UFC News - Page 554

“He’s a very high-level jiu-jitsu fighter, a five-time champion in fact. I’ve got a lot of respect for what he’s done in the jiu-jitsu world. But I think we’ve seen time and time again that good mixed martial artists have been able to defeat high-level jiu-jitsu guys. Take even the other night in London, where Kevin Burns, in his first UFC fight, was able to get a triangle choke on Roan Carneiro, who is a high-level black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Maia is not like B.J. Penn who is great in jiu-jitsu but also dominant in all other facets. He is still fairly new to the MMA side of things so I’m hoping to go out there and put on a strong mixed martial arts fight and do much like what Nate Marquardt did to Dean Lister.”

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The two will meet on July 19th in a light heavyweight bout to counter Affliction's ppv on the same night.

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James Giboo (11-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Brad Blackburn (12-9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will meet at the recently scheduled UFC Fight Night 14 event, which is headlined by UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin in a non-title light-heavyweight fight. Giboo and Blackburn, UFC welterweights newcomers, recently agreed to the bout, sources close to both fighters tell MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

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Two-time semifinalist Tim Credeur (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and quarterfinalist Cale Yabrough (0-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will meet in Saturday's live finale of "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest."

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I got a chance to interview Big John McCarthy after a taping of Inside MMA earlier today. Here is what he said about the UFC putting on a show the same day as Affliction's PPV: “I mean, look at that fight. You got your middleweight champion (Anderson Silva), you’re moving up to light-heavyweight to fight James Irvin. What good does that do for him? I mean, (UFC president) Dana (White) feels … obviously he feels there is some competition there with Affliction. He wants to try to do something to damage Affliction. That’s why he is doing this. I look at it and it’s bad for the sport, it’s bad for the fans. There needs to be more than the one promotion." Check out the rest of the interview here:

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She used to date Arlovski, and has now been seen with Sylvia.

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder Evan Tanner takes on The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Kendall Grove in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 7 Live Finale this Saturday from the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. "I feel really good. I've been working at the Warrior Training Center in Vegas... I've got a really good camp and I'm feeling great. I feel really good," Tanner told MMAWeekly.com about his upcoming bout with Grove. Tanner returned to the Octagon at UFC 82 after nearly two years away from competition in a losing effort to middleweight contender Yushin Okami. "It's all a learning experience," said Tanner. "Yea, if I had taken more time to prepare for the fight, of course, I know I could have done a little better. Maybe if I had taken a more lesser opponent my first fight. That's the fight that was offered and the time that was offered, so I figured I'd at least get my foot back in the door. So I took it. "Going into this fight with Kendall Grove I'm an older and wiser man, an older and wiser fighter."

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UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva turned quite a few heads in the past 24 hours with news that the Brazilian accepted a light heavyweight fight against James Irvin at UFC Fight Night 14 at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 19. As we reported yesterday, win or lose Silva will retain his 185-pound belt. And he is not vacating it as some have suggested — he’s merely taking a temporary leave of absence because his boss, UFC President Dana White, asked him if he’s up for the challenge. Here’s a snip from Silva on the decision to take the fight on short notice via SI.com: “If the UFC asks me to do something, and it’s within my capability to do so, I’m going to do it. I feel like I’m part of the UFC family and the head of the family asked me to fight. I’m in condition to fight, my coaches say I can fight — I’m going to fight. I want to do whatever I can to help make UFC the No. 1 event around the world like it is.”

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Network television deal? Nope. Regulation in New York? Nope. Sale to major international investor? Nope. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today revealed the major announcement that will serve as an “indicator of where this business is going over the next five years” via Yahoo!Sports.com: “Lorenzo Fertitta, the president of one of the most successful casino chains in Las Vegas, resigned his position with Station Casinos on Wednesday to work full-time with the UFC.” It’s a move that White feels it is the biggest day in the history of the promotion. And he defends the decision against those naysayers on the Internet who feel it’s much ado about nothing. From White: “The Internet may not consider this huge news, but what the people on the Internet think is huge and what I think is huge are two different things. But you know what? I think I have a pretty good track record. I think this is maybe the biggest day in UFC history. I’m so excited, I can’t begin to explain it to you. This is an historic day for me and this company.”

