Journalists sometimes make mistakes. In the rush to get to the next big story as quickly as possible, sometimes details get overlooked and the truth gets obscured or even outright forgotten. ufc star Matt Brown likely had a fun few hours when he first got hold of an online report stating that he had been released from his UFC contract. While that turned out not to be the case, I’ve got to wonder if it was sound logic to begin with. Here are all the details. ...

According to whom you ask, former ufc star and winner of the eighth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” Efrain Escudero either got exactly what he deserved or a unique form of cruel and unusual punishment when he was released from the UFC less than two months ago after coming in overweight and losing to surging upstart Charles Oliveira. Dana White was quoted as saying that Escudero was released because he “got comfortable” and hadn’t “gone after it” in his last several fights, while the man himself said that his abrupt firing simply doesn’t make sense. But the past is now officially the past: “Hecho in Mexico” has a new home, and I’m almost positive that it’s not the promotion anyone expected him to sign with. ...

Since the show’s inception, the ufc has made a clear effort to protect and continue to employ the notable fighters from the long-running UFC reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter”, especially the winners of the various seasons. Never was this more apparent than in the case of Keith Jardine, who lost four fights in a row before getting the boot. But that chain of protection was recently broken when the UFC released Efrain Escudero following his loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night: “Marquardt vs. Palhares”. It’s been a little over a month since Escudero was shockingly handed his pink slip, and according to “Hecho in Mexico”, he remains baffled at the UFC’s decision to release him. ...

Heading into his ufc 124: “St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2” fight with Jim Miller, young gun Charles Oliveira has been gaining a considerable amount of momentum. His two-year, fourteen-fight career is completely unblemished, with not a loss to his name, and that includes two fights in the UFC, the best and most competitive MMA promotion in the world. Oliveira recently beat formerly-famed and (at the time of the fight) grossly overweight Efrain Escudero, the former “Ultimate Fighter” winner that had at one time been a big part of the UFC’s drive into Mexico. In a recent interview with Tatame.com, Oliveira shed some light on where he stands now that he’s finding his footing in the UFC. Here are the highlights. ...

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. ...

The future looked bright for the season 8 winner of "The Ultimate Fighter", Efrain Escudero. After laying claim as the new lightweight champion of his season, and a dominant win turned in at the shows finale against fellow finalist, Phillipe Nover, Escudero now finds himself in the same situation as Nover--he's been pink slipped by the UFC. After claiming the TUF title in December of 2008, injuries left "Hecho en Mexico" out of action until September of 2009, where he came in overweight for a lightweight match up against fellow TUF veteran Cole Miller. While he was able to pick up the win, an impressive knockout victory inside of the first round, this was the start of what UFC President Dana White indicated as "complacency" for Efrain. ...

Dana White has had a lot to say leading up to today’s UFC 119 card…but let’s be honest, when has Dana White ever not had a lot to say? In a new interview with MMAWeekly, Dana White addressed the recent firings of Efrain Escudero and Todd Duffee. Both men were talented performers who hit several stumbling blocks recently, but many have argued that their release was premature and unwarranted. Here’s what the UFC President had to say. ...

A fighter winning a season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, the popular and long-running UFC reality TV show, usually signals the debut of a can’t-miss prospect. TUF winners carry a huge pedigree: several have been champions, several have competed for championships, and many have found themselves in a consistent state of mid-to-upper-level status. However, a recent bit of news signaled the end of the favoritism usually shown to TUF winners (the standouts from past seasons are usually given multiple second chances if they go on losing streaks). Efrain Escudero, the winner of TUF Season 8, has been given his walking papers. ...

After an exciting night of fights turned just under a day ago, many fighters came out on top, both notching another win to their records, while picking up a hefty bonus in addition to their performances. The bonuses were delivered last night following the conclusion of "UFC Fight Night 22", which took place in Austin, Texas in front of a stellar crowd at the Frank Erwin Center before an estimated 7,724 people in attendance. ...

As a lead in to the popular UFC reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter”, UFC Fight Night 22: “Marquardt vs. Palhares” certainly served its purpose of giving the fans a great night of live action to compliment the inaugural debut of a new TUF season. In a key Middleweight match-up pitting Nate Marquardt against Rousimar Palhares, Nate “The Great” would win in dominating fashion in a moment of controversy that was quickly cleared up. Here are the official results of Fight Night 22 as well as my thoughts on the card. ...

