An exciting lightweight match up has been added to the seemingly stacked UFC 127 card, which will be taking place in February of next year, in Las Vegas, Nev. The headliner, a rumored bout pitting UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva against former teammate Vitor Belfort is tentatively scheduled for the event, as well as light heavyweight bouts pitting former champions Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin against one another, as well as Ryan Bader versus phenom, Jon "Bones" Jones. Said lightweight match up, which will be Kenny Florian against Evan Dunham, is a fight that no true mixed martial arts fan would want to pass up. ...

Marcus Aurelio was primed as one of the leading men to win the inaugural Shine Fights Grand Prix lightweight tournament for this Friday. However, the American Top Team product has recently pulled out of the tournament--an 8-man one night tourney featuring notables Drew Fickett, "Krazy Horse", and Richard Crunkilton among others--citing a lingering elbow injury. Ironically enough, though Aurelio said that the Shine Fights execs knew of him injury for over two weeks now, the Brazilian claims he still has intentions of facing grappling ace Shinya Aoki in DREAM 16 on September 25th. ...

As DREAM 16 looms closer, a bout pitting the DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki against UFC and Pride veteran Marcus Aurelio, which was announced just recently, can be disbanded just as quickly. ...

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Thales Leites (14-3) and welterweight “Barn Cat” Tamdan McCrory (11-3) have been released by the UFC after split decision losses at UFC 101 in Philadelphia Saturday, according to multiple sources. “Legionarius” Alessio Sakara (14-7), who should've amounted to busy work for the Brazilian, upset Leites in a three-round split decision, rendering him with consecutive disappointing losses. Leites paired with UFC middleweight champion "Spider" Anderson Silva (25-4) at UFC 97 in Montréal 18 April to engage in the most disappointing Octagon main event of the year. Leites refused to engage MMA's most feared striker and several times fell to his back inviting the champion into his guard, which Silva refused. ...

ATT lightweight "Maximus" Marcus Aurélio (18-7) will return to the UFC at 102 in Portland 29 August versus Xtreme Couture's Evan Dunham (7-0), Fighters.com has confirmed. Aurélio was originally scheduled to fight Carlo Prater (24-7-1) at Shine II in Miami 4 September, but has cancelled the fight to return to the Octagon. Aurélio replaces Matt Veach (8-0) and tapped Joey Gorczynski (13-7) in a rear naked choke at 5150 Combat League in Oklahoma 27 June. Undefeated Dunham knocked out Per Eklund (14-4-1) in his UFC debut at 95 in London 19 February. ...

"Marcus [Aurelio] hasn't been cut from the UFC,” American Top Team President Dan Lambert told Fighters.com Thursday.  “He hasn't had the greatest record in his last couple of fights; so, it wouldn't be a shock if he were let go.  The UFC has a crowded roster of fighters, but they wouldn't let Marcus go without speaking to us first.  So, we haven't been notified of it.” The report that lightweight "Maximus" Marcus Aurelio (16-7) was cut by the UFC appeared at Five Ounces of Pain Wednesday. Lambert continued, "I actually called [UFC Matchmaker] Joe Silva when I saw some of the reports that were released about Marcus being cut and Joe said he hadn't even gotten around to considering Marcus's next fight yet.  He said he was obviously not doing anything without talking to me first.  And, this rumor certainly has nothing to do with the video game situation that has also been reported today.” Lambert dispelled rumors that American Top Team was in the same boat with American Kickboxing Association, who UFC President Dana White blacklisted from the Octagon in a report at Yahoo!Sports. ...

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. ...

"Maximus" Marcus Aurelio (16-6) will replace Gleison Tibau (15-6) versus former American Top Team teammate Hermes Franca (18-7) in Chicago 25 October. Tibau suffered a shoulder injury while training for the fight. Aurelio lost a unanimous decision to Tyson Griffin (12-1) in Las Vegas 5 July. Aurelio and Franca trained together at American Top Team north of Miami before Franca left the camp. ...

