Former ufc Welterweight Championship contender Dan Hardy was controversial before he posted an internet rant railing against UFC fighters who do nothing but score takedowns and do nothing with them. But the resulting fervor surrounding his comments quickly added to Hardy’s bad-boy image. Nate Marquardt and Shinya Aoki would get in on the action, with Marquardt decrying Hardy while Aoki agreed with him. Well, fans and friends, prepare for Round 2 in the “Wrestling in MMA” debate, since Dan Hardy recently posted another heated column once again attacking wrestlers in the UFC, and he even took some shots at Marquardt and internet journalists. ...

Nate Marquadt returns to the Octagon Wednesday night against Rousimar Palhares in Austin, Texas needing a win to stay in the 185lb title picture.  On the UFC Fight Night media conference call last week, Marquardt spoke in detail about his concerns fighting Palhares, chances for a title shot and much more, including a retort to Dan Hardy for his comments about wrestlers.  Here are Marquardt's highlights from the call. ...

In the recent fervor regarding ufc fighter Dan Hardy’s rant against wrestlers and Nate Marquardt’s subsequent response, another prominent Mixed Martial Artist has thrown his name into the mix and let his opinion be known on the controversial “wrestling in MMA” debate. One of the biggest draws in Japanese MMA both as a squeaky-clean boy idol and a villainous breaker of arms, current DREAM and WAMMA Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki made his stance public in an interview with MMA Fighting. ...

It's no secret that if you're not from the UK, you most likely are not a supporter of Michael Bisping. Since his inception in the ufc, Bisping has always portrayed a sort of arrogant confidence that most people have either come to love or hate. None the less, he has proven to be one of, if not the biggest draw in the UK market, which has proven evident to several sold out shows in England. However, jabbing words at your own countryman probably won't sit well with said fans--especially when your taking pot shots at another endeared fighter in welterweight contender, Dan Hardy. ...

Two days ago I reported on ufc fighter Dan Hardy’s recent column where he attacked UFC fighters who use their wrestling backgrounds to gain a dominant position on the ground and then proceed to do nothing in order to grind out a judge’s decision. Apparently his words didn’t sit well with Nate Marquardt, who headlines the upcoming UFC Fight Night 22 event against submission specialist Rousimar Palhares. “Nate the Great” spoke at length to MMAWeekly.com regarding the situation. ...

It’s one of the biggest debates going in today’s decision-filled world of big fights not living up to their potential: why are wrestlers rewarded for taking their opponents to the ground and doing nothing? Depending on whom you, ask there’s a growing feeling of resentment (some have even entered the land of legitimate hatred) towards decision-heavy wrestlers like Jon Fitch, Gray Maynard, and to some extent, even Georges St. Pierre. In a recent column with This is Nottingham, former #1 Welterweight Contender Dan Hardy went on a lengthy tirade on the subject. Hardy was quick to vehemently criticize wrestlers going to the ground and stalling out the fight. Here’s what he had to say. ...

When one goes to the buffet at the Mandalay Bay Las Vegas on a Sunday morning, you look forward to tasting a range of great offerings, from the French Toast and Filet Mignon to endless dessert options.  The diner is attracted to the diversity of possibilities and chance to execute on those options.  If all that was offered were toast and potatoes, the allure would not be the same. Now, what does this have to do with MMA?  Well, it serves as a metaphor of sorts.  When UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and President Dana White are contemplating a match-up, I can imagine all the possibilities they might envision the two different fighters will bring to the Octagon and the array of skills that could be on display for fans to consume.   On paper, I am sure they thought George St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy would thrill with Hardy throwing bombs and St. Pierre working his diverse tool kit of stand-up and ground skills.  On paper, I am sure they thought Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves would excite with Alves' dangerous hands vs. the ground game of Fitch. On paper, I am sure Silva and White even thought the range of talents between Andre Winner and Nick Lentz at UFC 118 would offer a national Spike-TV audience lots to consume across the spectrum from wrestling to head kicks. As it turned out, all those fights gave fans was a great big serving of toast and potatoes. ...

