MMA News

“Babyface” Edwin Dewees (35-12; 1 NC) has signed on to fight “Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (13-3) at Affliction’s 19 July event in Anaheim, he confirmed to Full Contact Fighter this weekend. Dewees replaces “Tiger” Vernon White (26-32-2), who was pulled from the card after he tested positive for a banned diuretic. Dewees is excited to face Nogueira and said, “This is going to be my first fight at 205, now that I’m bigger, and I wanted to fight somebody good right away. My confidence is higher than it’s ever been and I’m really excited to get an opponent like this to show what I got at 205.” His last match was a submission win over Richard Blake (4-7) in April, ending a four-fight losing streak. Nogueira last fought in February, when he TKO’d Todd Gouwenberg (7-4) in the second round. ...

Heavyweight "Hungarian Nightmare" Christian Wellisch (8-4) loves the UFC, and told Fighters.com about it Thursday at Javier Mendez's American Kickboxing Academy after the afternoon pro training session. Wellisch also told Fighters.com, "I was never out," after getting stung by a Shane Carwin (9-0) right hook 44 seconds into their fight 24 May in Las Vegas.  The referee ruled a knockout. ...

Maximum Fighting Championship President Mark Pavelich announced Sunday that Drew Fickett (34-5) will not fight "Real Deal" Ryan Ford (6-0) for the MFC welterweight title. "Drew Fickettwill never fight in the MFC," Pavelich said. Fickett was contracted to fight Ford in Edmonton 25 July, but agreed on a day's notice to fill-in for "Diesel" Joe Riggs (27-10) Friday in San Jose after Riggs was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission. Pavelich said, "We were shocked to learn Drew agreed on one day's notice to fight as a middleweight in another organization's event this past Friday.  When I contacted this other organization, its owner immediately cancelled Drew's fight when informed that he was under contract to fight on the MFC show and as part of Mr. Fickett's contract he was not allowed to take another fight up to five weeks before the MFC show." Fickett told MMA Rated that, "Some jerk-off wanna-be like promoter, some tough guy, like calls us and he's like pullin' the frickin' contract card on me.  I'm like, 'Dude, I don't care.  I just want to fight.'  This guy's like, 'Oh, you M-F this, you M-F that, frickin' son-of-a-bitch.  I'm going to fly down there and I'm going to kill you.'" ...

Fighters.com caught eighth-ranked welterweight Jake Shields (20-4-1) on his way to a date in San Jose Thursday night and asked him about his upcoming EliteXC title fight versus ninth-ranked "Goat" Nick Thompson (36-9-1).   ...

"J-Lau" Joe Lauzon (16-4) announced Saturday that he will fight lightweight Kyle Bradley (13-5) in Omaha 17 September. Bradley took a man-sized 33-second ass whoopin' from welterweight "Lights Out" Chris Lytle (25-15-5), but had taken the fight at 170-pounds on short notice. "J-Lau" has fewer excuses for the thrashing he suffered through in April courtesy of Fighters.com's seventh-ranked lightweight "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3). Omaha will host SpikeTV-broadcast UFC Fight Night 14 headlined by another lightweight thriller between TUF 6 Champ Mac Danzig (18-4-1) and "Carpenter" Clay Guida (23-9). ...

Strikeforce Lightweight Champion “Punk” Josh Thomson (15-2) talked to reporters in San Jose 27 June, 2008 after taking the title from “El Niño” Gilbert Melendez (14-2) by unanimous decision. ...

UFC heavyweights “Hungarian Nightmare” Christian Wellisch (8-4) and Cain Velasquez (3-0) roll on the mat at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose Thursday. Velasquez is a rising star in the UFC heavyweight division, debuting in the Octagon in April with a TKO of Brad Morris (9-3) in 2:10. Fighters.com confirmed Velasquez will fight "Irish" Jake O'Brien (10-1) next. Wellisch (8-4) is a veteran of four Octagon battles, going 2-2. After getting knocked out in May by Octagon debuting Shane Carwin (9-0), Wellisch awaits a call from the UFC for his next showing. ...

Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Bobby Southworth (9-5) talked to reporters Friday in San Jose after defending his title from "El Toro" Anthony Ruiz (20-11) in a five-round UD. Southworth spoke about where he's come from and where he's going, the prospect of landing bigger fights, and the crowd's reaction to his victory. ...

After his loss to "Punk" Josh Thomson (15-2) Friday in San Jose, "El Niño" Gilbert Melendez (14-2) spoke to reporters. Melendez seemed comfortable with the loss and actually entered the press conference in better condition than Thomson, despite losing by 50-45 on all cards.

"Punk" Josh Thomson (15-2) won a five-round unanimous decision over "El Niño" Gilbert Melendez (14-2) for the Strikeforce lightweight title Friday night in San Jose by scores of 50-45 on all three cards. "[Melendez] is the toughest motherfucker I've ever fought," Thomson declared after dominating the former top ten 155-pounder. In the final round, Thomson landed a front kick to Melendez's face as if to say, "All night, Gil" All night, Thomson kept Melendez at bay with a front kick. And, when Melendez passed that, he got zapped with a jab, and a hammered with a knee after that. Melendez stalked for five rounds, right hand cocked; but, Thomson never set long enough for Melendez to get a beat on him with his knockout punch. In the fourth and fifth rounds, Thomson shot and scored takedowns, nearly finding a rear naked choke as the fourth round dinged closed. But, Melendez was just out-kickboxed in every round and gassed trying to corner Thomson for the big shot. Stack Attacks Palacios Crowd favorite Bobby Stack (5-1) out-wrestled lightweight San Shou fighter Jose Palacios (3-1) over three rounds for a UD by scores of 29-28 three times. The southpaw Palacios's right hook over Stack's jab convinced Stack to take the fight to the mat after that punch popped Stack's mouthpiece free in the first round. Stack took damage for the single-leg shots, but muscled Palacios down and nearly sank an armbar with 25 seconds left in round two. Stack declined the stand-up again in the third session and rode Palacios across the mat most of the round, though Palacios defended adeptly. The "W" was sealed in the last half of the round when Stack mounted and landed shots to Palcios's head. ...

Middleweight Luke Stewart (5-1) has been removed entirely from Strikeforce’s 27 June card in San Jose when the organization could not find an opponent for him. Stewart was originally scheduled to face “Mr. International” Shonie Carter (41-17-7), but Carter withdrew due to a hand injury. “Diesel” Joe Riggs (27-10) was then tapped to replace Carter, but he was pulled from the card Thursday by the California State Athletic Commission. Then, Drew Fickett (34-5) agreed to replace Riggs, but was not allowed to fight due to contractual obligations to the MFC. Fickett is already slated to fight “The Real Deal” Ryan Ford (6-0) for the MFC’s vacant welterweight title 25 July. MFC promoter Mark Pavelich told The Fight Network that Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker “took care of it” and assured him that Fickett would not fight this weekend. ...

Thursday afternoon in San Jose, Fighters.com was welcomed into Javier Mendez's American Kickboxing Academy by fight manager "Crazy" Bob Cook (5-0) to watch the pros sweat, twist, and roll on the mat. AKA is home gym to Fighters.com's top welterweight contenderJon Fitch(17-2), fourth-ranked "Kos" Josh Koscheck (10-2), lightweight "Punk" Josh Thomson (14-2), UFC heavyweights "Hungarian Nightmare" Christian Wellisch (8-4) and Cain Velasquez (3-0), Affliction heavyweight "Headhunter" Paul Buentello (25-10), and other professional fighters. ...

A bout between “The Count” Michael Bisping (16-1) and “The Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4) will take place 18 October in Birmingham, according to UK UFC President Marshall Zelaznik. Zelaznik made the announcement Thursday on the Setanta News Ultimate Talk Show, a weekly UFC news show airing in the U.K. Bisping and Leben were previously scheduled to fight at UFC 85 in London 7 June, but the match was scrapped when Leben had to serve time for a parole violation. The Count faced Canadian “Dooms Day” Jason Day (17-6) instead, punching him out to a TKO in the first round. It was his second consecutive win since dropping to the middleweight division. The Crippler is also riding a two-fight win streak, knocking out Terry Martin (17-4) in the third round in September and finishing “Legionarius” Alessio Sakara (12-7; 1 NC) at UFC 82 in March with a first-round TKO. ...

