Ryan Bader vs. Jon Jones Targeted For UFC 127
(mmajunkie.com)A matchup between two of the brightest prospects in the UFC's light heavyweight division appears likely for early 2011. A long-discussed contest between "The Ultimate Fighter 8" winner Ryan Bader and Jon Jones appears likely for the yet-unannounced UFC 127, which will probably be February 5 in Las Vegas and headlined by Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort. Jones' agent says he was recently hoping for a January 1 booking for his fighter, but that appears unlikely.
UFC 123 Lineup Now Official With 11 Fights
(mmajunkie.com)The UFC's first event in Michigan since UFC 9 in May 1996 in now official with 11 contests. UFC brass today officially announced five additional contests for "UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida," and the pay-per-view's lineup is now complete. Main card additions include Tim Boetsch vs. Phil Davis and Joe Lauzon vs. George Sotiropoulos, while new preliminary contests feature Matt Brown vs. Rory MacDonald, Darren Elkins vs. Edson Barboza and Paul Kelly vs. Gabe Ruediger. UFC 123 takes place Nov. 20 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit. A light-heavyweight bout between former champs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida headlines the pay-per-view portion of the show.
UFC 122 lineup set with 11 bouts, Spike TV main card official with five fights
(mmajunkie.com)The fight card for November's "UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami" event is now complete with 11 bouts.
The event takes place Nov. 13 at Konig Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany.
The night's main card, including a No. 1 contender's bout between middleweights Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami that headlines the show, airs via same-day delay on Spike TV.
Co-headlining the event is another middleweight matchup with legit contenders: Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara. And rounding out the main card are lightweights Dennis Siver vs. Andre Winner, welterweights Amir Sadollah vs. Peter Sobotta and light heavyweights Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Goran Reljic.
Frankie Edgar defends title against Gray Maynard at UFC 125
(mmajunkie.com)An old matchup becomes new again, but this time a UFC title is on the line.
As was previously expected, UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) will defend his title against undefeated challenger Gray Maynard (10-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) at UFC 125.
While not officially announced by the organization, UFC 125 is expected to take place Jan. 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and air on pay-per-view.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) confirmed that verbal agreements are in place for the contest, which was first reported by MMAFighting.com.
Maldonado To Face McSweeney at UFC 120 After Blackledge Pulls Out
(sherdog.com)The UFC has signed Brazilian light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado to fight James McSweeney at UFC 120 on Oct. 16 at the O2 Arena in London.
Maldonado will fill in for McSweeney's original opponent, fellow Englishman Tom Blackledge, whose reason for pulling out of the event could not be confirmed.
A member of Team Nogueira, Maldonado (17-3) will carry a 10-fight winning streak into the Octagon. Of Maldonado's 17 victories, 14 have been finishes, and he has never been knocked out. The 30-year-old also competes in professional boxing and is undefeated in 22 fights, with 21 of those wins ending by KO. Though the Brazilian typically trains out of Nogueira's gym in Rio De Janeiro, recently he has spent time training with UFC lightweight Thiago Tavares in Florianopolis, Brazil.
Ross Pearson out with knee surgery
(mixedmartialarts.com)TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson today revealed that he had failed a post-fight MRI scan after losing to Cole Miller at UFC Fight Night 22 earlier in the month. Pearson says the injury was sustained in the first round of the fight with Cole Miller at UFC Fight Night 22.
“I think it tore when he pulled guard on me. After that I was really heavy-footed and I lost my movement,” he told Fighters Only today. “I am not using that as an excuse though, Cole Miller beat me fair and square. I didn’t want to mention it at all but now I am having an operation I suppose it would come out sooner or later.”
Jeremy Stephens Talks Melvin Guillard - Says That Wasn't Fighting
(bloodyelbow.com)"It really wasn't an exciting fight. Everybody hyped it up to be. For (Melvin Guillard) calling me out, saying he's going to knock me the f*ck out in the first round, I would have rather had that happen, instead of him really not trying to engage with me."
"I was trying to put he pressure, trying to engage. I've never really seen Melvin fight like that; where he is just moving around the whole time. I thought we were just going to go to war, but it is what it is."
Lytle Welcomes the Winner of Hardy vs. Condit
(mmaweekly.com)If there's one thing you can always say about Chris "Lights Out" Lytle, it's that he comes to fight. A winner of four fights in a row, Lytle dispatched of former roommate Matt Serra on Saturday night to avenge an earlier loss to the native New Yorker. And after three big wins in 2010, he's poised to make the jump to the next level of competition.
Fighting in the UFC in his hometown of Indianapolis was a dream for Lytle, but he's not going to sit back and bask in that moment because now he believes he's ready for that next big step.
UFC Re-signs Stefan Struve
(mmajunkie.com)6'11" skyscraper Stefan Struve has signed a new 4-fight deal with UFC. His management team announecd the deal today but terms were not disclosed. Struve is 4-2 so far in UFC, losing his UFC debut to Junior Dos Santos but going 4-1 since with the only loss in that stretch being to Roy Nelson.
