UFC News - Page 532

“Most of the guys I’ve fought, I’ve been able to pinpoint a weakness in their game. Not with Nate. He is very well rounded, and one of best guys in the UFC. It’s going to be tough, but I am looking forward to it…. Before I was injured, I was supposed to fight in a main event. I got injured and was out for over a year, and people forgot about me. It was a long time out. Now, it’s time to fight my way back and remind people of who I am.” Martin Kampmann heaps praise on his opponent, Nate Marquardt, at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on September 6. The article has some great background on “The Hitman” and his journey from competing in small European shows to the Octagon. He also goes into great details about the catastrophic knee injury that nearly cost him his fighting career.

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Fedor and Couture met last week in LA for a training session, and spent 2 hours grappling together, as you can see from the pictures.

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Following our exclusive report that Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson has signed with the Wolfslair, Fighters Only spoke with gym boss Anthony McGann to discuss how the deal came about.

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“He finds a way to win. He’s done a good job controlling his fights. He’s good on top, and he moves well on his feet. He’s elusive and hard to hit, but I’m going to see if I can catch him…. I’m on a mission to get my title back and end my career on a streak of wins. I’m in shape, and I’m going to keep throwing like I do. The knockout power is still there.” – Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell provides Sherdog.com with a quick and accurate scouting report of his upcoming opponent at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” on September 6, Rashad Evans. It’s the main event fight at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., earning the winner — especially if it’s Liddell — a likely title shot against Forrest Griffin perhaps before the year is even out. It’s a major contrast in styles — Liddell is the striker and Evans is the wrestler. And it will likely come down to who can execute the proper gameplan on fight night. There’s really no mystery involved … unless “Sugar” somehow “catches” the “Iceman” first.

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Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture could return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship by year's end as part of an out-of-court settlement with the organization. Multiple sources close to the fighter, speaking exclusively to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), today said that Couture is willing to fight once more for the UFC, possibly before the end of the year, as a potential resolution to his ongoing legal battles with the fight promotion. However, Couture himself could not be reached for comment, and it's unknown if the UFC is even considering the offer at this point. According to one source, as part of Couture's concession to return the octagon, the 45-year-old UFC hall-of-famer would want to walk away "clear and free" from the organization after the bout.

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The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) mixed martial arts reality series is often referred to as the single-most important development in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). When the first episode debuted on Spike TV on January 18, 2005, the promotion was in dire straits. It was already about $40 million in the hole and it had essentially bankrolled a show on television to gain critical traction and exposure. It was a huge dice roll — if the show flopped it could have spelled the eventual end of the Zuffa-owned organization. Fortunately for them, and the millions of fans now scattered across the globe, it was a smash hit thanks in large part to the sensational three-round light heavyweight final brawl between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. Griffin ended up with his arm raised in the end, along with Diego Sanchez, who was the middleweight winner after totally dominating Kenny Florian. In hindsight, however, more was won that night than just two fights — the entire concept won over a legion of MMA fans literally overnight.

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On the Big O & Dukes show on 106.7 WJFK today, WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber was asked about BJ Penn's chances of defeating Kimbo Slice in a fight. Faber replied that Penn had a "90% chance" of defeating the EliteXC heavyweight, although one speculates Faber really feels the chances are much higher. The Penn vs. Slice "fantasy match-up" is the product of UFC President Dana White's comment just prior to EliteXC's debut on CBS. White remarked that BJ Penn could defeat Slice in a MMA bout. The effort of White was to disparage Slice's talent level by suggesting a lightweight fighter in the UFC could defeat a heavyweight fighter in EliteXC (or at least Slice). Faber's corroboration merely adds fuel to the fire.

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Glover Teixera recently (5-2) recently appeared on an episode of tapout featuring his quick KO victory of Jorge Oliveria. Glover Teixera is best remembered for KO's Soko in the WEC, and as Chuck Liddels longtime training partner. Glover Teixera was rumored to appear on the UFC's next installment of the Ultimate Fighter, but it looks as if he will be skipping that route, signing a contract with the UFC... ...

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Check out the latest Interviews by Penny Buffington on Here is part of the interview from Matt Hamill: “Yes. He is a really good friend of mine. I helped him with wrestling takedowns. Rich and I we grew up together. We were raised and born in Cincinnati, Ohio. One day he asked me. He wanted some help with his takedowns so I just helped him out with takedowns and we’re still friends. No matter what, inside the ring or outside the ring. We leave friendship at the door. We two are professionals. I know it’s sad. It’s like fighting my brother but I have to do this. I fight for my daughter. I’m getting my name out there. I know he has more experience then I have. I’m inexperienced. My record is 6 and 1 and his record is 25 and 3. So that could be a stepping stone for me. He is a former World Champion that’s got me more motivated. I want to show what I got. I’m getting better every time I fight. So don’t miss my fight Sept 6th because I’m ready!” - Matt Hamill Get the full interview on ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wow I never knew they were close friends and grew up together...

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Quinton Jackson today appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from his vehicular rampage and arrest earlier this summer. He is to next appear in court November 3.