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Former UFC heavyweight Champion, Frank Mir has been on a tear of late, submitting highly touted fighters, Antoni Hardonk and Brock Lesnar in a combined time of less than 3 minutes. As a reward for these impressive performances, the UFC has given the Las Vegan a chance to fight the current champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for his old title – and Frank can’t wait to get back in the cage. Taking some time out from his hectic schedule, the submission magician recently spoke with Ironlife.com:

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I’m also glad that the UFC is looking to make the Leben vs. Bisping match actually take place instead of scrapping it altogether (Shogun vs. Chuck anyone?). It’s a fight that is extremely intriguing because Leben has a chin of granite, heavy hands, and a highly underrated ground game. It will be a very good test to see how far Bisping has actually come at the 185 lbs. division.

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LAS VEGAS – Lorenzo Fertitta, the president of one of the most successful casino chains in Las Vegas, resigned his position with Station Casinos Wednesday to work full-time with the UFC. Fertitta, his older brother, Frank III and Dana White purchased the UFC in 2001 for $2 million when it was struggling and on the verge of folding. But in the seven-and-a-half years since, they’ve turned it into one of the great success stories in sports.

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Fresh off his 22nd birthday, Jeremy "Lil' Heathen" Stephens is one of the youngest fighters competing in the UFC. Having won 13 of his first 15 fights, Stephens is looking to emerge as the next young rising star in the UFC's stacked lightweight division. A win over MMA veteran Spencer Fisher this Saturday at the TUF Finale will certainly help him reach his goal. MMARated.com recently spoke with "Lil' Heathen" about fighting a friend and former training partner, his UFC future and more. Jeffrey Lee: First off, Jeremy, how did you get the nickname "Lil' Heathen"?

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Mixed Martial Arts is a full-on legit sport, not only drawing athletes from judo and wrestling but even exerting a gravitational pull on those less lucrative sports, drawing athletes and even distorting the nature of the game. The one combat sport that has so far most resisted integration into MMA is boxing, the big money, big time showpiece combat sport of the western world for the last 150 years. Those boundaries are beginning to break down. Top-flight cruiserweight David Haye has been talking MMA for a while, now he's training with UFC star Michael Bisping:

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Tanner's outlook on life historically has been to live it first, fight in it second. That philosophy has fueled an adventure-filled existence for the single 37-year-old. Whether surfing, sailing, four-wheeling in the desert or overindulging, Tanner's life has never lacked for action, and, along the way, he found time to ascend to the top of the UFC's middleweight division. "Fighting was the last thing on my mind my whole career," Tanner told MMAjunkie.com (mmajunkie.com) during a recent break from training for his Saturday main event with Kendall Grove. "I was busy doing other things. They (promoters) would call me up and offer me a fight. In between fights, I had absolutely nothing to do with fighting. I didn't watch fighting. I didn't do any training. I was out doing things, out adventuring, just living my life." While some might have questioned the approach, it worked for Tanner, who started fighting in 1997 and won 19 of his first 20 bouts. He had a shot at Tito Ortiz's title at UFC 30 in 2001, but an early slam by the champion knocked Tanner out in less than a minute. Tanner's second crack at a belt came in 2005, and this time, he earned the middleweight strap with a TKO victory over David Terrell. However, after consecutive losses to Rich Franklin and David Loiseau, followed by a win over Justin Levens, Tanner's typical break from MMA turned into a nearly two-year-long absence from the octagon.

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That quote comes from Ricardo Almeida, scheduled to face Patrick Cote at UFC 86. He seems to think it'll be the classic grappler vs. striker type of fight that own't go the distance.

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Apparently Chris Leben found a short new career path during his brief jail stay on DUI charges-inmate coach. At one point he demonstrated a choke for some inmates, which he revealed as part of his jail experience.

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As reported here a few days ago the UFC has indeed been sold and has a new ownership group. A source inside the UFC just confirmed this.Bertelsmann Media has been rumored as the new ownership group. This is the announcement that Dana White is expected to make tomorrow. More on this tomorrow when it is announced.

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Speculation within the MMA industry about the subject of Dana White's major announcement continues to center on the potential sale of the company. In what would fit the bill as an industry changing announcement, MMAPayout.com has learned that Bertelsmann Media, a German based international entertainment company, is rumored to have had advanced discussions about acquiring a controlling interest in Zuffa.

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Tom Atencio speaks about the newly added UFC event on July 19th. The same night of Affliction MMA's first event titled 'Banned'.

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