UFC 119 Prelims: 1.3 Million Viewers
(mmajunkie.com)Ratings for this past weekend's UFC 119 "UFC Prelims" special were up slightly and peaked with 1.36 million viewers. The live broadcast, which preceded the night's pay-per-view main card, featured two live preliminary-card bouts from Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse. The bouts included C.B. Dollaway's submission win over fellow middleweight Joe Doerksen and heavyweight Matt Mitrione's decision victory in a slugfest with Joey Beltran. Spike TV's previous "UFC Prelims" broadcast, which accompanied August's UFC 118 event in Boston, scored a series-low 1.1 million viewers. Of the 11 "UFC Prelims" that have aired since their inception in September 2009, UFC 119's tied for sixth best. There are 2 left this year, before UFC 121 & 123. Additionally, the reason 124 won't get one is because of a conflict with Spike's annual Video Game Awards.
Minotauro Nogueira Likely To Return In Mid-2011
(mmaweekly.com)According to both Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and manager Ed Soares, "Minotauro" is definitely done for the year due to knee & hip surgeries and likely is out until mid 2011. "He's had surgery on his knee so far, and we're waiting on when he's going to do his hip surgery," Soares told MMAWeekly in an interview. "Probably within the next couple weeks." Nogueira was at UFC 119 supporting his brother Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and did have a noticeable limp from the knee surgery. Soares added that he expects Nogueira to be back 6 months after the hip surgery.
Cro Cop: I Have The Option For 2 More Fights...Knowing Myself, I Will Do Both
(mmamania.com)That's the plan with what's left on his current deal. "I think [the crowd] expected a more aggressive fight. I prepared as much as I could with all the injuries that have followed me. Also, I was sick [in Indianapolis]. I did not want to fight aggressive until the third round but he hit me with the knee. I don't think I was disgraced in this fight because I accepted it at the last moment. After Pat Barry I said that would be my last fight but I fought again. I need to rest and cure my injuries, I have a lot of injuries. This year of course I will not fight. I have the option for two more fights. Knowing myself, I will do both."
Fired by UFC 119's Matt Mitrione, agent Malki Kawa believes miscommunication to blame
(mmajunkie.com) MMA agent Malki Kawa believes a lack of communication led to an unfortunate public scene involving his former client, UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione.
Mitrione defeated Joey Beltran by unanimous decision at this past Saturday's UFC 119 event and then made the highly unusual move of firing Kawa during his post-fight interview, which aired live on Spike TV.
And while Kawa is unhappy with his own performance leading up to the event, he today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the deck was stacked against him and that he'd like to clear the air with Mitrione.
"He's a great guy," Kawa said. "He just doesn't understand how it should get done, and I didn't get the chance to sit down and operate with him the way I normally would with anybody else."
UFC 119 Medical Suspensions
(mmamania.com)The Indiana Gaming Commission has issued the medical suspensions from Saturday's UFC 119. A total of 10 fighters are suspended with most getting 30 days although Evan Dunham got 45, but 3 fighters-Mark Hunt, Matt Serra & Mirko Cro Cop are suspended indefinitely and for a minimum of 180 days.
Michael Bisping Won't Resort To MMAth While Training For Akiyama
(mmamania.com)So he says in an interview for Men's Fitness magazine, also referring to Akiyama's most recent fight, a loss to Chris Leben. "It's easy to get suckered into thinking that because Leben beat him and I beat Leben, I should be able to steamroll Akiyama, but it doesn’t work like that. Fighters match up differently and anything can happen on the night. Stylistically they’re both quite similar, and I beat Leben by just having a crisper, sharper striking style and being more technical. I want to finish Akiyama and I think I will because during this camp I’ve been knocking down lots of big guys – heavyweights. That never used to happen so it’s a sign that my boxing has come on a lot. Yeah, I want to knock out Akiyama. That’s what everyone wants to see and that’s what I’m aiming to do."
Dana White Likens Frank Mir To The Grinch
(mmamania.com)How, you ask? He's not hairy and he's not green, but Dana says he also has no heart. "I have no clue about Frank. To talk the stuff he does, and then fight like he fought, that's a little frustrating. Once "Cro Cop" stuffed his takedown attempt, his heart fell out on the floor. If Frank Mir can't bully you, his heart shrinks to the size of the Grinch's. If he can't take you down, his heart shrinks to the size of a pea."
Whispers in the Night: What Were Mir and Cro Cop Talking About?
(bloodyelbow.com)Saturday night it seemed Mirko Cro Cop and Frank Mir were doing more talking than fighting. At one point the two were so gabby that they continued a conversation after instructed to break by the referee. What was so important that it couldn't wait until after the fight? Cro Cop revealed what was said to a Croatian news service...
UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch says move to middleweight is inevitable
(mmajunkie.com)ROSEMEAD, Calif. – Dec. 11 is a huge night for Jon Fitch's career.
That's the date the perennial welterweight contender will get an idea of where he's headed in the near future. He could meet the winner of Martin Kampmann vs. Jake Shields, slated for next month's UFC 121 event, or the winner of UFC 124's Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck title fight.
But Fitch also sees a move to the middleweight class not too far down the road, and that trip could be expedited if American Kickboxing Academy teammate Koscheck wins St-Pierre's welterweight belt this winter.
"We have a philosophy at our gym that it would be much better to have three belts at AKA than to have two belts, and then send two guys to fight for the same belt," Fitch told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) during a recent UFC Gym opening event in Rosemead, Calif. "So I feel like I can beat Anderson Silva, too, and GSP."
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