MMA News

The UFC officially announced Thursday the rest of the line-up for UFC 92, which takes place 27 December in Las Vegas. French heavyweight Cheick Kongo (12-4-1) will meet UFC newcomer Mustapha al Turk (1-0), “The Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-2) will meet Reese Andy (7-2) in a light heavyweight bout. Other bouts announced were “Piranha” Ryo Chonan (15-8) versus “Bad” Brad Blackburn (12-9-1), Antoni Hardonk (7-4) versus Mark Burch (10-2), and Dan Evensen (10-5) versus Pat Barry (1-0). ...

Fighters.com's sixth-ranked lightweight Eiji Mitsuoka (12-5-2) skyrocketed into the top ten last August, largely on the pale, rippling back of "Hellboy" Joachim Hansen's (18-7) upset of former Lightweight Champion, now ninth-ranked "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (15-3) in the finals of DREAM's Lightweight Grand Prix in Osaka 21 July. Mitsuoka had ground out a majority decision over Hansen in Shooto last November; and, Hansen ascended up the ranks towing Mitusoka with him. Now, Mitsuoka is a favorite to take Sengoku's Lightweight Grand Prix after tapping SpiritMC Champion "Crazy Lee" Kwang Hee Lee (2-1) in Tokyo 18 May and submission wiz Rodrigo Damm (5-1) in the tournament's first round in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 24 August. Fighters.com spoke with Mitsuoka and asked him about his victory over Hansen and 2007 loss to eighth-ranked Kotetsu Boku (12-5-1), who Hansen beat in a UD in the opening round of DREAM's GP in Saitama 14 March. The focused Japanese fighter out of Wajyutsu Keisyukai RJW told Fighters.com that Hansens GP championship and victory over Boku didn't interest him and demanded, "Please, look forward." ...

Strikeforce has confirmed the full line-up for its Destruction event, which takes place 21 November in San Jose. Two title fights, between Strikeforce Lightweight Champion “The Punk” Josh Thomson (14-2-1) and Yves Edwards (34-14-1) and between Light Heavyweight Champion Bobby Southworth (9-4) and “Babalu” Renato Sobral (29-8), will headline the event. Also featured is a welterweight bout between “Diesel” Joe Riggs (28-10) and Luke Stewart (4-1). The rest of the card includes: Lemont Davis (1-2) versus Brian Schwartz (0-1) at 175 lbs Brad Royster (1-1) versus Darren Uyenoyama (4-1) at 135 lbs Tony Johnson (0-1) versus Eric Lawson (2-2) at 185 lbs Alvin Cacdac (3-4) versus Jose Palacios (1-1) at  145 lbs Bobby Stack (2-1) versus Cyrillo Padilha (1-1) at 155 lbs Zakary Bucia (0-1) versus Jaime Rodriguez (0-0) at 155 lbs Kurt Osiander (2-0) versus Raul Castillo (2-0) at 185 lbs Nik Theotikos (5-0) versus Luke Rockhold (2-1) at 185 lbs ...

Despite reports that Croatian heavyweight "Cro Cop" Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2) has confirmed a rematch versus Dutchman "Demoliton Man" Alistair Overeem (28-11) at Dyanamite!! in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 31 December...he hasn't. As Fighters.com reported 21 October, Filipovic expects the rematch on New Year's Eve, but has yet to receive confirmation from FEG, the company who promotes the Dynamite!! event. The MMA media has been referencing an interview "Cro Cop" gave to Croatian website Dnevnik, but has evidently mistranslated the article from Croatian. The 28 October article clearly states "no potvrde za to još nema", which translates from Croatian to English as Filipovic "doesn't yet have confirmation." FEG is probably awaiting Overeem's match-up versus "Big Daddy" Gary Goodridge (23-18-1) at Glory 10 in Arnhem, east of Amsterdam, 9 November to make the rematch versus "Cro Cop" official or not for New Year's Eve. Fighters.com will cover the Overeem v Goodridge fight live. ...

