MMA News

“New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni (13-10) has been pulled from the Strikeforce card  in Denver on 3 October due to a cut sustained in his fight last weekend, his agent Ken Pavia told MMA News. Baroni won a unanimous decision over Olaf Alfonso (7-9) at the Palace Fighting Championship last Friday, but got cut with Alfonso’s “only big punch of the fight” in the first round. Pavia said, “It was significant enough that it required six stitches right in his eyelid.  Between the first and second round he realized he was cut and was like, ‘Aww man, now I can’t fight next week.’ “He had the PFC fight inked when Strikeforce came to us but they felt that Phil would come out unscathed so we took the fight even though it was going to be a tough cut for two consecutives weeks. There will always be intangibles and anything could happen.” The cut will likely take 3-4 weeks to heal. ...

Fighters.com’s sixth-ranked middleweight “Thunder” Yushin Okami (21-4-1) will face Dean Lister (11-5) 27 December in Las Vegas at UFC 92, according to MMA Weekly. Okami is coming off two consectutive wins.  His last fight was in March, when he KO’d the late Evan Tanner (32-8-0) in the second round. Okami was expected to rematch with Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (22-4) for the title but injured his hand during training. Lister also won his last two fights, most recently submitting “Gumby” Jeremy Horn (80-18-5) with a first-round guillotine in June. ...

“I fight to live, I don’t live to fight,” is how welterweight “The Squeeze” Sam Morgan (19-11) summed up his Strikeforce main event versus “Bang” Duane Ludwig (16-8) Friday, 3 October in Broomfield, northwest of Denver. When Fighters.com spoke to him at Team Bison's Brunette's Gym in Minneapolis-St. Paul Friday, Morgan had just returned from a training trip at Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes’s (41-7) new H.I.T. Squad Gym in Granite City, northeast of St. Louis. “I’ve been saying that I would go down there and train with him for the longest time, since I was on The Ultimate Fighter.  So, I was finally able to make it down there.  I thought, 'No better time than now to go down there and train for a fight that I have coming up against Duane Ludwig.'   And, uh, you know, I was keeping a promise to an old friend.” ...

MMA rookie “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (1-0) upset “Diesel” Travis Wiuff (53-12) by first-round TKO at 2:11 Sunday night in Tokyo. Lawal staggered Wiuff with a right Superman punch, then rushed in with a double-leg takedown at the ropes.  Lawal leapt on Wiuff and finished him off with ground’n’pound. Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion “Xande” Alexandre Ribeiro (1-0) TKO’d Takashi Sugiura (1-3) in the last minute of his anticipated MMA debut. ...

TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah (1-0) will face Ring of Combat veteran Nick Catone (5-0) in a middleweight bout, and Jeremy Stephens (13-3) will face lightweight Rafael dos Anjos (11-2) 15 November at UFC 91 in Las Vegas, the organization announced Friday. Sadollah submitted “Doberman” CB Dollaway (7-1) via first-round armbar in June to win the previous season of The Ultimate Fighter. Catone, who will make his UFC debut, finished his last four fights in the first round, most recently TKO’ing Eric Tavares (5-9) in June. Stephens dropped a unanimous decision to “King” Spencer Fisher (21-4) in June at the TUF finale. UFC newcomer dos Anjos is riding a nine-fight win streak, most recently winning a split decision over Takafumi Otsuka (6-3-1). ...

A rematch between Fighters.com’s fourth-ranked middleweight and EliteXC Champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (16-4) and Joey Villasenor (26-6) was announced Friday. It will take place 8 November and air on Showtime. Villasenor will look to avenge his KO loss to Lawler in October 2006.  Lawler’s flying knee ended the bout in 22 seconds. Villasenor won his last fight over “New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni (12-10) via first-round TKO in May. Lawler’s win over Villasenor began his current win streak.  He last fought “Hands of Steel” Scott Smith (13-5) in July, TKO’ing him in the second round and successfully defending his title. Lawler's first bout versus Smith in May ended in a No Contest. ...

Former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion “All American” Brian Stann (6-1) will face current champ Steve Cantwell (6-1) for the third time at Fight Night 16: UFC Fights for the Troops 10 December at Fort Bragg, south of Raleigh, MMA Weekly reported Friday. ...