No matter what your favorite promotion is, it’s fun to play “armchair booker” once in a while and try to envision a fantasy card that brings all of your favorite fighters from competing promotions under one roof to truly determine who the best in the world is. The UFC did just that, for the most part, when they bought out the legendary PRIDE FC promotion in 2007. But with the arrival and rise of the Strikeforce promotion, fans are once again creating fantasy match-ups. To differentiate myself, today’s list will feature five matches between Strikeforce and the UFC that specifically does not include any of the obvious choices, like Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar or Cung Le vs. Anderson Silva. While they're fun debates to have, they've been discussed for quite a while now. With this list, I’m going for a little something different. Some picks may surprise you, but here are my top five (obvious examples excluded) Strikeforce vs. UFC fights. ...

Former UFC fighter Rory Markham, following his release from the UFC and recovering from amounting injuries, was recently signed to budding promotion, Bellator Fighting Championships. Bellator has done an excellent job in bringing in relevant talent to their fold, while giving their home-grown fighters some credibility, should they prove successful in defeating some of the imported, former UFC standouts. Markham will forever be remembered in infamy, when he knocked out Brodie Farber in his UFC debut in 2009, with a vicious head kick. After the initial UFC outing, he struggled in performances against contender Dan Hardy and "The Ultimate Fighter" season five winner, Nate Diaz. ...

Despite being a top-ranked UFC welterweight, Jon Fitch always seems to be the one guy that everybody knows about but nobody really pays attention to. One of the best wrestlers in the UFC regardless of weight divisions, Fitch has twelve victories inside of the world’s biggest MMA organization, and has only lost three times in his eight-year, twenty-six fight career. Even with one championship fight under his belt and another on the horizon so long as he can get past his UFC 117 match-up with fellow former contender Thiago Alves, the aura and marketability of Fitch pales in comparison to division kingpin and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. As a fan of Fitch, it’s time for a little tough love. So here are three things I think Jon Fitch needs to do in order to become a real UFC star. ...

5-time UFC competitor, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, though there had been talks, is now officially signed with budding promotion Bellator Fighting Championships. ...

By John Moody As fans filed out of the Bell Centre after UFC 113 in Montreal, a very unexpected encounter between bitter rivals took place in the locker room of welterweight Marcus Davis (17-6).  He had just defeated Jonathan Goulet (22-11) to break a two fight losing skid and rejuvenate his career. Davis requested that UFC officials bring Dan Hardy into his locker room for a meeting.  UFC brass had previously kept these two fighters apart at all costs, given the rancor that existed stemming from their controversial June 2009 fight.  As die-hard MMA fans know, Hardy waged a crude psychological war of words in advance of his UFC 99 fight with Davis.  A smack talk battle that ultimately lured Davis into saying things he now regrets and feels adversely affected his performance.  Coupled with Davis losing the decision to Hardy in a fight he adamantly believes he won, the effects from this period of time lingered with the Irish Hand Grenade. ...

“Terror” Matt Serra (10-6) will host the pre-UFC 111 Fight Club Q&A in Newark March 26, the UFC announced Wednesday. UFC Fight Club Q&A is a Q&A session held with a UFC fighter before each event.  It's attended by fans who pay to join the UFC Fight Club and media. ...

UFC welterweight “Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis (16-6) hasn't made a lot of headlines lately, losing two consecutive fights versus 170-pound contenders. But, Monday his Twitter post about his opponent in one of those two loses, fifth-ranked “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6), reverberated through the MMA press.  Davis Tweeted, "I hope Dan Hardy dies of AIDS." ...

I thought I would sit down and make my picks for UFC 109 today. We usually make picks on MMA Gospel Radio and we made a few with The Fight Pastor however I have had more time to think and these are my official picks, enjoy. ...

UFC 111 will go down in history as the first ever broadcast pay-per-view event fully in Spanish. This move leads me to believe that an event live from Mexico can't be far behind.The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced this all Spanish broadcast on Monday complete with new UFC announcers Troy Santiago and Victor Davila. ...

There were no fights in the mixed martial arts welterweight top ten in January and, therefore, no movement in the rankings for February. Fighters.com and UFC Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2) and fifth-ranked “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) are set to battle for the top spot at UFC 111 in Newark March 27.  Predictions range far and wide, from Hardy has one foot in the grave to Hardy is the man to upset St. Pierre like "The Terror” Matt Serra (9-6) di at UFC 69 in Houston in 2007. ...

After getting thoroughly destroyed in his fight against Fighters.com and UFC lightweight champion "The Prodigy" BJ Penn (15-5-1), tenth-ranked lightweight "Nightmare" Diego Sanchez (21-3) has made the decision to move back to welterweight. One can only assume he has come to the conclusion that staying at lightweight will only lead to him being the gatekeeper to title shots against BJ since he obviously had nothing to offer BJ in the one-sided drubbing. Unfortunately the move to back to welterweight does not look any brighter for Diego and he will find himself in the position of the proverbial stepping stone. ...