Weigh-ins were held today for the upcoming UFC Fight Night 22 event, which is scheduled to take place August 15 in the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. Featuring a key middleweight showdown in the main event that sees former title contender Nate Marquardt taking on feared submission specialist Rousimar Palhares, Fight Night 22 will serve as the lead-in to the landmark twelfth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, featuring coaches Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck. The weigh-ins were not without their drama, as "Ultimate Fighter" Season 8 winner Efrain Escudero missed weight by four pounds. ...

It’s been over a year since Sean Sherk last competed in a ufc Octagon. The former one-time UFC Lightweight Champion was last seen losing a Unanimous Decision to the man who is now the undisputed best Lightweight in the world, current UFC Lightweight champion Frank Edgar. It was Sherk’s fourth loss in a career that has spanned ten years and nearly forty professional fights. A string of injuries has kept Sherk away from competition since that loss in May 2009, but his return once again nears. If all goes according to plan, Sherk will face Evan Dunham at the upcoming UFC 119: “Mir vs. Cro Cop” event. “The Muscle Shark” recently did an interview with UFC.com, and here’s what he had to say regarding his opponent. ...

UFC Lightweight, Efrain Escudero (13-1), suffered his first career loss to Evan Dunham back in January.  He followed that up with a convincing decision win over Dan Luazon at UFC 114. Now, the Ultimate Figher 8 winner looks to build a new win streak when he faces Charles Oliveira, an undefeated (13-0) Jiu Jitsu brown belt at UFC Fight Night 22 on Sept. 15 in Austin, Texas. It is a matchup that has taken a winding road to arrive.  Escudero was first slated to fight John Gunderson which was then switched to Matt Wiman.  Wiman suffered an injury and the UFC tapped Oliveira.  Nonetheless, Escudero told the collected media on Thursday’s UFC Fight Night 22 conference call that the flip-flopping of opponents is no big deal. ...

Former top UFC lightweight contender Yves Edwards, is finally back with the UFC...it's about time. While most would indicate that Edwards is either past his prime, or not caught up with the present botch of talent that exists in the lightweight ranks nowadays, Edwards is exciting and an old-school commodity. ...

Poor, poor Efrain Escudero. The season 8 winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" has faced some hurdles since his inception into the UFC, not so long ago. After suffering his first career loss to contender Evan Dunham last January, via arm bar submission in the third round of their lightweight affair, "Hecho en Mexico" bounced back against Dan Lauzon last May on the preliminary card. ...

Awoke to the sun shining and my thoughts about UFC 114 running rampant in my head. So as always "The Reverend of MMA" will bring you the gospel on yet another event, UFC 114: Rampage vs. Rashad. ...

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. ...

Fighters.com's fifth-ranked lightweight “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0) will matchup versus Nate Diaz (10-5) at UFC Fight Night 20 at the Patriot Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia and will air on Spike TV January 11, the UFC announced Monday. ...

Fighters.com's sixth-ranked welterweight Josh Koscheck (13-4) will follow-up his first-round knockout of “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (19-7) at UFC 103 in Dallas September 19 with a challenge from propsect Mike Pierce (6-1) at UFC Fight Night 20 in Virginia January 11, according to an MMA Junkie report. ...

Xtreme Couture's "Phenom" Vitor Belfort (18-8) scored his bulliest victory in four-plus years TKOing Fighters.com's ninth-ranked middleweight "Ace" Rich Franklin (26-5) at 3:02 of round one in a 195-pound catch weight main event at UFC 103 in Dallas Saturday night. "Jesus, I love you," shouted Belfort in the Octagon after the fight, and in his dressing room he added,  "God gave me a gift and I'm using it.  And, I'm ready.  A lot of people thought I was done, you know, and that's what I'm bringing to this game - hope, faith, and hard work. ...

Efrain Escudero's (7-0) wrestling was the difference in his unanimous decision victory over Phillipe Nover (4-1) to become season eight's lightweight "Ultimate Fighter" during the live finale Saturday night in Las Vegas.

The bout started with both fighters kicking. Nover looped a big right hand at Efrain’s head, which he ducked for the takedown. Escudero postured up, but Nover kept him away with his legs and scrambled to his feet, eating a right punch on the way. Escudero got Nover’s back and transitioned to full mount. Escudero rained down heavy right fists into Nover’s face before getting back on top. Nover attempted a triangle choke but with one leg trapped under Escudero was unable to cinch it. Before the end of the round Escudero was able to take Nover down to the mat several more times.

In round two, Nover threw a leg kick, then tried punches, but Efrain got the single leg for the takedown. The fight alternated between stand-up and the ground, with Escudero dictating. They both threw knees as they clinched at the cage. Escudero’s right hand tagged Nover and he landed a few inside leg kicks. Escudero scored another single-leg takedown, but they soon stood back up. Nover charged at Escudero with a big kick to the body, but Escudero caught him and slammed him as the horn sounded.