As of 2009, World Extreme Cagefighting will no longer actively promote middleweight and light heavyweight fights, the promotion officially announced Thursday. Fighters.com first reported the WEC's intention to cut weight classes from Montréal 19 April and confirmed the cuts would be made by year-end from Las Vegas 4 August. The organization will instead focus on the remaining four weight classes: bantamweight (135-pounds), featherweight (145-pounds), lightweight (155-pounds), and welterweight (170-pounds). “With every fight, the WEC has proven itself to be a powerful and growing presence in sports, both with our live events and our programming on VERSUS," WEC Vice President of Operations and Production Peter Dropick said.  "Exciting matchups like Torres vs. Tapia on Dec. 3 and the incredible fights we have planned for 2009 under this new structure will no doubt establish WEC as the home of the best lighter weight fighters in the world." The reduction will allow the WEC to offer more fights to and better promote the remaining lighter fighters. ...

The WEC officially announced Thursday that their Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres (34-1) will defend his belt against “Mangler” Manny Tapia (10-0-1) 3 December in Las Vegas. The two were originally scheduled to meet in June, but Tapia withdrew due to injury. Torres won the title when he submitted Chase Beebe (11-3) in February and successfully defended in June when doctors stopped his fight against Yoshiro Maeda (23-5-2) at the end of round three. Tapia last fought in February when he won a split decision over Antonio Banuelos  (14-5). ...

M-1 Global officially announced a closer partnership with Affliction Saturday. "M-1 Global and Affliction keep strengthening the ties in MMA," a post at M-1's website read.  "Officially from now on all the M-1 Challenge events will be organized in association with Affliction." Affliction's debut, Banned in Anaheim, east of Los Angeles, 19 July, was in association with M-1 Global, which allowed Fighters.com's Heavyweight Champion "Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) to appear. Affliction's day job is designing, marketing, and manufacturing apparel.  A shirt has been created to promote the closer partnership. ...

"New York Bad Ass" Phil Baroni (13-10) extended his "W" streak to three with a one-sided UD over Mexican welterweight Olaf Alfonso (7-9) Friday night in Lemoore, southeast of San Francisco. Baroni got cut early, but tagged Alfonso with punches and floored him with takedowns the majority of the fight. Bryan Travers (11-1) picked up the Palace Fighting Championship welterweight title with a close UD over Jeremiah Metcalf (9-6) by scores of 48-47 on all three judges' score cards. Shawn Klarcyk (9-2) defended his PFC Bantamweight Championship from Brandon Miller (3-3) by armbar at 2:19 of round two. PFC Lightweight Champion Brian Cobb (13-4) also fought off David Gardner's (14-10) advances on his gold in a UD by scores of 50-45 from all three judges. ...

Undefeated Wilson Reis (5-0) earned a longer introduction Friday night in Santa Ynez, north of Los Angeles, with a UD over Brian Caraway (9-3): undefeated EliteXC Bantamweight Champion Wilson Reis. Reis earned the title over three head-to-head rounds versus strong and crafty Cullum. Reis took Cullum down repeatedly, but was unable to cinch a submission through Cullum's defense. Cullum landed several strikes; but, Reis's takedowns and ground aggression convinced the judges. Shane DelRosario (5-0) notched another stoppage in his belt in a second-round TKO of Carl Seumanutafa (4-1) at 1:07. ...

Light heavyweight Emanuel Newton (10-3-1) tapped UFC vet David Heath (9-4) in a rear naked choke at 4:42 of of the second round Friday night in Edmonton. Heath never had a chance versus an aggressive Newton who held on to back control for most of the first round. In the second, Newton shrugged off a Heath footlock, scrambled into side control, then took Heath's back to secure the submission. Fighters.com's original Fighter of the Month "Real Deal" Ryan Ford (7-1) rebounded from his first professional loss to slap a guillotine choke on Miletich welterweight LaVerne Clark (25-17-1) at 2:30 of round two. ...

