» Fighter: Joachim Hansen

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fans should prepare to hunker down for what will be a very long night of fights starting tonight at 8 PM EST/ 6 PST. UFC on Versus is the first event followed closely behind by five hours of DREAM 13.

Read More About MMA Marathon with UFC on Versus and DREAM 13 Tonight…

Bellator has called a video press conference for Monday at 3 PM EST that streams live from Bellator.com. This press conference is expected to be when they announce the signing of former UFC lightweight “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-3-1).

Read More About Bellator to sign Roger Huerta…

Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked lightweight “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0) and Nate Diaz (10-5) will rematch an The Ultimate Fighter 5 exhbition match tonight at UFC Fight Night 20 in Fairfax, Virginia.

Read More About UFC’s Gray Maynard Deserves Title Shot With Win Over Nate Diaz – Fighters.com January Lightweight Rankings…

As the new year is fast approaching I sat pondering how far this sport of ours had come since it’s beginning. Then the future of the sport started to permeate my thoughts. Where will we see it go in the coming year? Will it fade a little bit or will we see it continue to forge ahead and make it’s way into the upper echelons of the sporting world? I am a mma radio host as well as a journalist but first and foremost I am a mixed martial arts fan and I have three wishes for the coming year.

Read More About DREAM Fighters in the U.S, Madison Square Garden and Judging Changes: My Three Wishes for 2010…

UFC lightweight title contender “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (21-2) debuted at tenth in Fighters.com’s Lightweight Rankings in November due mostly to former top tenner Katsunori Kikuno’s (5-1-1) stoppage loss to third-ranked Eddie Alvarez (16-2) at DREAM.12 in Osaka October 25.

Read More About Fighters.com November Lightweight Rankings – The Rise of Diego Sanchez…

Fighters.com and UFC Lightweight Champion “Prodigy” BJ Penn (14-5-1) will defend his titles from unranked, but popular The Ultimate Fighter 1 champion “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (21-2) at UFC 107 at the FedExForum in Memphis December 12, the UFC officially announced Tuesday.

Read More About Fighters.com’s October Lightweight Rankings…

Fighters on DREAM.11’s card weighed-in in Yokohama Monday in advance of Tuesday night’s fight card.  All fighters made the weight limits.

Read More About DREAM.11 Weigh-In Results…

Fighters.com’s fourth-ranked lightweight and DREAM champion “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7) will fight tenth-ranked “JZ” Gesias Cavalcante (12-1-1) at Dynamite!! in Saitama 31 December, the FEG officially announced Wednesday.

Hansen won the grand prix title in July with a first-round TKO of ninth-ranked “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (15-3).

Hansen was third-ranked Eddie Alvarez’s (13-1) replacement when Alvarez sustained a cut during the semifinals.

Cavalcante last fought in April, losing the unanimous decision to Aoki.

Hansen and Cavalcante have faced each other in the past: Hansen won the majority decision at a Shooto event in July 2004.

Dynamite!!, Fighting and Entertainment Group’s annual year-end event, will take place 31 December at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

FEG President Sadaharu Tanikawa and DREAM president Keiiti Sasahara made the official announcement Saturday.

No matches were announced, but the Dynamite!! card will feature ten to fifteen fights, most of which will be DREAM MMA matches with the remainder being K-1 matches.

At the press conference but not confirmed to fight were Fighters.com’s fourth-ranked lightweight and DREAM Champion “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (19-7-1), ninth-ranked lightweight “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-3), and “Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakuraba (24-11-1).

Fighters.com’s Lightweight Champion “Prodigy” B.J. Penn’s (13-4-1) three-fight run at lightweight will end in Las Vegas 31 January when Penn returns to welterweight to fight Fighters.com’s Welterweight Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (17-2) for the UFC welterweight title.

Why?

(Well, besides the obvious jack the UFC stands to profit on the main event.)

But, UFC President Dana White himself has claimed Penn’s best weight class is 155 pounds; and, Penn made much ballyhoo about getting serious and slimming down to 155 pounds, his natural fighting weight.

Penn has never fought above 155 with a physique that could be described as anything but “pudgy”.

Penn is also 0-2 in his last two 170-pound fights in the Octagon, which must make UFC welterweight contenders wonder if they can get some Vaseline.

In Saitama, north of Tokyo, 24 August, top lightweight contender “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (29-3) won a unanimous decision versus tough, but relatively unknown Korean champ Seung Hwan Bang (5-2).

Read More About Fighters.com’s September Lightweight Rankings…