EliteXC fighter and TUF 7 competitor Paul Bradley (5-0) has signed with LionHeart Management, the Pennsylvania-based career management company announced Thursday. Bradley is currently under a three-fight contract with EliteXC. Bradley was an Iowa State High School Wrestling Champion and a two-time All-American wrestler at the University of Iowa. He said, "I'm really excited about signing with Lionheart and I am looking forward to representing them in the octagon.  This is a great place for me to further my career as a fighter.” LionHeart also recently signed NCAA Wrestling Champion Phil Davis and amateur fighter Lou Armezzani. ...

The California State Athletic Commission denied “Diesel” Joe Riggs (27-10) a license to fight Luke Stewart (5-1) in San Jose 27 June at Strikeforce. According to the CSAC, Riggs didn't meet medical requirements. According to Ken Pavia, Riggs's agent, Riggs was denied his license after he disclosed his use of a prescription pain killer. ...

Jeff Shamrock, nephew of UFC Hall of Famer “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock (26-13-2), has signed a multi-fight contract with Strikeforce, the fight promotion announced Thursday. The eighteen-year-old welterweight is a member of his uncle’s Lion’s Den Reno Elite Fight team. He will likely make his professional debut at the next Strikeforce event, which has not yet been announced. Shamrock said, “I am very thankful for this opportunity. Signing with Strikeforce gives me a chance to put all of my training to the test, and to develop an elite fighter. I am really looking forward to fighting for them." His uncle Ken added, "Jeff is a very strong and aggressive fighter. He has been training hard and has developed impressive skills on the mat, including his take down and submission skills. I have no doubt that Jeff will do extremely well." The young Shamrock made his amateur debut in August, submitting Kyle Davey in the first round. ...

The WEC on Thursday added two more fights to its 3 August card in Las Vegas. Bantamweight Brian Bowles (5-0) will fight “Angel of Death” Damacio Page (10-3), and Micah Miller (9-1) will meet “The Fluke” Josh Grispi (8-1) in a featherweight match-up. Bowles, from Athens, GA, last fought in WEC 31 in December, where he KO’d “Louro” Marcos Galvao (6-2) in the second round. He made his professional debut two years ago. Albuquerque’s “Angel of Death” made his WEC debut in February when he replaced an injured Jesse Moreng (8-1) on short notice to win a unanimous decision over Scott Jorgensen (4-2). American Top Team fighter Miller will look to win his third fight in a row after his first career loss last June at WEC 28, a unanimous decision that went to Cub Swanson (12-2). Nineteen-year-old Grispi also made his WEC debut in February, submitting “The Machine” Mark Hominick (15-8) with a rear-naked choke in the first round. ...

"I’ve got a totally torn MCL that is still attached to my femur. I’ve got a partially torn PCL," announced Fighters.com's seventh-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes (42-7) Wednesday. Hughes injured his knee in his second-round TKO loss to third-ranked "Pitbull" Thiago Alves (15-3) in London this month. "They really think that the PCL will repair itself and that MCL has a chance of repairing itself.  So we’re going to hold off on surgery right now.  I am going to get a second opinion this week, so that might change; but for now we’re going to hold off on surgery." ...

Wednesday the UFC officially announced that six newcomers will face each other in their Octagon debuts at Fight Night 14 on 19 July, airing on SpikeTV: Rory Markham (14-4) v Brodie Farber (13-3) James Giboo (11-2) v “Bad” Brad Blackburn (12-9-1) Dale Hartt (5-0) v Shannon Gugerty (9-2). IFL veteran Markham, of Chicago, submitted Jay Ellis (6-19) with a first-round triangle choke at Adrenaline MMA’s debut event this month. Farber last lost in May 2006; since then he has finished off all six opponents he faced in the first round, most recently knocking out Eduardo Gonzales (1-4) in January. Giboo, a schoolteacher from Des Moines, will look to extend his six-fight win streak. He has never fought past the second round and submits most opponents, including Zeke Schilling (0-2) in March. Blackburn, another IFL veteran, (T)KO’d both “Pe de Chumbo” Delson Heleno (13-5) in April and Jay Hieron (15-4) last June, and has a “No Contest” against Travis Cox (5-5; 1 NC) between the two wins. Hartt last fought in March, when he submitted Keith Ferreira (1-1) via strikes in the first round. He has never been to a decision. Gugerty is a Total Combat veteran and is coming off a six-fight win streak, most recently putting a guillotine choke on Johnny Torres (5-1) in March. ...

