MMA News

UFC welterweight champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (19-2) won't require surgery for the groin injury he suffered defending his title from “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (16-4) in a five-round unanimous decision at UFC 100 in Las Vegas 11 July, announced St. Pierre's manager Shari Spencer Saturday night. “I heard my abductor snap,” said Québécois superstar after his third title defense since regaining the UFC belt from "Terror" Matt Serra (9-6) at UFC 83 in Montréal in April 2008. Tuesday St. Pierre had an MRI on the injury revealing its severity doesn't require surgery. St. Pierre will next defend his title from the winner of American Kickboxing Academy’s “Quick” Mike Swick (14-2) versus Xtreme Couture’s “Hitman” Martin Kampmann (15-2) at UFC 103 in Dallas 19 September. ...

Join Reverend Turk and TRDH (The Real Drew Hall) and special guest Crazy Tim Credeur as we break down all the up to date mma happenings including Tim's upcoming fight at Fight Night 19 . Also joing us will be Amir Sodallah from TUF and "Inside the Octagon" to discuss hi upcoming bout with Johhny Hendricks [wpaudio url="http://www.fighters.com/MMAArchive/Episode.3.mp3" text="MMA Gospel Episode #3"] ...

"Yes, Tito and I made up," Tweeted UFC President Dana White Friday, confirming the announcement former UFC light heavyweight champion "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz (15-6-1) made on Tapout Radio Thursday. "I wanted to be a man and squash things between me and him," the free agent fighter said. Ortiz hasn't fought since losing a unanimous decision to Fighters.com and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion “Dragon” Ryoto Machida (15-0) at UFC 84 in Las Vegas in May 2008, fulfilling his UFC contract. ...

Shine Fight Promotions has inked a deal with The Fight Network to broadcast American Top Team vs. The World, the promotion's second show headlined by "Jucao" Roan Carneiro (12-8) versus "Macaco" Jorge Patino (17-10-1). American Top Team vs. The World will be held in Miami 4 September, but broadcast on The Fight Network 12 September. ATT's Carneiro enters Shine off of a 2-3 stint in the UFC ending with split decision loss to "Piranha" Ryo Chonan (15-10) at UFC 88 in Atlanta last September. Patino won a UD over "Blackjack" Beau Baker (7-2) at KAPMMA in Newark last February. The card also features UFC vet Junior Assuncao (8-4), WEC vets Carlo Prater (24-7-1), "Maverick" Micah Miller (12-3) and "Irish Assassin" Ryan Healy (4-4-1), and PRIDE and DREAM vet "Buscape" Luis Firmino (12-4). ...

Nova Uniao lightweight Ronnys Torres (5-0) has again pulled from his UFC debut with an injury, this time from a matchup versus "Li'l Heathen" Jeremy Stephens (16-4) at Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City 16 September.

Justin Buchholz (9-3) will replace Torres, according to MMA Junkie.

Stephens is on a two-fight losing streak, most recently on the short end of a unanimous decision versus Gleison Tibau (16-5) at Fight Night 18 in Nashville last April.

Buchholz tapped in an arm triangle to Terry Etim (13-2) at UFC 99 in Cologne last month.

"The Ultimate Fighter" alum "JT Money" Jesse Taylor (8-2) will fight Dong Sik Yoon (2-6) at DREAM.10 in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 20 July, Taylor announced at his blog. Taylor tapped Eric DaVila (14-9) in a rear naked choke at Shark Fight in Lubbock last May. Yoon was TKO'd by Andrews Nakahara (2-0) at DREAM.6 in Saitama last September. Perhaps Taylor's most publicized win was against a rented limousine at the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas, which led to his dismissal from TUF's seventh season and admission to Alcoholics Anonymous. Taylor has evidently remained sobor since. ...

Fighters.com's eighth-ranked heavyweight “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-9) told media in Portland that Fighters.com and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion “Dragon” Ryoto Machida (15-0) has "got a very unique style, very unorthodox, he stays true to his karate background and makes it work. I could certainly go back down to 205 if that was something they wanted to see. I'd be interested in competing against him. He's a tremendous competitor and somebody I'd like to fight." Couture is in Portland promoting his matchup versus Fourth-ranked “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1) 29 August at UFC 102. He's a former UFC light heavyweight champion. Couture also remarked that he expected seventh-ranked light heavyweight “Hollywood” Dan Henderson's (24-7) brutal KO of "Count" Michael Bisping (17-2) at UFC 100 in Las Vegas Saturday, but, "It isn't the end of the world, it's not the end of his career and there's no reason he can't get right back up there again. It is up to him and how he deals with this loss." ...

