Matt Serra has been through the fire and climbed the mountain once already in his career.  If he beats Chris Lytle at UFC 119 this weekend, could he be back in the mix again in the UFC welterweight division title picture? In this video, go behind the scenes with Serra at his new state of the art MMA facility on Long Isalnd and listen to his concerns about fighting the red-hot Lytle in his hometown of Indianapolis.  Click through to watch the video. ...

Long Island based trainer, Ray Longo, has watched up close all the twists and turns of Matt Serra’s career, from his opening UFC loss via knockout to Shonie Carter, through helping his star student plot the right hand that devastated George St. Pierre to shock the MMA world and win the welterweight belt in 2008.  He has helped guide Serra’s recent career surge with a near finish of Matt Hughes and the KO of Frank Trigg.  Longo has been a key part of the incredible Matt Serra journey, which he labels a “storybook tale.”  The next chapter unfolds at UFC 119 as Serra squares off against Chris Lytle with Longo right by his side. In part one of this three part interview, Longo remembers the early days, early losses, and touches on the Lytle fight ahead.  In part two, (coming soon) he relives the glorious win over GSP and why Serra changed St. Pierre’s fighting style forever.  In part three we zero in on Chris Lytle and how Team Serra-Longo plans to beat the Indiana native at UFC 119. ...

2010 is drawing closer and closer to a close, and with UFC 118 now over and done with, there are only a handful of major-name events left for MMA in 2010. Despite that, I think the end of the year will have some of 2010’s best fights. There’s still a lot of great action left to look forward to, so here are my top 5 (officially announced) fights I’m looking forward to for the rest of 2010. ...

Top Canadian welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald, who had a strong showing against former WEC champion Carlos Condit at UFC 115 last June, will meet "The Ultimate Fighter" veteran and former contender Matt Brown at UFC 123. ...

UFC 119 recently received an impressive main event in the form of Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 2, and has quickly become a very interesting fight card filled with stars like the aforementioned main-event fighters, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Sean Sherk, and most recently, Chris “Lights Out” Lytle and Matter “The Terror” Serra. The scrappy veterans will take on each other once again, almost four years after they stepped inside the Octagon to crown the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 4: "The Comeback". Serra would go on to shock the world and beat Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship. Lytle would have an up-and-down career against mostly strong competition but nevertheless consistently entertained. ...

With several amazing come-from-behind victories and several all-out wars of attrition, UFC 116 may go down as the best MMA event of 2010. 116 had a little bit of everything: amazing knockouts, slick submissions, thrilling victories, and humbling defeats. Moving forward, here’s what I think the future holds for some of UFC 116’s big winners. ...

All fighters on the UFC 110 card in Sydney Saturday made weight. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (233.2 lbs./106 kg) vs. Cain Velasquez (242 lbs./110 kg) ...

The forthcoming UFC title fight between Fighters.com and UFC Welterweight Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (19-2) and tenth-ranked “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) might land in Sydney at UFC 110 February 21, UFC President Dana White hinted to MMA Junkie Radio Friday night. ...

Omaha welterweight Jake Ellenberger (20-4) was drafted by the UFC Wednesday to replace "Lights Out" Chris Lytle (27-17-5) versus "Natural Born Killer" Carlos Condit (23-5) at Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City 16 September, Fighters.com has confirmed.

Ellenberger told Fighters.com, "I'm stoked. It's my time!" He called the former WEC champ Condit a "great opponent."

Ellenberger knocked out Brazilian Top Team’s Marcelo Alfaia (6-5) in 42 seconds at Bellator 11 in Uncasville 12 June.
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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. ...

Welterweight "Lights Out" Chris Lytle (26-16-5) won a controversial unanimous decision over Brit "Relentless" Paul Taylor (9-4-1) at UFC 89 in Birmingham Saturday night by judges' scores of 29-28 twice and 30-72 once, all for Lytle. The British crowd booed the decision; and, Taylor was visibly stunned. After the win, Lytle said, "He landed some good things on me; I landed some good things on him.  You just never know what the judges are looking for.  Thankfully they were looking for what I did." Lytle dug several rights into Taylor's body in a first round fought mostly in the clinch.  Taylor countered with a knee to Lytle's body and an inside right hand. Taylor landed more frequently in the second round, staggering Lytle with a short right that convinced Lytle to shoot for the takedown.  Taylor wriggled free from a guillotine attempt and connected with a left hook.  Lytle went back to the body with his hands; and, Taylor followed to Lytle's body with a kick.  Taylor ended the round landing two knees to Lytle's body from the clinch. ...

