UFC News - Page 498

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According to a article by Brazilian MMA site Tatame, Fabricio Werdum doesn’t even know that he has been cut by the UFC: "I'm surprised by the news. My sister is my manager and she's the one that deals with the UFC and she always contacted me first before making any decision. From what I know the UFC have not contacted her. I still have four more fights left on my contract that runs until 2010. From what they told me I should fight in February, July, November and April of 2010. In fact, I'm moving to the US to prepare for those fights with Rafael Cordeiro." said Werdum who is still making final arrangements to make his move to USA in December.

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December's "UFC Fight Night 16: UFC Fights for the Troops," a nationally televised event that serves as a fundraiser for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, will feature a full evening of fights. The broadcast, which airs on Spike TV, will run three hours and feature a minimum of five fights, Spike TV officials have confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). The Dec. 13 event takes place at the Crown Coliseum in Fayeteville, N.C., in conjunction with the Fort Bragg military installation. As Spike TV announced on Monday, Josh Koscheck will return from his recent unanimous-decision loss to Thiago Alves to fight Yoshiyuki Yoshida in the UFC Fight Night 16 main event. Also on tap for the TV portion of the card is a welterweight bout between Jonathan Goulet vs. Mike Swick, WEC light heavyweight champion Steve Cantwell's WEC debut against UFC newcomer Razak Al-Hussan, "The Ultimate Fighter 7" semifinalist Tim Credeur vs. Nate Loughran, and lightweight contenders Frankie Edgar vs. Matt Wiman. Free tickets will be given to active military personnel, though 30 tickets will be put up for auction for the general public. The sales benefit the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Additionally, fans will be able to call in and make donations throughout the night's broadcast. (Donations can also be made now at fallenheroesfund.ufc.com). The full UFC Fight Night 16 fight card includes: MAIN CARD * Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida * Jonathan Goulet vs. Mike Swick * Razak Al-Hussan vs. Steve Cantwell * Tim Credeur vs. Nate Loughran * Frankie Edgar vs. Matt Wiman PRELIMINARY CARD * Brodie Farber vs. Luigi Fioravanti * Steve Bruno vs. Johnny Rees * Ben Saunders vs. Brandon Wolff * Dale Hartt vs. Corey Hill * Eddie Sanchez vs. Justin McCully

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“He’s just a great fighter. All of his fights, he’s just looking to finish the whole time. He brings that definite Jiu Jitsu coming at you, gotta tap him out, gotta be working the whole time attitude. I really respect everything he’s done. All his accomplishments in Jiu Jitsu and being undefeated in his fighting career. I think it makes for an exciting fight, especially for the fans. Nobody really wants to see decisions. They want to see the fights end and that’s what both of us are going to try to do.”

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NEW YORK, NY – A study released today showed that Ultimate Fighting Championship® events in New York City and Buffalo would have a significant impact on state and local economies by generating tax revenues, creating jobs and boosting tourism industries. Professional mixed martial arts is one of the highest grossing arena sports in the country, drawing sell-out crowds and bringing in millions of dollars in ticket and concession sales. One of the fastest growing sports in America, MMA is regulated in 36 states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California and Florida. Legislators in Albany will consider regulating the sport in New York State when the legislative session begins in January.

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Wanderlei ‘The Axe Murderer’ Silva has hinted that he might be getting a title shot if he beats Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson in December, we can exclusively reveal. Speaking to Fighters Only at the weekend, Silva said that he understands he will get a crack at the belt if he gets past the former champion. The Jackson fight “is a very, very good opportunity for me for me to fight for the title,” he said. “I think after I beat Rampage, it may be possible I fight with the champion.” However, he is quick to stress that he is not looking past Rampage, saying that fighting the former champion “is never easy”. “He was a great champion... he is a tough guy. Very strong - good wrestling, good boxing.” If Silva does get a title shot, he will face current belt-holder Forrest Griffin, who he trains with at Xtreme Couture. In fact, the two spar regularly, but Silva says it would be all business should the two meet in the cage. “I train and spar with Forrest, I am his best sparring partner and he is mine. It is sad situation, to train with some guys it is possible I will have to fight in the future, but it is no problem,” he explains. “I am a professional and he is a professional. I like him, he is a very nice guy. Outside the Octagon, I am his friend, but inside the Octagon it is a business, a job.”

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Spike TV officially announced the UFC Fights For The Troops card for next month's special TV event, and questions about whether or not Josh Koscheck would still fight Yoshiyuki Yoshida on the card coming off his UFC 90 last-minute fight were answered: He will. The fight is still on. Also, Spike announced the event will be a 3 hour broadcast and feature at least 5 televised fights.

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“I think the fight will be the synthesis of the modern MMA, will have everything: takedowns, striking and I think we’ll do everything that exists in MMA, and the fight might be a stand up one. I consider you a tough guy, but I think my technique is superior.”

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When Randy Couture finally returns to action on Saturday night fans at UFC 91 in Las Vegas are expected to give the UFC heavyweight champion one of the loudest ovations any fighter has ever felt before. But soon after the entrance, the business begins and standing across from Couture will be Brock Lesnar waiting to welcome the champion back to the Octagon. The match-up with Lesnar is very interesting simply because the former WWE superstar currently holds a 2-1 professional record and hasn’t gone through many of the top contenders most would view he should fight before getting to Couture. But the champion understands why this fight was made and also compliments the fighters right underneath him hungry for a shot at the championship.

