's up with you and Tito?’" he told MMAWeekly Radio on Thursday night. As the confusion washed over him, Yager hit the Internet and saw the barrage of messages and media outlets reporting on his "feud" with Tito Ortiz. Blindsided by the whole incident, Yager immediately alerted everyone involved that while he does have his own Twitter account (www.twitter.com/jamieyager) the person posing as him posting the messages was an imposter.

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UFC officially announced UFC 117 yesterday for August 7 in Oakland, CA at Oracle Arena. Headlining the event is a long-rumored middleweight title fight between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and challenger Chael Sonnen. Also officially announced for the event were New UFC Hall Of Famer Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida and Clay Guida vs. Rafael Dos Anjos.

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It appears that in the over/under with regards to Dana White's prediction of 850,000 PPV buys for UFC 114, the over is going to win. While not yet official, the early estimate is Saturday's event did 925,000 PPV buys. The event was headlined by the grudge match of Rashad Evans vs. Quinton Jackson.

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Die UFC ist wieder nach Deutschland kommen. Translation: The UFC is coming back to Germany. After a successful first show in 2009, it appears the promotion will be heading back to Germany sooner rather than later. They aren't backing down from the challenge of the local government that wants to take the sport off of television there. Never one to back down from a potential challenge, UFC president Dana White was adamant when asked about returning to Germany, and he says this year is the plan in motion right now. "We are doing a show," White said about returning to Germany in 2010. "One thing we don't do, we don't back down, and we don't curl up and climb into the closet when things don't go (our way). We're going to come out, guns a-blazing, and we're going to keep going."

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