"I'm gonna look [Kimbo Slice] in the eyes and let him know.  He's gonna feel that fear, " "The Grim" Brett Rogers (8-0) warned Wednesday at Team Bison's Brunette's gym beneath an American Legion in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The undefeated EliteXC heavyweight is still waiting for his shot against mainstream MMA poster boy "Kimbo Slice" Kevin Ferguson (3-0). In June, at a Minnesota MMA event, Rogers announced that he would be fighting Ferguson in October and "that motherfucker is getting knocked out." In Sunrise, north of Miami, 4 October, Ferguson will step into the cage to fight UFC Hall of Famer "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock (26-12-2). "You know what, man?  I really, honestly can’t tell you what happened.  I just know that it didn’t happen.  I’m a little upset about that and I’m going to take some frustration out on Mr. Slice when I get my hands on him." ...

“Diesel” Travis Wiuff (53-11) confirmed to MMA Weekly that his new opponent at Sengoku 5 in Tokyo 28 September will be wrestler “Mo” Muhammed Lawal (0-0). His original opponent, Roger Gracie (2-0), withdrew due to injury. Lawal is a new Team Quest member who will make his MMA debut at the event.  He is a former NCAA Division II amateur wrestling champion, and also finished first at the 2006 US Open and 2007 Pan-American Games. Wiuff KO’d Kazuyuki Fujita (15-7) in 1:24 at Sengoku 3 in June. ...

The UFC has officially confirmed a welterweight bout between “McLovin” Dustin Hazelett (11-4) and “Barn Cat” Tamdan McCrory (9-1) and a lightweight bout between “Kid” Alvin Robinson (9-3) and Mark Bocek (5-2) on the UFC 91 card, 15 November in Las Vegas. Hazelett, a member of Team Jorge Gurgel, submitted Josh Burkman (18-7) via second-round armbar in June. McCrory won a unanimous decision over Luke Cummo (6-6) in August. Robinson’s last fight was a loss to Nathan Diaz (10-2) via third-round triangle choke in January.  He reportedly took time off this year to deal with injuries. Bocek, of Toronto, was submitted by Mac Danzig (18-5-1) in April via third-round rear naked choke. ...

“The Answer” Frank Edgar (9-1) and “Handsome” Matt Wiman (10-3) will fight in a lightweight match-up 10 December at UFC Fights for the Troops at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, south of Raleigh, NC, according to MMA Junkie Thursday. Edgar suffered his first career loss in April, a unanimous decision that went to “Bully” Gray Maynard  (5-0), but rebounded to win a unanimous decision over Hermes Franca (18-7) in July. Wiman, a TUF 5 alum, is coming off four consecutive wins, the last one being a second-round KO of Thiago Tavares (13-3) in June. ...

By Steve Cha "I like the small guys.  They go at it," UFC President Dana White stated to TUF 8 coach Frank Mir (11-3). Lightweights Wesley Murch (3-2) and John Polakowski (2-1), who, in his words, “loves giving hugs to everyone”, didn’t disappoint White in the first fight of the night on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 8. Both fighters were able to land strikes and take each other’s backs; however, at the end of the first round, British fighter Murch injured his shin on a low kick attempt.  Ouch! Murch braved the pain, but, early in the second round, collapsed; and, the ref was forced to stop the fight. True to his words, Polakowski hugged Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender and TUF 8 coach “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1), White, and Mir, forcing an admission from Nog': " I don’t care, you know.  I like to hug too." ...

Fighters.com's third-ranked heavyweight "Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett (23-5) said Wednesday, "I never declined to [fight Andrei Arlovski on CBS].  I was never told that I would have any part of my pay reduced since working with Affliction." Barnett was responding to an apparently erroneous rumor reported elsewhere that he had turned down a fight versus fourth-ranked Arlovski (13-5) because he was asked to take a paycut. Arlovski has signed to fight IFL Champion “Big Country” Roy Nelson (13-2) in Sunrise, north of Miami, 4 October to be aired in the States on CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights. Barnett reiterated his denial of another widely reported rumor that Affliction had asked fighters to take 50% pay cuts when matched versus "easier" opponents. "To my knowledge, no one has been asked to take a pay cut that fights for Affliction," said Barnett. ...