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When Kenny Florian & Joe Stevenson face off at UFC 91 this Saturday, there now will be 2 BJJ black belts fighting instead of just one. Stevenson earned his black belt from world class grappler Robert Drysdale this past weekend in a ceremony that apparently was 13 years in the making.

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Following a rocky time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, capped by a surprising knockout loss to Octagon newcomer Junior dos Santos at UFC 90, Chute Boxe fighter Fabricio Werdum has left the promotion. Sources tell MMAWeekly.com that Werdum's exit comes on the heels of a failed contract renegotiation following the loss to dos Santos. The Brazilian came into the fight with the expectation that he would soon be contending for a heavyweight title shot. The knockout at UFC 90 derailed anything of the like in the near future, and spurred a renegotiation of his contract. Werdum and the UFC were apparently unable to come to an agreement. He has already opened talks with other promotions in the U.S. and Japan. After losing his opening salvo in the UFC to Andrei Arlovski, Werdum put together back-to-back impressive victories with TKOs of Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera, effectively positioning him as one of the top contenders in the promotion's heavyweight division. Current champion Randy Couture faces Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 on Saturday and interim heavyweight titleholder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defends against Frank Mir on Dec. 27 at UFC 92. The winners of those two fights are expected to fight in early 2009, as a unification bout to the UFC mini-tournament. Had Werdum taken care of business against dos Santos, he was expected to be in contention to face the unified heavyweight champion later in the year. Now it appears he will be moving on to another promotion such as Affliction in the U.S. or Dream or Sengoku in Japan.

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We have the latest update on the Matt Hughes T-shirt scandal, with the official statement from the party that represents the T-shirt in question, “White Boy Society”. This should clear up some issues and concerns. Read the following:

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While the vast majority of the attention for "UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar" is being centered around the main event -- and rightfully so -- an important lightweight scrap between contenders Kenny Florian (10-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) and Joe Stevenson (29-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) will also grace the card. And as Florian recently told TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), the bout is quickly developing some real emotion behind it. "[Stevenson] said he's reading on the internet that everyone is saying that I'm the favorite," Florian said. "He doesn't understand why. He's just had some real odd comments. I don't know why he's upset, or why it's motivating him now. I don't have to read the internet to get motivated for a fight."

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When 45-year-old UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture (16-8 MMA, 13-5 UFC) steps into the cage on Saturday night against Brock Lesnar at "UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar," it will be the first action for "The Natural" in nearly 15 months. Couture has faced layoffs of over a year twice before in his illustrious career -- and won his return fight both times. In a recent UFC 91 media conference call, Couture said to expect the same this time around. "Everybody asks about ring rust and all that stuff," Couture said. "I don't think it's the same for a mixed martial artist as it is for boxing. Sparring in the gym -- the training we do -- it's just about as real as the fights. So I'm not worried about that at all." As the head of Xtreme Couture, one of the biggest and most highly respected training camps in MMA, Couture believes his daily routines have kept him in fight-ready shape.

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Well, I personally would never want to beat someone that way. I wouldn’t celebrate the win and wouldn’t go bragging about it, and that’s what Coleman did the whole time. I was really bothered by him celebrating the win in that way, and afterwards talking a lot of crap about me in interviews. I always respected all the fighters I’ve fought, since I know how hard it is to make it to the top of the list and just getting into the ring means you’re a winner, so they deserve respect. I respect Coleman as an athlete, the guy’s an MMA legend. I hope to have a good fight with him, I’m confident. God willing I’ll win…. In the category in which I fight there are only top guys, so I see about 10 guys I could fight. Coleman really is a guy I want to face, because of our last fight, but I wasn’t sure it would be him. This was good for both of us, we’ll be able to set the story straight.”

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Considered one of the top free agents in mixed martial arts just a week ago, Denis Kang signed on with the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Monday to become the latest top fighter to land with the biggest promotion in the sport today. When the doors of Pride Fighting Championships closed, Kang was on the roster, but after the final contracts were moved and reassigned to the UFC, the American Top Team stand-out didn’t end up fighting in the Octagon, instead opting to stay and compete overseas. Just over a year later, Kang is now finally a part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and ready to stack up in the 185-pound division.

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Amir Sadollah is set to return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship at UFC 91 in Las Vegas, after a close to a five-month layoff. This fight will be his first since winning The Ultimate Fighter finale over CB Dollaway. Sadollah came into The Ultimate Fighter an unknown. He was a fairly green fighter after having only a 4-0 amateur record prior to getting on the show. Sadollah quickly impressed Forrest Griffin, his assigned coach, during the show submitting Steve Bynes, TKOing Gerald Harris and submitting highly regarded Matt Brown. Many thought that his next fight against Dollaway would be a quick and easy win for his competitor, but out of nowhere, Sadollah locked on an armbar. Now, an almost “Rocky” underdog, he was going into the finals against Jesse Taylor. However, Taylor got into some antics after the show wrapped, which forced UFC president Dana White to take him out of the finale. Dollaway came back to fight in the finale against Sadollah and get his redemption. However, Sadollah had other plans as he again submitted Dollaway via armbar. Not fighting for five months affects some fighters, but Sadollah feels it was good to get some time off.

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