Affliction lightweight "Polish Hammer" Chris Horodecki (12-1) will match-up versus Hiroki Shishido (0-0) in the first round of S-Cup 2008, Shootboxing's eight-man, one night tournament in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 24 November. Shootboxing is like MMA without the ground game.  Strikes, throws, and standing submissions are permitted, but fighters don't fight on the mat. Horodecki is scheduled to fight "The Upgrade" Dan Lauzon (10-2) at Affliction's Day of Reckoning in Anaheim, east of Los Angeles, 24 January. Lauzon will also fight "Sledge" Justin Hammerstrom (7-7) at World Championship Fighting before he and Horodecki stand across the ring from each other in Anaheim. ...

"Ninety-percent of [mixed martial arts] promoters in this country are working at a loss.”

MMA Big Show’s promoter, Jason Appleton, is a self-described “no bullshit kind of guy.”  At seven-feet tall, he sprawled across his lounger in his suburban Cincinnati home, spat dip into a plastic soda bottle, and told Fighters.com, “Anybody who thinks us promoters are making windfalls of cash are just are very, very ill-informed.  I lost thirty grand on my first show.  I lost over fifty grand on my second show!"

Appleton expects his 1 November show at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, south of Cincinnati, to be much more successful; but, putting on a successful MMA event is kind of like wriggling free from a gogoplata.

The next show, MMA Big Show’s fifth since 2006, is headlined by local talent, MMA Big Show Welterweight Champion “Relentless” Roger Bowling (3-0).

"Nobody knows this but you, right now.  Roger doesn't even know,” Appleton revealed.

Bowling was scheduled to fight Team Bison’s “The Squeeze” Sam Morgan (19-12); but, Morgan had taken a shot to his ribs from “Bang” Duane Ludwig (17-8) in Denver the previous weekend at Strikeforce Payback.

Appleton explained, “I got a call this morning from his coach and he said, ‘Hey, man, I just want to give you a heads up.  We've got to have Sammy checked out by the doctor because we tried to put some pressure on his ribs and it looks like he's in bad shape.’  So, they pulled out on me today.”

...

Fighters.com can reveal that The Ultimate Fighter 8 lightweight "Lunatik" Junie Browning (2-0) has relocated to Las Vegas to train at Xtreme Couture. Fighters.com was in attendance Monday night when Browning had his first full session at the gym of Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked heavyweight and UFC Champion “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-8). Browning, a native of Lexington, is currently living with Xtreme Couture striking coach Shawn Tompkins (0-4). Browning joins another TUF 8 competitor, “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (3-3), at Xtreme Couture. TUF 8 is currently airing Wednesday nights on SpikeTV in the States. ...

Mike Whitehead (21-6) will headline the eighth installment of the fight series M-1 Challenge taking place 29 October in Kansas City, MO.  No opponent was announced. The show will be put on by M-1 Global in cooperation with Affliction and Kansas City-based Titan Entertainment. “Mike Whitehead has come home to Missouri to fight in the M-1 Challenge.  This is an exciting opportunity for the fight fans here to not only see a true MMA superstar like Mike Whitehead in action but also all of this amazing international talent in one place,” Titan President Joe Kelly said in a statement. Whitehead last fought at Affliction in July, losing by unanimous decision to “Babalu” Renato Sobral (29-8). Teams participating in the thirteen-bout card are Japan, Spain, Korea, and France. ...

Heavyweight "Hurricaine" Gilbert Yvel (30-12-1) will fight in the co-main event at M-1 Challenge 9 in St. Petersburg 21 November versus an opponent to be named soon, Fighters.com learned from M-1's Russian division today. M-1 told Fighters.com that Yvel will not rematch Red Devil heavyweight Roman Zentsov (17-12), who knocked Yvel out in a 2006 PRIDE fight. The event will be lead by the return of Fighters.com's tenth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (12-3) after the commission debacle before Affliction's debut in Anaheim, east of Los Angeles, 19 July.  Emelianenko will fight Korean Sang Soo Lee (9-4). The event will also feature a team format with bouts between Russia's Red Devil team versus Korea and Russia's Legion team versus Holland. ...