Another takedown by Escudero began round three, but Nover worked hard to get out, elbowing his side hard. Back to stand-up, Nover connected with two stiff jabs. He threw a knee which Escudero caught and again was wrestled to the mat. Nover worked for the omoplata while elbowing at Escudero’s shoulder. He tried to muscle his left foot under Escudero’s chin but Escudero rolled out with half a minute left in the fight. Escudero’s windmilling legs kept Nover from getting close enough to set anything up before the round ended.

The judges awarded Escudero the unanimous decision victory with scores of 29-28 across the board.

Fighters.com spoke this week with The Ultimate Fighter 8 finalist “The Filipino Assassin” Phillipe Nover (4-0) as he was preparing to fly out to Las Vegas, where he will fight Efrain Escudero (6-0) for the season eight lightweight crown Saturday 13 December. Fighters.com:  I saw that you earned your black belt on Saturday, congratulations. Phillipe Nover:  Thank you.  Yeah, I didn’t even really expect it.  I guess when you least expect things, sometimes they happen.  I trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu for about eight years now, and my teacher, Soca (Alexandre Freitas), gave me my brown belt a few years ago.  Soca had a promotion ceremony and he was like, “Be there, man!  You better be there,” and I’m like, “Okay, okay.”  I thought I’d probably get some stripes and then I got my belt instead.  It was a big, big deal for me. Fighters.com:  How is your training going? Phillipe Nover:  Really good.  I really trained specifically for Efrain’s style and what I remember him to be on the show and analyzing his fights.  I train about eight to twelve sessions a week.  I do mostly double days and I’ve been doing about twice a week of live training like sparring and stuff and my conditioning.  I feel really good.  My weight’s good, I feel more ready for this fight than any other fight.  You know, pretty much I had Efrain on my mind for the last five, six months.  I’ve never been so focused on one particular person. ...

TUF 8 lightweights Phillipe Nover (4-0) and Efrain Escudero (6-0) and light heavyweights “Darth” Ryan Bader (5-0) and “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (3-3) secured a spot in the finals in Wednesday night’s episodes of the reality television series. Following the broadcast the UFC announced the full lineup for the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir 13 December in Las Vegas. Also on the card are a previously reported bout between middleweights “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-10) and Wilson Gouveia (11-5), and a rematch between Kevin Burns (7-1) and “Rumble” Anthony Johnson (5-2). Rounding out the main card is a lightweight match-up between TUF 8 competitors Junie Allen Browning (2-0) and David Kaplan (0-0). ...

By Steve Cha "I like the small guys.  They go at it," UFC President Dana White stated to TUF 8 coach Frank Mir (11-3). Lightweights Wesley Murch (3-2) and John Polakowski (2-1), who, in his words, “loves giving hugs to everyone”, didn’t disappoint White in the first fight of the night on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 8. Both fighters were able to land strikes and take each other’s backs; however, at the end of the first round, British fighter Murch injured his shin on a low kick attempt.  Ouch! Murch braved the pain, but, early in the second round, collapsed; and, the ref was forced to stop the fight. True to his words, Polakowski hugged Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender and TUF 8 coach “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1), White, and Mir, forcing an admission from Nog': " I don’t care, you know.  I like to hug too." ...

Monday the UFC officially announced its line-up for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, premiering 17 September on SpikeTV. The 16 lightweights and 16 light heavyweights will be coached by Fighters.com's top heavyweight contender and interim UFC Champion “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) and former UFC Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir (11-3). Lightweights Jose Aguilar (0-0) Fernando Bernstein (0-0) Junie Allen Browning (1-0) Rolando Delgado (0-0) Joseph Duarte (0-0) Efrain Escudero (10-0) Brandon Garner (4-1) David Kaplan (0-0) Eric Magee (1-1) Brian McLaughlin (0-0) Wesley Murch (3-2) Shane Nelson (9-3) Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) Ido Pariente (8-3) John Polakowski (2-1) George Roop (8-3) Light Heavyweights Ryan Bader (7-0) Antwain Britt (3-1) Jules Bruchez (0-0) Charles Diaz (3-0) Lance Evans (2-2) Karen Grigoryan (6-1) Jason Guida (17-17) "Big Deal" Ryan Jimmo (6-1) Kyle Kingsbury (7-1) Tom Lawlor (4-1) Ryan Lopez (4-4) "Pezao" Vinicius Magalhaes (0-1) Eliot Marshall (5-1) Sean O’Connell (0-0) Shane Primm (1-0) Krzysztof Soszynski (15-8-1) ...