American Kickboxing Academy's "Quick" Mike Swick (14-2) and Xtreme Couture's "Hitman" Martin Kampmann (15-2) will fight at UFC 103 in Dallas 19 September, announced the UFC today, and the winner will be the next challenger to UFC welterweight champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2), according to a report by MMA Junkie. Both former middlweight title prospects who dropped weight to compete at 170-pounds, neither Swick nor Kampmann have proven themselves against the UFC's established competition: former champions "Terror" Matt Serra (9-6) and Matt Hughes (41-7) and former title challengers "Pitbull" Thiago Alves (16-4) and Jon Fitch (19-3). Swick trains with Fitch and former welterweight contender Josh Koscheck (12-4) and most recently outclassed "Killa B" Ben Saunders (7-1-2) with a second round TKO at UFC 99 in Cologne last month. But, Swick's most noteworthy "W" is a unanimous decision over nails-tough "Irish Hand Grenade" Marcus Davis (16-5), who never cracked the top ten himself. ...

Undefeated "A-Train" Aaron Simpson (4-0) announced via Facebook his matchup versus Team Quest's "Short Fuse" Ed Herman (15-7) at UFC Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City 16 September. The matchup has not been announced by the UFC. Simpson won his UFC debut over "Wrecking Machine" Tim McKenzie (10-6) at Fight Night 18 in Nashville last April. Both fighters are transfers from the WEC after that Zuffa, LLC-owned promotion dropped it's 185-pound division. ...

"I heard my abductor snap," said UFC welterweight champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2) after defending his title from "Pitbull" Thiago Alves (16-4) in a five-round unanimous decision at UFC 100 in Las Vegas Saturday night, then the Québécois superstar limped from the Octagon to receive immediate treatment for the groin injury suffered when Alves put him on his back in the third round. Tuesday in Montréal St. Pierre will have an MRI to determine the extent of the injury that will keep him from fighting again until 8 January unless cleared by doctor, according to a suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Regardless, the NSAC has instructed St. Pierre not to engage in full-contact training until 2 August. Middleweight "Sexyama" Yoshihiro Akiyama (14-2) came away from his Octagon debut versus "The Talent" Alen Belcher (14-6) with a split decision victory and fractured orbital bone that will keep him from returning also until 8 January unless cleared by an ophthalmologist. ...

After knocking Fighters.com's second-ranked light heavyweight "Sugar" Rashad Evans (13-1-1) silly at UFC 98 in Las Vegas in May, undefeated Fighters.com and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion "Dragon" Lyoto Machida (15-0) reigns atop the division with an awkward, frustrating style. In October, he'll defend his title from fifth-ranked "Shogun" Mauricio Rua (18-3) who's coming off a first-round KO of eighth-ranked "Iceman" Chuck Liddell (21-7).

UFC President Dana White has publicly pleaded for Liddell to retire. Liddell had barely woken up from his last knockout before the UFC put all Chuck Liddell merchandise on sale. But, is losing four out of five, three by knockout, a fitting end to a storied career? Does Liddell have one more big win in him so he can retire with dignity?

Evans and fourth-ranked "Rampage" Quinton Jackson (28-7) have been pegged to coach The Ultimate Fighter 10 and meet in the Octagon in December.

Third-ranked Forrest Griffin (16-5) has drawn the honor of finding out whether Fighters.com's Middleweight Champion "Spider" Anderson Silva (24-4) is ready for the big time at 205 next month in Philadelphia at UFC 101.

"I am sure [UFC Matchmaker] Joe Silva told Cain [Velasquez (6-0)] the same thing he told us," Fighters.com's sixth-ranked heavyweight Shane Carwin (10-0) posted at his blog Sunday: "Winner gets the title shot."

Cream of the UFC's young heavyweight crop, wrestlers Carwin and Velasquez will fight at UFC 104 in Los Angeles in October for the opportunity to challenge undisputed UFC champ Brock Lesnar (4-1), who beat-up Frank Mir (12-4) at UFC 100 in Las Vegas Saturday.