"Predator" Patrick Cote (23-4) will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and sit out six to eight months, according to Sportsnet. Thirty-nine seconds into the third round of his UFC title challenge versus Champion "Spider" Anderson Silva (13-5) at UFC 90 in Chicago Saturday, Cote crumbled to the mat in agony and clutching his knee.  A replay revealed a gruesome bulge where his knee had popped. Silva was awarded the TKO victory. The injury first occured a year ago, then was aggravated four weeks ago as Cote prepared for the biggest fight of his career.  Cote considered pulling out of the fight, but received a cortisone shot and clearance from his doctor. Cote took Silva into the third round for the first time in Silva's UFC career and fans have called for a rematch; but, Cote's surgery and rehabilitation makes a rematch unlikely before Silva's planned retirment. ...

Fighters.com’s Welterweight Champion and current UFC Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (17-2) said in his blog Sunday that he may face second-ranked “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (16-3) in the Octagon soon. “I was very impressed by the performance of Thiago Alves [Saturday night at UFC 90].  He showed everybody why he belongs in the top fighters in the welterweight division,” St. Pierre wrote. “Of course, it's up to the UFC, but I think he will be one of my next opponents pretty soon.” Alves asked for this match-up after his unanimous decision victory over fourth-ranked Josh Koscheck (11-3) Saturday night, and after he TKO’d seventh-ranked Matt Hughes (42-7) in the second round at UFC 85 in June. UFC President Dana White, however, has indicated that if St. Pierre wins his next fight, versus Lightweight Champion "Prodigy" B.J. Penn (13-4-1) 31 January in Las Vegas, he will match GSP up with Middleweight Champion "Spider" Anderson Silva (23-4). ...

Conventional MMA wisdom has already matched "Count" Michael Bisping (17-1) versus the winner of UFC 93's main eventin Dublin 18 January between Fighters.com's fifth-ranked light heavyweight "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (23-7) and second-ranked middleweight "Ace" Rich Franklin (24-3). But, that's not explicitly what UFC President Dana White told The Sun 17 Octoberin the report that first announced that Bisping and either Hendo' or "Ace" would coach on the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. In fact, White promised The Sunthat Bisping would coach TUF 9 "win, lose or draw" versus "Crippler" Chris Leben (18-5) at UFC 89 in Birmingham 18 October. It doesn't make sense that Bisping would earn a fight versus either currently ranked and historically relevant mixed martial artist, Henderson or Franklin, if he drew or lost versus popular, but unranked Leben. Does it? ...

Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked lightweight “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-3-1), Tyson Griffin (12-2), “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (7-1), and “King” Spencer Fisher (22-4) each took home  $65,000 bonuses after UFC 90 Saturday night in Rosemont, near Chicago, UFC officials announced after the event. Sherk and Griffin won Fight of the Night honours for their three round battle that ended in a unanimous decision victory for former champion Sherk. UFC newcomer Dos Santos’s first-round TKO upset over fourth-ranked heavyweight “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1) was the Knockout of the Night. Fisher’s third-round triangle choke of Shannon Gugerty (11-3) earned him the Submission of the Night prize. The event drew a sellout crowd of 15,359 which set a record $2.8 million gate for the Allstate Arena. ...

Fighters.com recently reported that Welterweight Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (17-2) had signed with CAA Sports, an agency that represents David Beckham, Derek Jeter, LeBron James, and Tony Hawk, among other high profile athletes. That's a step towards main stream recognition of MMA and, therefore, a boost to the UFC, one would think. "All those Hollywood agents.  You know how I feel about that," UFC President Dana White told the Canadian Press.  "They're all a bunch of pukes who tell you, 'We can do this, we can do that.'  If they deliver on 20 percent of what they tell you they're going to do, you know...  When you end up signing with those guys, they end up fucking you up some way." ...

Fighters.com's Middleweight Champion "Spider" Anderson Silva (23-4) won by TKO at UFC 90 in Chicago Saturday night when "Predator" Patrick Cote's (13-5) knee popped at 39 seconds of round three. Top welterweight contender "Pitbull" Thiago Alves (16-3) easily beat fourth-ranked Josh Koscheck (11-3) by unanimous decision. Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 once. Fourth-ranked heavyweight "Vai Cavalo" Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1) was devastated by fellow Brazilian, but virtual unknown "Cigano" Junior dos Santos (7-1) via first-round TKO at 1:21. Fifth-ranked lightweight "Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (33-3-1) won a unanimous decision over Tyson Griffin (12-2) by judges' scores of 29-28 twice and 30-27 once. Thales Leites (14-1), "Bully" Gray Maynard (6-0), "King" Spencer Fisher (22-4), Dan Miller (10-1), "Drago" Pete Sell (8-4), and Hermes Franca (19-7) were all winners inside the Octagon. ...