All UFC 89 fighters made their weight today at the NIA for Saturday's card in Birmingham. "Count" Michael Bisping (16-1) 185 pounds v "Crippler" Chris Leben (18-4) 186 pounds "I'm glad you guys let me into your country," main event fighter Leben said at Thursday's press conference.  "I was a little worried on the plane." Leben was originally scheduled to fight Bisping in London 7 June, but opted to put to rest legal issues in Oregon stemming from an earlier DUI arrest to ensure a legal UK visa. But, the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of Brit Bisping, who told the press, "I am on a quest.  Losing this fight for me is not an option." Leben, wearing tight cornrows, chided his opponent, saying, "It seems to me that, when Michael Bisping fights, self-preservation is top on his list." A brawl would certainly benefit Leben.  Bisping's stand-up style is a bit more circle-and-poke, while Leben is happy to plant and throw bombs. ...

After Fighters.com's Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (17-2) defended his title from then top contender Jon Fitch (17-3) in Minneapolis 9 August, who better to challenge him next than...Fighters.com's Lightweight Champion "Prodigy" B.J. Penn (13-4-1)? On the gutsy unanimous decision loss, Fitch dropped three ranks to fifth in August's rankings.  However, to those who've called Fitch St. Pierre's "toughest challenge", Fighters.com reminds them that sixth-ranked "Terror" Matt Serra (9-5) knocked St. Pierre out in the first round in Houston 7 April, 2007. In fact, it was obvious in the stand-up exchanges between St. Pierre and Fitch that the 2007 knockout remains in the forefront of St. Pierre's mind as St. Pierre was more cautious than he had been in previous fights. But, rather than St. Pierre match-up versus Penn, Fighters.com would rather sanction a title fight between St. Pierre and the winner of the match-up between Fighters.com's new top contender "Pitbull" Thiago Alves (15-3) and seventh-ranked "Nightmare" Diego Sanchez (18-2) to be fought in Chicago 25 October. ...

SpikeTV will air UFC 89 for free on tape delay from Birmingham 18 October, the UFC officially announced Monday. The UFC also confirmed two more bouts on the card, between light heavyweights “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (13-4-1) and “The Truth” Brandon Vera (9-2), and between welterweights “Lights Out” Chris Lytle (25-16-5) and Paul Taylor (9-3-1). Fighters.com’s sixth-ranked Jardine looks to rebound from a 36-second knockout loss to fifth-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1) in May. Vera won a unanimous decision over Reese Andy (7-3) at Ultimate Fight Night 14 last week.  He is 1-0 since moving down a weight class. Lytle lost a unanimous decision in May to fourth-ranked Josh Koscheck (13-2). Taylor won a split decision over “Joker” Jess Liaudin (13-11) in June. ...

"For all you Rampage haters, you might as well get used to me," Fighters.com's Light Heavyweight Champion "Rampage" Quinton Jackson (28-6) announced to the crowd at the UFC 86 weigh-ins in Las Vegas Friday.  "I'ma be here for a long time," he added, then flashed the peace sign. Rampage weighed in at 205-pounds, as did eighth-ranked title challenger Forrest Griffin (15-4). Xtreme Couture's Griffin said, "It's nice to fight in your hometown.  Thank you, guys." Griffin smirked in the gaze of an intense Rampage stare down. All fighters on Saturday night's card made weight. Only lightweight Gleison Tibau (15-5) missed the mark, but by the allowed one pound at 156-pounds.  Tibau will fight "Daddy" Joe Stevenson (33-8). 6'4" lightweight Corey Hill (2-0) looked absolutely emaciated at 155-pounds. ...