Carwin knocked out former UFC title challenger "Napao" Gabriel Gonzaga (10-4) last March in Columbus at UFC 96.
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This episode Reverend Turk and The Real Drew Hall break down the undercard of UFC 100 with Luke Thomas of bloodyelbow.com and we talk about the main card with Mark Chalifoux from MMA Stomping Grounds. This is a show not to be missed!!! Adding two new members to the Gospel congregation. Don't miss your chance to talk to these top notch mma reporters. [wpaudio url="http://www.fighters.com/MMAArchive/Episode.2.mp3" text="MMA Gospel Episode #2"] ...

Ultimate Fighter Nathan Diaz (9-5) will square off across the Octagon from lightweight banger "Young Assassin" Melvin Guillard (22-7-2) and former lightweight contender "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-2-1) will return from a 13-month hiatus versus "Bullly" Gray Maynard (7-0) at UFC's Fight Night in Oklahoma City 16 September.

Diaz and Guillard cross paths moving in opposite directions.

Diaz is on a two-fight losing streak, most recently getting manhandled in a UD loss to a relentless "Daddy" Joe Stevenson (30-9) at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale in Las Vegas last month.
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Former PRIDE Lightweight Champion "Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (28-6) will fight "Tractor" Rafaello Oliveira (8-1) at Affliction M-1 Global's Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August. Once considered one of MMA's premier lightweights, Gomi is one win removed from a two-fight losing streak, beginning with a split decision loss to Sergei Goliaev (9-6) in Sengoku last November and continuing through a tapout by ankle lock to Satoru Kitaoka (24-9-7) in an undeserved Sengoku lightweight title fight in January. In May, Gomi notched one in the win column in Tokyo with a knockout of Takashi Nakakura (10-2) in Shooto. "Tractor" is on a three-fight win streak, most recently scoring a UD over John Mahlow (12-10) at XFC 8 in Knoxville in April. The fight will round out the Trilogy's pay-per-view card. ...

Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion "Demolition Man" Alistair Overeem (27-10) will return to Strikeforce at Carano vs. Cyborg in San Jose 15 August to defend his title for the first time since he claimed the belt in a five-round unanimous decision over "Phenom" Vitor Belfort (17-8) at Revenge in San Jose in 2006.

It's also Overeem's return to the United States after getting TKO'd by "Shogun" Mauricio Rua (18-3) in the first round of PRIDE 33 in Las Vegas in 2007.

Overeem will be challenged by "Vai Cavalo" Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1), who hasn't fought since getting KO'd by Fighters.com's seventh-ranked heavyweight “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (8-1) at UFC 90 in Rosemont, west of Chicago, last October. Werdum wasn't signed to another UFC contract after the loss.
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Team Oyama heavyweight Shane Del Rosario (5-0) and Team Quest lightweight Dave Jansen (10-0) both remained undefeated in Seoul Saturday at M-1 Challenge Korea Presented by Affliction.

Del Rosario, who drew eyeballs in '07/'08 with three stoppages on ShoXC's Challenger Series, disposed of Maksim Grishin (1-2) in 21 seconds. Del Rosario has won all of his fights by stoppage.

Jansen took just a second longer to stop Amirkhan Mazihov (0-1) in a guillotine choke.
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Did you miss me? The much-anticipated, most thorough rankings in mixed martial arts returns with Fighters.com's July Heavyweight Rankings. Let's get right to it, shall we?

"Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) retains the Fighters.com heavyweight championship, which he's set to defend from ninth-ranked "Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett (20-5) at Affliction M-1 Global's Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August.

But, with Affliction's run thought to be at its end, Fighters.com worries that whomever wins will return to Japan to fight freaks and middleweights.
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"Hurricane" Gilbert Yvel's (31-13-1) 2:10 dismantling of "Rock" Pedro Rizzo (16-9) at Fight Force International's Ultimate Chaos in Biloxi Saturday has earned him a promotion to the pay-per-view broadcast of Affliction M-1 Global's Trilogy 1 August in Anaheim.

Yvel will fight "Headhunter" Paul Buentello (27-9), who was originally scheduled to fight "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia (24-5).

Buentello is coming off a third round TKO of "Baby Fedor" Kiril Sidellnikov (5-3) at Affliction's Day of Reckoning in Anaheim 24 January.