“Joker” Jess Liaudin (12-11) was injured during the first round of his unanimous decision loss to David Bielkheden (13-6) at UFC 89 in Birmingham 18 October, he revealed to Fighters Only Friday. “I ripped the cartilage around my rib after the first takedown,” Liaudin said. “By the third I couldn’t move any more and the pain was horrible. It is still painful and uncomfortable as hell.” Liaudin added, “I won’t be able to do anything for six weeks, so I am done until next year unfortunately. But from what Dana told me, I am not out of the UFC.” UFC 89 was the lightweight’s third consecutive loss, after winning his first two fights in the promotion. ...

Vadim Finkelstein is ready to bring about a battle between Fighters.com’s Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) and fifth-ranked “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-8), WAMMA and UFC champion respectively, but said the conditions offered by the UFC are “unacceptable”. “Fedor will not sign to the enslaving terms of a UFC contract, and the UFC just doesn’t want to compromise.” Finkelstein, M-1 Global president and Emelianenko’s manager, was responding Friday to UFC president Dana White’s recent comment to the Boston Herald that “[the UFC’s] door is wide open” to Emelianenko. “Dana says that the UFC’s doors are wide open.  Maybe they are. But these doors are also shut tightly once the fighter signs with the organization,” he stated. Finkelstein does not believe Emelianenko has anything to prove in the UFC; he has defeated three former UFC champions, and current interim champion and second-ranked heavyweight “Mintotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) twice, and can face third-ranked “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-5) and sixth-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (23-5) at Affliction. Finkelstein added, “I believe Dana White in the past has done more for MMA than anybody else, but now he is the one who is hindering the progress of our sport.  He is like a man who has a large tasty pie and is afraid someone will come and take a bite of it.” ...

UFC welterweight "Irish Hand Grenade" Marcus Davis (15-4) told Fighters.com that he hasn't heard anything yet about a possible match-up versus "Lights Out" Chris Lytle (26-16-5) at UFC 93 in Dublin 17 January. Lytle had called for the match-up after winning a controversial unanimous decsion over "Relentless" Paul Taylor (9-4-1) at UFC 89 in Birmingham last weekend. But, the lack of a contract hasn't stopped Davis from trash talking Lytle to Eurosport. "I don't know whether [Lytle] deserves a fight against me.  People always say that Chris is the 'gatekeeper' to our division; but, I think that I am past the gate," Davis told Eurosport Friday. Davis tapped "Tellys" Paul Kelly (7-1) in a guillotine at 2:16 of round two at UFC 89.  Both Davis and Lytle won bonuses for their performances. ...

MMA promotion Affliction's co-founder Todd Beard has claimed, "[The UFC is] not just threatening [Affliction's business model], they threaten us personally, which is hysterical.  Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, they are tough guys, old school mafia guys, or wanna-be old school mafia guys." Beard made the comment on The Scott Ferrall Show aired on Sirius Satellite Radio. UFC President Dana White has frequently referred to Beard and Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio as "the T-shirt guys", goofing on Affliction's primary business enterprise designing and marketing apparel. Beard threatened, "Dana White, by the way, the T-shirt guy is gonna fuck your ass up." The UFC has not commented publicly on Beard's claim or threat. ...

Dan Lauzon (10-2) will face “Sledge” Justin Hammerstrom (5-6) at Boston-based World Championship Fighting 14 November, the WCF announced Friday. Lauzon is also scheduled to fight former IFL lightweight champion Chris Horodecki (12-1) at Affliction 24 January. About his decision to take on a fight two months before a major pay-per-view event, Lauzon said, "I really wanted to stay sharp and keep my momentum. I've fought for them [WCF] three times now and they take great care of me, and I love fighting for them in front of their fans and my friends and family. These (Boston) fans really are the best sports fans in the world." Lauzon is currently on a six-fight win streak, most recently defeating Brendan Hoxie (3-5) with a second-round TKO in June. Hammerstrom snapped a four-fight losing streak in September, submitting Matt Johnson (1-5) with a guillotine choke at 1:08 of the first round. ...

