UFC News - Page 551

Ross Schneiderman has a piece detailing the UFC's international expansion efforts in today's New York Times. The piece does a good job of succinctly explaining the company's international expansion strategy and the challenges it faces in introducing MMA to a new audience. Most of the ground covered is familiar to devoted followers of the industry, but the piece was well researched with interviews of Dana White, Dave Meltzer, and myself, as well as Tim Leidecker and Oliver Copp for a prospective on the ground in Europe.

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Bio-Engineered Supplements & Nutrition Inc. (BSN), the world leader in cutting-edge sports nutrition products and makers of N.O.-XPLODE™, the #1 selling extreme pre-training energy and performance igniter, is proud to announce a multi-year partnership agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the premier Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization in the world today. MMA is an intense combat sport where high level professional fighters use interdisciplinary forms of fighting that include Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo, Karate, Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling and other disciplines to their strategic and tactical advantage in a sanctioned match. UFC® fighters are among the best-trained and most conditioned athletes in the world, making BSN’s association with the sport of MMA and the UFC® a perfect fit. What BSN is to the world of sports nutrition with their leading line of physique, performance and energy products, the UFC® is to Mixed Martial Arts, true innovators and world leaders. “I’m excited to announce that BSN is the ‘Official Nutritional Supplement Provider’ of the Ultimate Fighting Championship,” said Dana White, UFC® President. “As the world leader in physique and performance supplements, they are a perfect fit for the UFC – we look forward to working with BSN as we take this sport to a whole new level.” The Ultimate Fighting Championship® is regulated by the most prestigious sports regulatory bodies in the United States. UFC live pay-per-view events take place at preeminent destinations including MGM Grand, MEN Arena, Mandalay Bay and 02 Arena, and consistently draw sell-out crowds with record-breaking gates. Presenting over twelve pay-per-view events per year, the UFC stands as the largest pay-per-view content provider in the United States. The UFC also dominates television with its reality series The Ultimate Fighter, now heading into its eighth season. The Ultimate Fighter has reigned supreme for years in the coveted 18-34 male ratings demographic, and regularly enjoying higher ratings than traditional franchise sports such as the NBA, NHL, NASCAR as well as NCAA football and basketball. In partnership with Spike TV cable network, ad the UFC also presents ten live UFC Fight Night events and the popular program UFC: Unleashed. BSN’s President and CEO Chris Ferguson comments on the partnership, “I’m proud to announce that BSN is now the 'Official Nutritional Supplement Provider' of the UFC. MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world today. We are excited to be aligned with an organization as prestigious as the UFC and are eager to stretch our brand with this partnership by showcasing our product line, which includes N.O.-XPLODE, the foremost pre-training igniter in the world today. BSN is a dominate force in over 75 countries and climbing. We have entered into this strategic partnership with the UFC to solidify our combined global presence. I want to thank everybody at the UF for their efforts and for their continued commitment.”

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New light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin wasn't the only "Ultimate Fighter" alumnus looking to improve his stock at this past Saturday's UFC 86 event. Season two winner Joe "Daddy" Stevenson (29-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who had previously lost a lightweight title bout to B.J. Penn, defeated Gleison Tibau (15-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) to get back on the winning track. "Joe Daddy" was a recent guest on TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), where he discussed his big submission win over the ATT standout. "I really didn't want to finish this fight with a guillotine," Stevenson said. "I wanted to drop him. It just didn't work out for me this time." However, Stevenson nearly found himself on the wrong side of a submission attempt, spending much of the first round fighting off an omoplata. Midway through the second round, however, a frustrated Stevenson came back to lock in a deep guillotine choke during a Tibau takedown attempt. "I think he was really caught off guard," said Stevenson, who's the first fighter ever to submit Tibau. "I don't think he expected my guillotine to be as good as it was." The Victorville, Calif. native hadn't fought since his January title loss to BJ Penn, and Stevenson said he needed to shake off some ring rust before he could figure out his opponent. "I guess it was good to get some of the cobwebs off," Stevenson said. "I figured out [Tibau] is incredibly strong. (However), he doesn't want to peter out so he uses it in bursts. If you can catch him when he is trying to rest, that is when you are going to do your big damage." Looking back now, the 26-year-old feels he should have capitalized more on Tibau's rhythm so he could secure a stoppage earlier in the fight. "I made the mistake of not just following up when I knocked him down with my right hand," Stevenson said. "(Also), when I took him down, I should have just exploded with forearms on him. I was thinking, 'I've got to be careful. This guy is super strong and (has) a black belt.' Honestly, I think I didn't fight him to my best ability." So, regardless of the fact that he walked away a victor, the always-modest Stevenson still believes his outing was sub-par. "I was pretty upset with my performance; I thought I could have done 10 times better," said Stevenson, who's now 6-2 since winning "The Ultimate Fighter" season two. "I am really critical of myself." One factor that may have hampered Stevenson's performance was an assortment of injuries he sustained prior to the fight. "I came into that fight not even 100 percent. ... I was really hurt," Stevenson said. "I had a bruised femur and a hurt elbow." However, the 10-year-veteran joked that he may never fight at full capacity since injuries are a common part of the fight game. "Honestly, with the right camp, I'm sure you can come in 100 percent," Stevenson joked. "I just haven't done it yet." Now that he is back in the win column, Stevenson plans to commemorate the official grand opening of his new gym, Joe Stevenson's Cobra Kai, as well as allow his injuries to heal. Stevenson is also looking forward to getting another shot at the UFC lightweight title, a chance that may come sooner rather than later if he continues to win. "Joe (Silva) was telling me two or three wins," he said. For the entire interview with Stevenson, download Monday's edition of TAGG Radio, available for free in the TAGG Radio archives.