From TUF to top! New UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) demoralized and upset former Champ "Rampage" Quinton Jackson (29-6) by unanimous decision Saturday night in Las Vegas. "This is the greatest night of my life," Griffin said after toppling the odds. Though Jackson won the first round by staggering Griffin with a left, then dropping the challenger with a right uppercut, Griffin laid the groundwork for his decision victory by whittling away at Jackson's lead leg with low kicks. “He jacked my leg up,” Jackson admitted. In the second round, Griffin buckled the champ with a leg kick and passed to mount on the mat, grinding elbows into Rampage's head, but doing little damage. Rampage limped into round three searching for a knockout, but managed only a combination that Griffin weathered, though he admitted, "Every punch that motherfucker threw hurt.” Jackson scored a fourth-round takedown; but, Griffin wrapped a leg triangle, then transitioned to an omoplata when Jackson freed himself from the triangle. Jackson stood out of the submission and cracked Griffin with a right hand, opening a cut on the challenger's right eyelid, then followed with a left as the bell ended the round. It was back-and-forth and both fighters felt they needed the final round to win; but, Jackson seemed disappointed by the situation, while Griffin was inspired. Griffin got back to game plan in the fifth round, stinging Rampage's lead leg, as Jackson threw desperate haymakers without landing. The judges scored the fight 48-46 twice and 49-46 once for Griffin. Fighters.com scored it 48-46 for Griffin, our new champion. “He whupped my ass,” Jackson admitted after the battle; but, Griffin said, "It was close and I think we’re gonna have to do it again.” ...

"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. ...

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? ...

Xtreme Couture lightweight prospect Tyson Griffin (11-1) confirmed today that he's been matched-up versus American Top Team veteran "Maximus" Marcus Aurelio (16-5) at UFC 86 5 July in Vegas. Griffin showed-off improved striking prowess versus over-sized 155-pounder Gleison Tibau (15-5) in February, earning a close unanimous decision. Since debuting in the UFC with a loss to "The Carpenter" Clay Guida (23-9), "Maximus" has peeled off two straight wins, needing only 16 seconds to submit "Are You Ready?" Ryan Roberts in an armbar at Ultimate Fight Night last week. Griffin hasn't earned a stoppage since his UFC debut in 2006, but fights every round non-stop.  Always dangerous Aurelio packs wins over "The Fireball  Kid" Takanori Gomi (28-3), "No Love" Rich Celementi (30-12-1), and "Ashikan Judan" Masakazu Imanari onto his ledger. Both fighters flirt with UFC title contention and will add their name to that promotion's deep list of top contenders with a win over the other. ...

"KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) finished fellow Bostonian lightweight "J-Lau" Joe Lauzon (16-4) in a vicious pounding from the full mount at 3:28 of round two in the main event of Ultimate Fight Night Live in Denver tonight. The former title challenger from Sityodtong, Florian, dominated the quirky computer tech. "KenFlo" opened a gash on the back of Lauzon's head with elbows from his full guard in the first round, but was warned by referee Herb Dean for striking behind the head. It was a call Dean missed while refereeing a lightweight fight between "Cleat" Rich Crunkilton (16-2) and Sergio Gomez (7-2) at last week's Las Vegas WEC event. After the stand-up, Lauzon clinched for a takedown and stepped over Florians body in half-guard for a knee bar that turned into a Achilles lock that Florian yanked free from. Lauzon snatched an ankle again and reclined into a heel hook that Florian was again able to wriggle free from to end the round. The frantic mat work and elevation exhausted "J-Lau" for the second round and Florian was able to score a takedown into full mount that Lauzon never bucked free from. Florian poured on a cocktail of elbows, straights, and hammerfists from the mount, but Lauzon defended.  Dean called an end to the fight after it was clear Lauzon was to spent to transition out of the bad spot. In a grueling war game between undefeated wrestlers, "The Bully" Gray Maynard (5-0) won a decisive unanimous decision over "The Answer" Frank Edgar (8-1). Maynard set the pace in the first round by stuffing Edgar's takedown attempts and deciding when he'd take the inevitable wrestling match to the mat. Edgar made it a scrap in the second round with crisp 1-2 combos that scored, but Maynard continued to stuff "The Answer's" shot and score his own powerful takedowns, though neither fighter did much more than molest the other on the mat. Edgar was gassed by round three and the bigger "Bully" slammed Edgar three times to convince all three judges he was dominant. Earlier in the night, "Rumble" Anthony Johnson (5-1) pummeled TUF finalist Tom Speer (9-3) over 51 seconds, knocking home the stoppage "W" with a clean straight right that slumped Speer against the cage. "I'm crunk right now, I'm real crunk," said Johnson after the fight. Johnson began the end with a left kick to Speer's head as the wrestler attempted to shoot, followed by a knee that backed Speer to the cage.   Speer was out on his feet when he absorbed the death blow. In a welterweight clash, "The Pitbull" Thiago Alves (14-3) crumpled "The Heat" Karo Parisyan (18-5) with a left knee strike to Parisyan's head in the second round as Parisyan sought the clinch. At 34-seconds of the round, referee Steve Mazzagatti dove across the downed fighter as he defended Alves's follow-up pounding. "The referee did a good job," Alves claimed after Parisyan disputed the stoppage.  "He was out!" Parisyan had won round one with deft, one-off striking versus the American Top Team trained kickboxer, who appeared wary of Parisyan's takedowns.  In his UFC debut last February, "The Barbarian" Tim Boetsch (7-2) surprised David Heath (7-3) with an onslaught ending in a first-round Boetsch TKO. Tonight, "The Hammer" Matt Hamill (4-1) weathered Boetsch's first round avalanche of strikes to reveal "The Barbarian" couldn't continue his barrage passed the first five minutes. Hamill began the fight with a powerful double-leg takedown, but couldn't capitalize before the referee stood the fighters. Boetsch proved effective with a repeating knee strike that split Hamill's lip like a ripe peach, splashing blood across Hamill's chest. In round two, Boetsch heaved heavily from his corner.  He shot for a single-leg takedown and held Hamill's leg as the champion wrestler hovered over him hammering punches.  Boetsch rolled into guard, but had nothing left as "The Hammer" finished him at 1:25 with undefended plugs to Boetsch's face. Fast-rising Nathan Diaz (9-2) submitted Kurt Pellegrino (11-4) in an air-tight leg triangle choke in the second round of their undercard match, flashing double middle fingers in the air as Pellegrino tapped helplessly. Diaz was cut on his right eyelid by Pellegrino punches in a first round controlled on the mat by Pellegrino. Pellegrino dumped Diaz at will and hammered punches and elbows inside Diaz's full- and half-guard.  Pellegrino passed to side control and pinned Diaz's arms, hammering Diaz's unprotected face to open the cut. But, durable Diaz escaped a lost first round. The second round continued as the first, with Diaz getting dumped to the mat by Pellegrino.  This time, Diaz ran his guard up Pellegrino's back and submitted the lightweight in a leg triangle at 3:06 of the round. "He shouldn't have pinned me down like that," Diaz scolded Pellegrino after the hard-won "W".  In the televised card's first fight, "The Assassin" Houston Alexander (8-3) got touched by "The Sandman" James Irvin (14-4) in the first exchange of their light heavyweight match. Alexander was beaten to the punch by a right Superman punch from Irvin as Alexander launched his own right cross. Alexander fell to the mat and Irvin followed with a right exclamation point to Alexander's noggin as referee Steve Mazzagatti dove to Alexander's rescue at :08 of the fight, tying a UFC record for quickest KO. "I was still conscious," Alexander repeated after the stoppage. Amidst boos, Irvin challenged, "We can do it again right now.  If you want to go out into the parking lot, we can do it right now."  In untelevised fights, "The Dentist" Josh Neer (24-6-1) won a unanimous decision over "Dinyero" Din Thomas (20-8), who was returning from a knee injury in his last outing.  "Maximus" Marcus Aurelio (16-5) submitted lightweight Ryan Roberts (8-3) 16 seconds into the fight. "Pitbull" Manvel Gamburyan (8-2) submitted Jeffrey Cox (9-5) in guillotine choke at 1:41 of the first round. "The Carpenter" Clay Guida (23-9) TKO'd lightweight Samy Schiavo (10-5) at 4:15 of round one. Finally, welterweight George Sotiropoulos (9-2) TKO'd Roman Mitichyan (5-2) 2:24 into round two. ...