Fighters.com's fifth-ranked welterweight “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) has one chance at beating Fighters.com and UFC Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2) at UFC 111 in Newark March 27.  It's a slim chance, despite the hype that is being spun to convince us that the Hardy versus St. Pierre matchup is competitive. ...

"I finish fights," declared Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked lightweight “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (12-4) soon after losing a unanimous decision to then UFC lightweight champion “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1) at UFC 64 in Las Vegas in 2006. ...

Fighters.com's ninth-ranked welterweight “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) took one small step ahead in the 170-pound rankings this month after winning a three-round unanimous decision over now tenth-ranked “Quick” Mike Swick (14-3) at UFC 105 in Manchester November 14 and a giant leap into a title fight versus Fighters.com and UFC Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2), probably at UFC 110 in Sydney February 21. ...

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. ...

Fighters.com’s tenth-ranked welterweight “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) won a unanimous decision over ninth-ranked “Quick” Mike Swick (14-3) by judges' scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28 once at UFC 105 at M.E.N. Arena in Manchester Saturday. After the win, a fresh-looking Hardy said, "Yeah, that was a tough fight. I did what I could, England.  I did what I could.  Sorry I didnt get the finish, but we got there in the end." ...

Fighters.com will post UFC 105 results Saturday night begining at 8:00 PM ET. UFC 105 takes place at M.E.N. Arena in Manchester November 14 and features a light heavyweight main event between “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-10) and “Truth” Brandon Vera (11-3). ...

Fighters.com and UFC Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2) awaits the winner between ninth-ranked “Quick” Mike Swick (14-2) and tenth-ranked “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (22-6) at UFC 105 at M.E.N. Arena in Manchester November 14.  According to UFC President Dana White, St. Pierre will defend his title versus the winner in Britain. ...

The UFC unveiled Tuesday a ten-fight card for UFC 105 at M.E.N. Arena in Manchester November 14 with a previously announced light heavyweight main event between Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked heavyweight “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-10) and “Truth” Brandon Vera (11-3) atop the bout sheet. ...

UFC welterweight “Quick” Mike Swick (14-2) and “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (22-6) will matchup to determine the top contender to UFC welterweight champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (19-2), UFC President Dana White confirmed Monday to AOL FanHouse's Mike Chiapetta. ...

UFC welterweight Matt Brown (10-7) relented Wednesday afternoon and told Fighters.com, “I guess I'm allowed to say now since it's everywhere. Yes, I'm fighting [The Ultimate Fighter 9 champ "Lightning" James Wilks (4-2)] at UFC 105 in Manchester 14 November." MMA Junkie reported the possible match-up Wednesday morning after Fighters.com reported Monday that Brown had lined up an opponent other than former UFC welterweight champion “Terror” Matt Serra (9-6), a rumor that had been reported by MMA Weekly. I guess the magic number is "3": It takes three reporters to unveil an undercard fight on an event three months out. ...

Fighters.com's ninth-ranked light heavyweight “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) will likely return to the Octagon at UFC 105 in Manchester 14 November, announced UFC President Dana White Friday. Silva lost a UD to former UFC middleweight champ "Ace" Rich Franklin (26-4) in 195-pound catch weight matchup at UFC 99 in Cologne 13 June, rendering him 1-3 in the Octagon and 1-5 in his last six fights. Since returning to the big show after PRIDE's collapse in 2007, Silva has had difficulty maintaining 205 pounds, though in PRIDE he fought as heavy as 220-pounds in the Open Weight Grand Prix. After his loss to Franklin, Silva announced he will debut as a middleweight in his next matchup. ...

UFC welterweight prospect "Outlaw" Dan Hardy (20-6) won a split decision over Akihiro Gono (28-13-7) at UFC 89 in Birmingham Saturday night by judges scores of 29-28 twice for Gono and 29-28 once for Gono. "First experience in the UFC...," Hardy chuckled after his victory.  "You know, it takes a little bit out of you.  It's a different kind of relief to any other, you know?  Eighteen weeks of work.  A lot of hard work, a lot of training, you know, a lot of sacrificing, it's paid off.  That's the big thing." ...