The Calgary Sun reported Tuesday that Fighters.com's Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (16-2) will move to 185-pounds "assuming the welterweight champion cleans out his division and is not destined to run into one of his training partners if he leaves the 170-lb. weight class." "The Georges St. Pierre camp says a move to middleweight has always been on the cards," The Sun reported.  "The Montreal fighter's camp says St. Pierre...could even end up at light-heavyweight down the line." ...

Evan Tanner (32-8) announced on his SpikeTV blog Tuesday that he may retire. Tanner lost to “Spyder” Kendall Grove (9-5) in a split decision on The Ultimate Fighter 7 finale Saturday night, and has been taking the loss hard. “I was pissed off about the fight, fucking sad, fucking raging, on edge, all of it heavy with me, trying to maintain, trying not to explode.” “I haven’t seen anything about the fight. I know I looked really bad. I don’t need to see it, or hear about it to know that,” he added. Tanner mentioned “serious health problems” that he has been dealing with, that have affected his daily life and his training. He said, “If we can’t get this health issue figured out, I’m done, I’m retiring.” “I don’t want to step back into the Octagon unless I’m 100%, and I can give the fans the type of fight they deserve to see. I don’t see it coming to that though.” Tanner will be taking time off to see a doctor, and has “a good feeling about things.” ...

Tuesday the UFC officially added two more bouts to the UFC 87 card in Minneapolis on 9 August. Andre Gusmao (5-0) will face “Travolta” Tomasz Drwal (14-2) in a light heavyweight match-up, and welterweights “The Silent Assassin” Luke Cummo (6-5) and “The Barn Cat” Tamden McCrory (8-1) will meet. Gusmao almost signed with the UFC in February to fight David Heath (8-3), but happened to still be under contract with the IFL. His last fight was in September. Drwal tallied a loss against Thiago Silva (13-0) by second-round TKO in September at his UFC debut, ending a thirteen-fight win streak. TUF 2 competitor Cummo is coming off a loss by unanimous decision to Luigi Fioravanti (12-3) at UFC 82 in March. McCrory’s only loss of his professional career came during his last fight at UFC 78 in November, when PRIDE veteran Akihiro Gono (28-12-7) submitted him with an armbar in the second round. ...

Fighters.com's ninth-ranked welterweight “The Goat” Nick Thompson (36-9-1) talked to his attorney, then confirmed to Fighters.com Cesar Gracie's (0-1) announcement that Thompson will fight eighth-ranked Jake Shields (20-4-1) for the first EliteXC Welterweight Championship 26 July on CBS. Thompson told Fighters.com, "It is true, it is signed, and I am stoked! "I have a six-fight deal with EliteXC.  It is non-exclusive and they recognize my pre-existing relationship with Sengoku." Thompson's last two victories have been versus "Pitbull" Fabricio Monteiro (16-7) by unanimous decision and "Maicon" Michael Costa (9-4) by submission in Sengoku, a Japan-based promotion. ...

Fighters.com's eighth- and ninth-ranked welterweights,  Jake Shields (20-4-1) and "The Goat" Nick Thompson (36-9-1) respectively, will challenge for the first EliteXC Welterweight Championship 26 July on CBS, according to Cesar Gracie (0-1), Shields's manager and trainer. Shields responded to Fighters.com's request for confirmation Tuesday, "I signed and I think [Thompson] did as well." Thompson also responded to Fighters.com Tuesday, saying "I can neither confirm nor deny the report at this time." Gracie also announced at his website that his student Nick Diaz (17-7) will fight "Wildman" Thomas Denny (26-16) on the same card. Shields was originally signed to fight Drew Fickett (34-5) for the first EliteXC welterweight title. ...