Third-ranked "Pitbull" Thiago Alves (15-3) is the big mover in Fighters.coms's June Welterweight Rankings after, of course, crashing knee-first into the side of seventh-ranked Matt Hughes's (42-7) cranium in London 7 June. Alves established himself as the top contender to the winner between Fighters.com's Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (16-2) and second-ranked Jon Fitch (17-2), to be fought in Minneapolis 9 August. Hughes finds himself at a crossroads as confidants close to H.I.T. Squad have confided to Fighters.com that Hughes didn't prepare for his tussle with "Pitbull" with the determination that's marked his storied career. The day after Alves finished Hughes, ninth-ranked "The Goat" Nick Thompson (36-9-1) finished hard-punching "Maicon" Michael Costa (9-4) in Tokyo. Thompson is negotiating to fight eighth-ranked Jake Shields (20-4-1) for the EliteXC title, but tells Fighters.com, "I would really like the fight but I am not willing to fight below my value in order to make it happen." ...

Fighters.com's second-ranked heavyweight,current UFC co-Heavyweight Champion, and UFC Hall of Famer "The Natural" Randy Couture(16-8) spoke exclusively with Fighters.com from his Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas Monday afternoon. Couture graciously confronted and answered questions about his beef with the Zuffa, LLC and UFC President Dana White and third-ranked "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia's (24-4) and his own prospective fight with sixth-ranked "Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (27-1), shared opinions about fifth-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes (42-7), "Kimbo Slice" Kevin Ferguson (3-0), and Brock Lesnar (1-1), and made picks on future fights. Fighters.com: You've said you've accepted that you might get a bad court ruling and not fight again. Have you lost some competitiveness from being inactive for so long? The Natural: I still want to compete. I'm still in training as much as I can be with all this other stuff going on. I still seem to be able to hold my own, even with the lack of serious, hardcore training, with all the top guys that I have in the gym. I'm having fun being in the gym learning new tools, new skills and being there with a lot of the other guys that have been there for me, so I'm not too worried about that. The courts are going to do what the courts are going to do. We'll deal with it when it comes in. Fighters.com: Not many fighters have wives who also train. Does that give you both a different perspective and more understanding? ...