"[Fighters.com's Middleweight Champion "Spider" Anderson Silva (22-4) has] still got a good 19 months until he turns 35.  He's got six fights still on his [UFC] contract.  He'd love to retire at 35 and finish on top," Ed Soares, Silva's manager, told NBC Sports Tuesday. Soares was responding to a comment allegedly made by Silva during an interview with Brazilian cable TV show Sensei SporTV.  The interview has yet to air; but, reportedly, Silva claims that he will retire next year. "Absolutely impossible," said Soares.  "His goal has always been to retire at 35 years old."  Soares explained that Silva desires to spend more time with his family, including his four children. Silva's alleged comment set the MMA Internet forums afire last week, many speculating that Silva no longer felt challenged. Soares said, "It's not like he's not getting challenged. The reason people care more about it now is because of who he is.  If he said two years ago that he was going to retire at 35, if he had said it before he faced Rich Franklin the first time, there wouldn't be this reaction." Silva will defend his UFC and Fighters.com titles from "Predator" Patrick Cote (13-4) in Rosemont, near Chicago, 25 October.  The fight will be aired on PPV. ...

Fighters.com's fourth-ranked heavyweight "Pitbull" Andrei Arlovski (13-5) and IFL Champion "Big Country" Roy Nelson (13-2) have agreed to fight in Sunrise, north of Miami, 4 October. Arlovski was originally scheduled to leather up versus Fighters.com's Heavyweight Champion "Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) 11 October in Las Vegas. Affliction rescheduled that event for 17 January in Anaheim, east of Los Angeles. Arlovski TKO'd former IFL titlist "Big" Ben Rothwell (29-6) in Anaheim 19 July. ...

A rematch between badass British pugilist Wayne Buck (4-1) and Italian Muay Thai wrecker Matteo Minonzio (7-6) headlines a 13-fight card in Nottingham 27 September. Minonzio forced a doctor stoppage "W" over Buck in Nottingham in July, handing Buck his first MMA loss. Buck is a retired boxer hailing from Nottingham and looking for revenge.  He ended his career in the ring in 2000 at 10-4-1, winning his final five fights. Saturday afternoon before the fights, Red Devil fighter and coach Fighters.com's ninth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) will hold a seminar featuring DREAM Middleweight GP Champion Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1), UFC welterweight "Outlaw" Dan Hardy (19-6), and "The Machine" Ian Freeman (19-7-1). Just a week after winning a split decision over Brandon Thatch (3-1) in Beverly Hills, north of Los Angeles, Brandon Magana (6-1) will fight Red Devil's Erik Oganov (7-7) in Nottingham. ...

At least four fighters who were eliminated in the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 8 last week have found work in other promotions. Joe Duarte (3-0), who was submitted via rear naked choke by Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) in round two, told Fighters.com, “I just cut much weight too rapidly. I thought I could make it easy but it didn’t turn out that way.  I was real slow and sluggish during the fight.  I will come back stronger next time....” “Next time” will be 26 September at the Alberta-based Colloseo Championship Fighting in Edmonton, against MFC veteran Ryan Heck (5-2). Heck was TKO’d in the first round at his last fight by Ryan Machan (5-2) in July. “Big Deal” Ryan Jimmo (6-1), who was eliminated when he lost a majority decision to Antwain Britt (4-1), will headline XFights: Ontario vs Maritimes 4 October in Moncton, New Brunswick. Jimmo, a Saint John, NB, native who now trains in Halifax, will face Toronto’s “Lethal” Jason Cecil (3-5). ...

After splitting both of "Cro Cop" Mirko Filipovic's (23-6-2) eyes, "Demolition Man" Alistair Overeem (28-11) let what would've been the biggest win of his career slip away in a No Contest due to repeated accidental knees to "Cro Cop's" groin. The one-time PRIDE Heavyweight GP Champion, Filipovic, was thoroughly beaten by Overeem until the illegal blows, which earned Overeem a yellow card. Overeem controlled where the fight was fought.  He scored takedowns and battered "Cro Cop's" body on the mat and continued the midsection assault with knees from the clinch when the two fighters stood. Since losing his last three PRIDE fights at light heavyweight, Overeem is  3-1 at heavyweight, with stoppages of "Headhunter" Paul Buentello (26-10) and  Mark Hunt (5-4). His only loss during his latest heavyweight run was in a rematch to tenth-ranked Sergei Kharitonov (16-3), who debuted in DREAM Tuesday night with a KO of “Titan” Jimmy Ambriz (13-10-1).  Overeem won their original PRIDE fight, which means they've split the series.  Dum dum dum.... Filipovic, however, is 2-2 since his impressive PRIDE GP run, with barely mentionable wins over Eddie Sanchez (8-2) in Cro Cop's Octagon debut and Tatsuya Mizuno (4-4) in the Croatian's return to Japan. ...