“American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar (11-4) will fight “Bones” Jon Jones (6-0) in a light heavyweight match-up 31 January at UFC 94 in Las Vegas, he confirmed on Inside Fighting Radio Tuesday. Bonnar described Jones as “pretty strong, explosive, and young,” but said, “I got more experience and I’ll take care of business.” Bonnar will be returning to the Octagon for the first time since he TKO’d “Red” Eric Schafer (10-3-2) in the second round at UFC 77 in October 2007. He has been recovering from surgery after suffering a serious knee injury during training in February. Jones won his UFC debut in August with a unanimous decision over Andre Gusmao (5-1), a fight he took on short notice. ...

Former UFC fighters Junior Assuncao (6-4) and Cale Yarbrough (0-1) as well as former WEC fighter "Little Popeye" Jeff Bedard (9-2) will fight at Wild Bill's Fight Night in Atlanta 8 November. Assuncao went 1-2 in the Octagon and is matched versus undefeated Kalvin Hackney (2-0). After a stint on TUF 7, Yarbrough made his professional debut in the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 14 in Las Vegas 19 July, losing to Tim Credeur (10-2). Bedard has lost two straight, his final fight in the WEC versus Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres (34-1) and his most recent fight versus Jarrod Card (7-3-1). No opponent has been announced for Yarbrough and Bedard. "This is the most competitive card, top to bottom, that I've ever seen in Georgia," said matchmaker David Oblas. "There's several huge names on this card and they're all fighting difficult fights. The fight fans in attendance will be getting one of the best shows that I've ever witnessed in my years in this business." ...

"Neo-Samurai" Genki Sudo (15-5-1) is considering a return from retirement at Dynamite!! in Saitama, north of Tokyo, New Year's Eve, according to a report in the latest editon of Japanese fight magazine Kamipro. Sudo is a veteran of K-1, UFC, and Pancrase with notable victories over UFC middleweight title contender Nathan Marquardt (27-8-2), WEC featherweight title challenger Mike Thomas Brown (19-4), and 400-pound "Butterbean" Eric Esch (10-6-1). Sudo surprised MMA by announcing his retirement after defeating "Angel of Death" Damacio Page (10-4) at Dynamite!! in Osaka on New Year's Eve 2006. Among the reasons Sudo gave were lingering injuries and a sign in front of a urinal that read "one step forward". The report in Kamipro is credited to an anonymous source; and, other rumors suggest Sudo could be returning to Dynamite!! only as a commentator. ...

EliteXC Heavyweight Champion "Big Foot" Antonio Silva (11-1) was denied redress by a 5-0 vote of the California State Athletic Commission for a one-year suspension after testing positive for the banned substance Boldenone. Silva tested positive after winning the EliteXC title at Unfinished Business in Stockton, east of San Francisco, 26 July. ...

At UFC Fight Night 7in San Diego in December 2006, "Inferno" Jeff Joslin (5-3) debuted in the Octagon versus Fighters.com's fourth-ranked welterweight Josh Koscheck (11-2). Joslin lost by unanimous decision, but impressed UFC matchmakers enough to  earn a second match-up versus perennially tough S.O.B. "Lights Out" Chris Lytle (26-16-5) at UFC 73 in Sacramento in July 2007. He mysteriously bailed on that fight due to an undisclosed training injury, then seemingly vanished from the UFC and MMA. Joslin had taken a few shots to the head training for his fight versus Lytle, then bumped his noggin on the mat, according to an article published Thursday in the Hamilton Spectator. The next day, Joslin told the Spectator, he had trouble focusing and had what he described as "a painless migraine". Doctors diagnosed him with a concussion and advised him to stop training until the symptoms cleared up.  A few weeks, Joslin figured. "It took a year," Joslin disclosed for the first time Thursday. "It wasn't fun." ...

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