Hail the new Fighters.com welterweight king UFC Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (16-2). Many had no doubt that St. Pierre was the best at 170-pounds, but it was important for St. Pierre to win the top spot with revenge on "The Terror" Matt Serra (9-5) at UFC 83. The truth is that Serra looked no worse in defeat to "Rush" than future UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes (42-6) did in December.  Serra drops to the fourth spot. Hughes and Serra have a date to dance before the end of '08, but Hughes has been drafted into the UFC 85 main event to replace an injured "Iceman" Chuck Liddell (21-5) on the 02 Arena marquee. In London, Hughes faces sixth-ranked pup "Pitbull" Thiago Alves (14-3), who's on a St. Pierre-ish steamroll through the division with stoppages of "The Heat" Karo Parisyan (18-5), "Lights Out" Chris Lytle (25-15-5), Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-5), and Tony DeSouza (10-4). "Kos" Josh Koscheck (10-2), who moves up a spot on Serra's stoppage loss, will get a swing at Lytle in July, a true test of the third-ranked wrestlers grit and chin. Jake Shields (20-4-1) has had his EliteXC title fight with Drew Fickett (33-5) rescheduled again, this time to July.  Shields loses ground in the rankings as his 2006 unanimous decision over WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit (22-4) falls from his two-year record. In June, "The Goat" Nick Thompson (35-9-1) returns to Sengoku versus an as-yet unnamed opponent, but told Fighters.com, "For the right amount of pay, I'll fight Fedor or Jesus himself." At the end of May in Vegas, Japan's "Zenko" Yoshiyuki Yoshida (9-2) will debut in the UFC versus "War Machine Jon Koppenhaver (5-1) after an impressive run in his homeland. "Zenko" debuts on Fighters.com's top ten after "The Heat" Karo Parisyan (18-5) drops off because his two-year record lost a 2006 stoppage of Thompson. May Welterweight Rankings 1. "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (16-2) Since "Terror" struck at UFC 69, "Rush" has had to scrape pieces of Koscheck, Hughes, and Serra off the bottom of his feet on his steamroll back to the UFC belt many believe the 27-year old will wear for a generation. 2. Jon Fitch (17-2) While louder fighters have claimed title contendership, Fitch has quietly earned it with a stoppage of Alves and decision over Sanchez, plus UDs over tough Chris Wilson and Kuniyoshi Hironaka.  The wrestler is probably next in line for a UFC title shot. 3. "Kos" Josh Koscheck (10-2) After revenge over Sanchez, Koscheck was overwhelmed with a St. Pierre bouncing back from a loss. Like St. Pierre, “Kos” has all the physical tools to be a champion and absorbs new skills like a sponge. Time and continued top competition will tell. 4. "The Terror" Matt Serra (9-5) After knocking out the 170-pound division's heir apparent, St. Pierre, Serra was outclassed in their April '08 rematch.  However, Serra looked no worse in defeat than St. Pierre's two previous victims, Koscheck and Hughes. 5. Matt Hughes (42-6) Since getting KO’d by St. Pierre for the first time since ’01, Hughes hasn’t fought the same in a throw-away decision over Christ Lytle and another stoppage by St. Pierre. One wonders if he’s getting the same quality of training since leaving MFS. 6. "Pitbull" Thiago Alves (14-3) Alves has dealt 3 big stoppages to Karo Parisyan, Chris Lytle, and Kuniyoshi  Hironaka to plant himself firmly in the welterweight top ten, and only an ’06 TKO to Fitch keeps him from Fighters.com’s top five. This juggernaut will run into Hughes in June. 7. "Nightmare" Diego Sanchez (18-2) All the hype can’t replace a loss in the Octagon, and, in Sanchez’s case, two losses to Fitch and Koschek.  An ’06 decision over Karo Parisyan in one of the fights of that year proves he has the talent, but does he have the focus? 8. Jake Shields (20-4-1) Shields may be the world’s top welterweight, but a lack of competition outside the UFC keeps him from breaking through.  Still, he’s stopped all opponents in the last two years except in a unanimous decision over WEC champ Carlos Condit. 9. "The Goat" Nick Thompson (35-9-1) "The Goat" has bucked eleven straight challengers, ten by stoppage, since leaving the UFC after a TKO by Parisyan; and, though no top tenners, it's a list including Chris Wilson, Ansar Chalangov, Eddie Alvarez, and Fabricio Monteiro, all tough welterweights. 10. "Zenko" Yoshiyuki Yoshida (9-2) "Zenko" debuts in the UFC versus Jon Koppenhaver in May without an "L" in two years, all wins by stoppage. With overseas wins over Katsuya Inoue and Akira Kikuchi, Yoshida hopes to fare better than fellow Nipponese Kuniyoshi Hironaka. ...

The UFC has announced three additional fights on 5 July's UFC 86 card in Las Vegas. Fighters.com's fourth-ranked welterweight "Kos" Josh Koscheck (10-2) is set to face rugged vet "Lights Out" Chris Lytle (25-15-5). Both fighters come off exciting TKOs in their previous bouts. In February, Lytle ran roughshod over UFC debuting Kyle Bradley (13-5) in just 33 seconds. "Kos" and "McLovin" Dustin Hazelett (10-4) traded evenly for a round before Koschek tagged "McLovin" with punches and kicks 1:24 into round two in March. Hazelett's trainer, Jorge Gurgel (12-3), will fight 6'1" "Magrino" Cole Miller (13-3) at 86. Miller of Georgia comes off his first UFC loss to Jeremy Stephens (13-2), a second-round TKO in January. Gurgel won a unanimous decision over John Halverson (16-6) in March. Rising middleweight "Cachorrao" Ricardo Almeida (9-2) will face streaking "The Predator" Patrick Cote (12-4) on the card. Cote has won four straight, three consecutive by first-round stoppage.  Most recently "The Predator" devoured Andrew McFedries (6-3) in 1:44. Almeida returned to MMA after a four-year hiatus to submit Rob Yundt(6-1) in a guillotine choke in February. "Cachorrao" boasts wins over Fighters.com's eighth-ranked middleweight "Grabaka Hitman" Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) and UFC title contender Nathan Marquardt (26-7-2) in the early '90s. ...