Dutch mixed martial artist Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1) knocked out Xtreme Couture's "Jacare" Ronaldo Souza (10-2) at 2:15 of round one with an upkick as the Brazilian dove into Mousasi's guard throwing an overhand. It was Sousa who put the fight on the mat with a double-leg takedown at the opening; and, Mousasi fought like it was a prison rape to get the BJJ world champion off of him. Mousasi finally created distance; and, Sousa leapt back into Mousasi's guard when he absorbed the upkick full-on to his jaw. Lights out!  "Jacare" went limp; and, Mousasi rolled from beneath him. Mousasi, a 23-year old phenom, won the first DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Championship with the KO. On his way to the title, Mousasi took out former top ten Canadian Denis Kang (30-10-1), world champion judoka Dong Sik Yoon (4-6), and, Tuesday night in Saitama, both aggressive kickboxer "Marvelous" Melvin Manhoef (22-5-1) and two-time World Jiu-Jitsu Champion Souza in the same night.  It was an impressive run through a gauntlet of styles chronicled by Fighters.com in interviews with Mousasi after defeating Kang and Yoon. ...

In his first "W" since coming out of his seven-year retirement, Masakatsu Funaki (39-13-1) tapped “Punk” Ikuhisa Minowa (40-29-8) in a heel hook at 0:32 of round one in Saitama, north of Tokyo, Tuesday night. The two leg-lock specialists hit the mat toot sweet and exchanged techniques. Minowaman rolled free from one heel hook; so, Funaki switched sides and inverted the technique until Minowa yelped in pain and tapped out. ...

Krazy Bee Atsushi Yamamoto (12-5-1) threw a smart boxing bout for a UD over Hideo Tokoro Tuesday night in Saitama, north of Tokyo. Yamamoto floored Tokoro early with a charging left, right hook combo, but got wrapped up in Tokoro's rubber guard when he pounced to finish. Yamamoto mixed his knose-busting jabs and hooks with an occasional knee. The fight was Tokoro's when the two went to the mat.  Tokoro attempted an armbar in the first round and ended the fight holding Yamamoto in an armbar attempt for a full minute, but couldn't finish. ...

“Mighty Mo” Siala Siliga’s (3-0) late replacement “Titan” Jimmy Ambriz (13-10-1) did not last long in his DREAM heavyweight debut versus Fighters.com’s tenth-ranked Sergei Kharitonov(16-3) Tuesday night in Saitama, north of Tokyo. Kharitonov knocked down Ambriz almost immediately, snapping back Armbriz's Arthur Fonzarelli 'do, and although he got back up, Ambriz was never really in the fight. Even a yellow card to Kharitonov for holding the ropes didn’t help Ambriz.  Every hit staggered him, and Kharitonov was relentless in his assault, throwing straights, hooks, and knees. Ambriz finally tapped from his hands and knees at 2:29 of round one as Kharitonov pummelled Armbriz's ribs. ...

"K-Taro" Keita Nakamura (15-3-2) won a dominate SD over Adriano Martins (9-4) in Saitama, north of Tokyo, Tuesday evening. Nakamura peppered Martins with jabs and straight lefts in the first round, reeling off a combo or two, while Martins searched wildly with an uppercut. "K-Taro" followed his jolting straights into the clinch at the the ropes and took Martin to the mat where Nakamura cut himself in an accidental headbutt of Martins's elbow...seriously. In the second round, Nakamura tagged Martins at will and followed a few jabs with a left hook. One judge called it for Martins, but the other two saw it correctly for "K-Taro". ...

It took “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (10-1) only 1:27 to earn a spot in the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix final with a submission of "Benkei" Zelg Galesic (9-4) in Saitama, north of Tokyo, Tuesday night. The fight got underway quickly as Jacare slammed Galesic to the mat and controlled from the side until he was able to mount. "I went for a kick, missed it, and found myself on my back," said Galesic. Galesic reversed positions; but, "Jacare" caught him in an armbar and Galesic was forced to tap. Galesic explained, "He done some sort of leg triangle mount and my arm popped out." ...