"It's time to fuckin' fight," "Punk" Josh Thomson (14-2) told Fighters.com. Thompson will challenge friend and former training partner "El Niño" Gilbert Melendez (14-1) for the Strikeforce lightweight title Friday in San Jose. "There are no mind games,"  Thompson assured.  "Why bother [even watching video of Melendez]?  I've had first-hand experience." Like Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le (6-0) versus “Legend” Frank Shamrock (23-9-2), this Bay Area match-up was inevitable. Unlike Le versus Shamrock, Thompson and Melendez respect each other. Melendez told 15 Rounds last week, "Thomson is one of the pioneers for the 155-pound weight class. In my opinion, he is in the top ten.  I know he’s going to be a tough opponent. He’s very well rounded.  It will make for a very exciting fight for the fans and for myself." ...

In an interview with Eurosport Tuesday, UK UFC President Marshall Zelaznik said, "Then there's the prospect of the WEC coming to the UK, first on television screens and, when the time is right, we will look to run live WEC events in the UK too." The WEC is owned the Zuffa, LLC, parent company of the UFC. The promotion primarily holds events in Las Vegas, but has made forays into Nor Cal and the Southwest U.S. Zelaznik also said, "[The UFC] holds records in the biggest indoor venues in the UK already, and the next step is running big outdoor shows.  The UFC in a UK football stadium would be an incredible fan experience." UFC President Dana White has always promised the UFC's first outdoor event will be held in Hawai'i, once that state sanctions the sport. ...

UFC 89 will take place in Birmingham, England, on 18 October, UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner confirmed. Ratner made the announcement last week when he appeared on the Setanta News Ultimate Talk Show, a weekly UFC magazine program airing in the UK. It will be the first-ever UFC event in Birmingham, located in central England, and the sixth in the U.K. since April last year. ...

Canadian-born middleweight Ivan Salaverry (12-7) is retiring from competition, he told Sherdog Monday. Fighting is no longer a priority for Salaverry. He said, “Even though I love fighting and I had a great run and I enjoyed it, I’ve transitioned to other things.” Those “other things” include his gym in downtown Seattle and his two sons. Salaverry fulfilled his contract with Zuffa with his last fight, a first-round armbar loss to “Toquinho” Rousimar Palhares (8-1) at UFC 84 in May. Salaverry also cited age (he is 37) and lingering injuries as factors in his decision. ...

Sometimes rivalries are turf wars for hometown bragging rights.  Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le (6-0) versus "Legend" Frank Shamrock (23-9-2) comes to mind. Sometimes there's a culture clash, like between brash Long Islander and Fighters.com's fifth-ranked welterweight "Terror" Matt Serra (9-6) and cocky farm boy seventh-ranked Matt Hughes (42-7). Sometimes styles make fights. Adrenaline MMA has lightweight rivalry in the making that covers home turf and pits cultures and styles. Tatt'ed skater from Chi-town "Bartimus" Bart Palaszewski (29-11) versus clean-cut Illinois country boy Clay French (16-2) is a classic match-up and perfect to determine Adrenaline's first titlist. ...

Nick Diaz (17-7) will not fight “Mach” Hayato Sakurai (32-8-2) for DREAM’s new welterweight title 21 July, according to Cesar Gracie (0-1), Diaz’s manager and trainer. EliteXC signed Diaz to a two-year deal in 2007 and has decided to pull Diaz from the DREAM title fight due to “contractual obligations”. Diaz said, ”I was happy to be fighting Sakurai and hoping to get back there to Japan where they have you fight in a ring and there seems to be more respect for the art of MMA.  I hope they will still have me back soon to fight him [Sakurai] for the belt.” Diaz TKO’d Muhsin Corbbrey (8-3) in round three at EliteXC’s Honolulu event earlier this month. At that same event a scuffle ensued between Diaz and EliteXC 160-Pound Champion “KJ” Karl James Noons (7-2), the last man to defeat Diaz. ...