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UFC president Dana White and Tito Ortiz have had a very public very intense battle of words in which they have both personally attacked one another. At one point Ortiz stated that he would never fight for the UFC again; however, that statement was made before Ortiz spoke with other organizations about fighting outside of the UFC. He has yet to sign with any of them and now appears to be negotiating with the UFC again. "As part of his contract, he goes out and ... I don't know, something to do with his contract, but he's still got his foot in the door with his contract," White told USA Today. "As part of our business practice in this crazy world these days, we — let me think how I can word this to you. I always say, we make this thing look a lot easier than it really is, and we're definitely not going to make it easy for anybody else. We're going to make things tough for other people." White went on to confirm that the UFC has negotiating rights with Ortiz which would make it difficult for other organizations to sign him. "Yup, and I'm going take them." Despite what's been said, White feels that the two can work together professionally, even if they don't see eye to eye personally. "Listen, me and Tito didn't say anything worse than what we said before he came back and became a coach on The Ultimate Fighter. Tito and I do not like each other. We do not. It's 100% real, we don't like each other at all, but it doesn't mean we haven't done business together before."

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Pellegrino is opening a new Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in Belmar, N.J. But if his fight career ends anytime soon and his business fails, Pellegrino doesn't know how he and his family would survive. He can barely read and write, and said his math skills are at a third grade level. He's a product of the wonderful school system in Point Pleasant, N.J. where he was moved along and allowed to graduate because he was a phenomenomal athlete (two-time runner-up in the N.J. state high school wrestling championships).

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Apparently Jon Koppenhaver attended the Jim "Ultimate Warrior" Hellwig school of thought. Because of a wrestling federation attempting to sue him over his nickname, Koppenhaver has changed his legal name to his nickname, "War Machine".

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The legally embroiled Quinton "Rampage" Jackson formally confirmed his split from trainer/manager Juanito Ibarra today, and announced that he will now train with and be managed exclusively by Liverpool, England's Wolfslair. UK site Fighters Only broke the news. According to multiple reports, it's now all but confirmed that Jackson will face Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 91 in Portland, OR, on November 15th.

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Despite being currently entangled in the legal system, Quinton Jackson is forging on with his mixed martial arts career. After losing the title at UFC 86 via a unanimous, but controversial, judges decision, Jackson will likely grace the UFC’s first Northwestern card in Portland, Ore. at UFC 91. No opponent has been named for the embattled former champ, but speculation has named Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as a possible draw. Jackson badly lost to Rua in his latter days with the Pride Fighting Championships, falling to strikes in the first round of their 2005 fight. The news comes from a report by Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports after speaking with UFC president Dana White. Jackson on Tuesday was charged with two felonies and four misdemeanors by the Orange County District Attorney’s office for a July 15 hit-and-run incident on the streets of Costa Mesa. If convicted, he could face up to three years in prison. A felony charge related to a female victim of the incident never materialized. Holli Griggs was a passenger in one of the cars that Jackson sideswiped. Griggs was 16 weeks pregnant with a boy when she miscarried two weeks after the incident. Orange County DA spokeswoman Farrah Emami told MMAWeekly.com that a subsequent investigation of the miscarriage did not implicate Jackson.

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Despite recent rumors to the contrary, UFC lightweight contender Tyson Griffin (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is not considering a move to 145 pounds to take on WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber (21-1 MMA, 6-0 WEC). In fact, while a guest on a recent edition of TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), Griffin said the cut wouldn't even be possible "I'm 180 pounds right now," Griffin said. "There's no way I'm making 145 pounds. Ever. I don't see that happening." Faber is currently riding a 13-fight win streak. That streak started after Faber's lone career loss -- a Gladiator Challenge bout with Griffin. However after that 2005 contest, Griffin stated he felt he would no longer be capable of making the cut down to 145 pounds. While fans and media continue to speculate over who could possibly provide a challenge for the dominant "California Kid," Griffin said not to include him in the discussion. "There's no truth to me moving anywhere," Griffin said. "I've never heard that from anybody. I do not plan on moving in weight class or organization. I'm happy with where I'm at." Instead, Griffin will continue to focus on his astounding run in the UFC's talent-rich lightweight division. After a controversial decision loss to Frankie Edgar in February 2007, Griffin has won four straight against some of the sport's best in Clay Guida, Thiago Tavares, Gleison Tibau and Marcus Aurelio. Now the 24-year-old will face former lightweight champion Sean Sherk at October's UFC 90 event. "They just get tougher and tougher," Griffin said of his opponents. "I definitely don't get a break in competition. "At the same time, that's what keeps me motivated to train harder and harder. If you have easy fights, it's kind of hard to push yourself. The more you get challenged, the more you challenge yourself in the gym." Griffin, who faced Faber in just his third career bout -- as well as notable Duane "Bang" Ludwig in his seventh -- isn't complaining about the constant high-level of competition. In fact, the Las Vegas resident wouldn't have it any other way. "I just think it comes down to the way I am and the way I compete, even before I was part of the UFC," Griffin said. "And as soon as I became a part of [the UFC], I made sure my manager told them straight up and down I want to fight stiff competition. The more challenges I have the better."

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Although he was apologetic about it and thinks the English are cool people, Akihiro Gono recently told Dan Hardy's fans that that he "will be sending them home in tears after I beat him" at UFC 89.

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Sometimes it can be a good thing to fall through the cracks. After his experience on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s third season of “The Ultimate Fighter” television series ended with a loss to Luigi Fioravanti on the series finale in 2006, Solomon Hutcherson faded from the limelight. Surfacing a year later in smaller shows, Hutcherson has been allowed the opportunity to sharpen his skills and become a true MMA veteran in the process without the pressures of performing on a Pay-Per-View stage.

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