Each of the following four fighters received a bonus of $60,000. KO of the Night: Chris Lytle Submission of the Night: Frank Mir Fight of the Night: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia  In addition, the following fighters in the co-main events were paid:  Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira = $200,000 Tim Sylvia = $100,000 Frank Mir = $80,000 Brock Lesnar = $250,000 ...

"That's why [Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira] is the best in the world," former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia proclaimed after suffering a guillotine submission loss to the Brazilian in the interim heavyweight title main event at UFC 81 Saturday night. The fight pitted former world champions from the UFC and PRIDE, but was overshadowed by the MMA debut of former NCAA and pro wrestling champion Brock Lesnar. Significance was also diminished by Randy Couture's departure from the UFC while holding the title after defeating Sylvia in March 2007. 6'8" Sylvia pot-shotted the Sao Paulo native from the opening ding and occasionally popped a power shot in Nogueira's mug, even dropping him with a combo in the first session and again in the second. The Miletich-trained "Maine-iac" fiercely dominated the opening two rounds. Stubborn Nogueira had no quit, even as his face began to swell at the end of Sylvia's tremendous reach. "Minotauro" attempted takedowns; but, Sylvia's balance is exceptional for a big man. The train from Maine derailed in the third when Nogueira's notorious resilience muscled the battle to the mat. "He went for the guillotine, which we knew he was going to do," a distraught Sylvia explained post-fight. Nogueira became the first fighter to hold both UFC and PRIDE heavyweight titles when Tim Sylvia tapped out at 1:28 of the third round. "That's what he does to everybody," Sylvia echoed the sentiments of MMA faithful who've watched a battered Big Nog pull out seemingly impossible victories before. Nogueira's victory sets up a possible first defense versus French kickboxer Cheick Kongo, if Kongo can beat Heath Herring in Columbus next month.  But, both Fabricio Werdum and Andrei Arlovski have claims to the top contender-ship too. Sylvia may be headed for a history-loaded rematch with the man who broke his arm: Frank Mir. Another former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Mir, defended MMA's honor against powerhouse rookie Brock Lesnar by submitting him in a kneebar at 1:30 of the first round. Mir got dumped on his ass early by the massive Minnesotan who hovered and hammered fists and elbows. "He was so strong!"  Mir explained in the locker room. Tactic and technique determined the outcome though.  "It wasn't a textbook, perfect finish, but I ended up doing it 80% right." 80% is all it takes versus an inexperienced opponent.  As Lesnar stood to yank his arm from an armbar attempt, Mir secured a leg and rolled into a kneebar. "Frank [Mir] and I have some unfinished business," Tim Sylvia had taunted at a pre-fight press conference. The high profile "W" for Mir makes that rematch marketable. At 185-pounds, Nathan Marquardt entered the Octagon off a loss to division champ Anderson Silva to fight 79-17-5 Jeremy Horn, a late replacement opponent. The veteran Horn absorbed punishment on the mat before nearly catching Marquardt in a gogoplata in the first round. It was Marquardt, however, who applied a guillotine choke during a scramble and tapped Horn at 1:37 of the second round. After a four-year hiatus from MMA, Ricardo Almeida invoked nostalgia over his earlier successes by submitting another late replacement, undefeated Alaskan Rob Yundt, in a guillotine choke at 1:08 of round one. Almeida is a welcome addition to the scant 185-pound division. Lightweights Tyson Griffin and Gleison Tibau tussled for three exciting rounds to open the televised card. The shorter fighter, Griffin, popped Tibau with precise punches while Tibau seemed to take down the wrestler at will. In the end, the judges saw it unanimously for Tyson Griffin, though Gleison Tibau lost no one's respect. "Lights Out" Chris Lytle treated 13-5 Kyle Bradley's head like a speed bag in a 33-second TKO victory. Light heavyweight Tim Boetsch reminded MMA fans of "Tank" Abbott in tossing Oklahoman David Heath to the mat and pummelling a TKO out of him at 4:52 of round one. Terry Martin suffered another disappointing defeat, this time in a unanimous decision to "The Beastman" Marvin Eastman. The event opened with a spirited lightweight scrap won in split decision by Robert Emerson over Japan's Keita Nakamura. ...