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In an interview Anderson alludes to fighting at 205 is only a personal favor, and that the lhw title is Machida's. He has no plans of fighting for the 205 title.

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Quinton Jackson won't have to wait until January to be cleared to fight again, according to this report from Steve Sievert:

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Dana White mentioned recently that he was planning something special on July 26; the same night that CBS/EliteXC airs it's second event. If you guessed that something special was counter-programing then you were correct. The UFC has just announced that they will be airing back-to-back showings of UFC 84. For those that missed it the first time, it was likely the best MMA event of the first half of this year. The card was stacked with great fights that lived up to the billing. Even the under card was fantastic. Below is a look at the card: Main Card: - B.J. Penn vs. Sean Sherk - Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva - Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic - Lyoto Machida vs. Tito Ortiz - Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes

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After watching UFC 86 this past weekend, Light Heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida had some opinions of his own. “Quinton defeated Forrest, but they give it to Forrest.” Machida told Brazilian magazine Tatame. He went on to say that he believes the UFC prefers to have Chuck Liddell as the Light Heavyweight champion because of his marketability. Spot on Lyoto, spot on

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Mac makes some pretty insulting rmarks about Rampage. Hope Mac was misquoted but he does have a tendency to run off at the mouth.

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nside the Numbers: Griffin was clearly the busier fighter overall, throwing 268 more total strikes than Jackson. Jackson was more efficient (and landed the harder shots), landing 49% of his total strikes to 33% for Griffin. Jackson had a 67-48 edge in arm strikes landed, 64 of which were power strikes to 47 for Griffin.

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It was a gruesome sight to see. UFC welterweight Chris Lytle on the mat, trapped against the chain link fence, a pool of blood expanding from beneath his head. No cut in recent memory bled like the one Lytle sustained against Josh Koscheck at UFC 86. It was a sight sponsors cringe at, and for Lytle, the worst-case scenario – another night trapped under a world-class wrestler.

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Page in Memphis The fact is that the UFC, led by Vice President Mark Ratner, and the FedExForum in Memphis lobbied diligently this year to set-up a commission to regulate mixed martial arts in Tennessee. Success at last! And, as I write this, the State of Tennessee is scrambling to staff and organize their new commission. (Tennessee readers should contact their State representatives immediately to be considered for the commission.) FedExForum’s reward is the return of Memphis native son “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (29-7), who testified before the Tennessee legislature on behalf of MMA regulation. FedExForum’s collaboration with the UFC was all but predicated on an eventual Rampage main event in Memphis. Unless ‘Page wants to tune-up in the Octagon before November, it’s a lock that his golden grin will be donning billboards across Memphis before his next tussle, likely at UFC 90.

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UFC light heavyweight standout James Irvin (14-4) will face middleweight champion Anderson Silva who will make the trek from 185 lbs. to 205 lbs. in order to find a challenge. After cleaning out the middleweight division Silva is in dire need of big fights, Irvin, however, thinks that Silva is taking on more than he can handle.

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The potential dream match-up between B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre has a definite chance to become a reality. According to UFC President Dana White only one (big) hurdle remains. If St. Pierre buzzsaws through (Jon) Fitch then yes, we’ll do Penn vs. GSP,” said White. White also confirmed that he and Penn discussed the match-up on Saturday and ran through many of the details. I talked with B.J. - we met for most of the day,” said White.

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Melvin Guillard's quick knockout win over Dennis Siver at UFC 86 garnered the Ultimate Fighter season two alumni a $60,000 Knockout of the Night bonus. "It was a good victory,” Guillard told MMAWeekly.com. "I trained hard for it, and I was ready. I came in. I executed. I stayed focused, and I done my job." In the opening exchange Guillard dropped Siver to the canvas with a punch and nearly ended the fight. "I thought I had him and I tried to rush it," said the New Orleans native when asked about the first knockdown. "He went for an arm bar. My coaches told me to back out and reset." And that's exactly what he did.

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UFC 90 will likely take place Oct. 25, sources close to the event tell MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). UFC President Dana White first mentioned the possibility of the upcoming show during this past weekend's UFC 86 event, and a few fighters' managers and agents tell us that the organization has begun initial calls to recruit fighters for the Oct. 25 event. In theory, UFC 90 will take place a week after "UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben" -- on pay per view, most likely in Chicago.

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In an article about the Griffen Rampage and the 86 ufc fight and card, I read that the "causal fan" does not like or at least care about Rampage- why do you suppose that is?? Also why do you suppose that Koscheck is so unpopular ? http://www.mmaonline.com/headlines/ufc-86-review/

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The NSAC has posted the official UFC 86 results on its website, which also reveals the medical suspensions handed out after the event.

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In the aftermath of one of the more memorable main events of a major UFC -- Forrest Griffin (Pictures)'s unanimous decision over Quinton Jackson (Pictures) -- the Mandalay Bay Events Center became a maelstrom of reaction Saturday night. here are some of the fighters take on the fight, and who they believed was the victor.

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http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/2008/07/06/UFC-Cote-0/ Patrick Cote will be the next challenger for the Spider's belt and I just want to say that I am one hundred percent behind him for doing what no one else could! Patrick Cote although very unlikely needs to beat Silva so all his little worshipers can come down from their mile high Anderson trip. Silva is the best in the world don't get me wrong but he gets so overrated it makes me sick. I am tired of everyone talking of how unbeatable he is and I don't care who you are and how good you are you are NOT unbeatable at any point ever. So... WAR COTE! PS: I think it'd be sweet to because he'd be the first non-TUF winner to be a champion!

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