» Fighter: Mac Danzig

The Ultimate Fighter 6 champion Mac Danzig (17-7-1) and heavyweight Chris Tuchscherer (15-2) have been added to the undercard in separate bouts at UFC 109 in Las Vegas February 6.

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Mac Danzig (17-5-1) will face lightweight “Dentist” Josh Neer (24-7-1), and Nick Catone (6-0) will face Amir Sadollah (1-0) in a middleweight match-up at Ultimate Fight Night 17 in Las Vegas 7 February, although the UFC has yet to officially announce the event.

Danzig announced his fight via MySpace and Catone confirmed the bout to iguillotine.

Catone and Sadollah were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 91 in November, but Sadollah was forced to withdraw days before the bout due to a leg infection.

Danzig will look to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to “Carpenter” Clay Guida (24-9) at Fight Night 15 in September.

Neer also lost his last fight at the same event via split decision to Nathan Diaz (10-2).

Catone, who will be making his UFC debut, won his last three fights via first-round TKO.  Most recently he defeated Eric Tavares (5-9) in June.

Sadollah last fought in June, submitting “Doberman” CB Dollaway (7-1) with an armbar to become the winner of TUF 7.

Lightweight “Carpenter” Clay Guida (24-9) was relentless in a UD over TUF champ Mac Danzig (18-5-1) Wednesday night in Omaha.

Danzig never got into the fight.  The best he could do was stall Guida with a Kimura attempt after being taken down in the first, then work to his feet; but, Guida slammed him back to the mat.

In the second round, Danzig tagged Guida with a front kick to Guida’s face; but, Guida countered with a straight left and ran Danzig to the mat.

Near the end of the second round, Guida downed Danzig again with a suplex slam.

The pattern of Guida takedowns continued through round three.

The judges’ scores were 30-27 once and 29-28 twice, all for Guida.

TUF Lightweight Champion Mac Danzig (18-4-1) announced Tuesday afternoon that he signed to fight “Carpenter” Clay Guida (23-9) 17 September in Omaha.

Last month, Danzig denied rumors that he would fight Guida in Minneapolis, but left open the possibility of eventually fighting the relentless scrapper.

Guida TKO’d Samy Schiavo (10-5) in 4:15 in Denver 2 April and is considered a test for any fighter vying for contendership in the UFC.

In Montréal 19 April, Danzig hammered knees to the head of Mark Bocek (5-2) before catching the BJJ fighter in a rear naked choke at 3:48 of round three.

TUF lightweight champ Mac Danzig (18-4-1) will not fight in Minneapolis on 9 August.

In a bulletin entitled “Some MMA blogs will post anything.”, Danzig posted the following on MySpace Thursday:

“Mac is NOT fighting at UFC 87 and never was supposed to (despite the rumors on websites).”

Fighters.com reported Tuesday that MMA Junkie had reported Danzig had signed to fight “The Carpenter” Clay Guida (29-9) at UFC 87.

Danzig added, “There are talks of Clay Guida as a possible opponent, but nothing is signed yet.”

TUF lightweight champ Mac Danzig (18-4-1) will fight “The Carpenter” Clay Guida (29-9) at UFC 87 in Minneapolis on 9 August.; and, “The Answer” Frank Edgar (8-1) will fight a yet-to-be-named opponent on the same card, according to MMA Junkie.

Danzig, winner of The Ultimate Fighter 6, submitted his most recent opponent, Mark Bocek (5-2), at April’s UFC 83 via rear naked choke at 3:48 of the third round.

“The Carpenter” was tapped in a rear naked choke in the main event of The Ultimate Figher 6 by “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-1-1), but TKO’d Frenchman Samy Schiavo (15-5) in the first round on Ultimate Fight Night 13 last month.

Edgar will be looking to bounce back from his first professional loss. At Ultimate Fight Night 13, “The Bully” Gray Maynard (5-0, 1 NC) won a UD over Edgar.

Canada welcomed in the UFC Saturday night in Montréal; and, the UFC welcomed back in Canada as “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2) avenged his loss to “The Terror” Matt Serra (9-5) by second-round TKO to capture sole possession of the UFC welterweight title before his countrymen and fellow Quebecois.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion and Fighters.com’s second-ranked 185-pounder “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3) also found the land of maple leaf friendly in a second-round TKO of “The Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5).

TUF Champions “The Count” Michael Bisping (15-1) and Mac Danzig (18-4-1) debuted in new weight classes with stoppages.

Les habitants “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (20-9), “Dooms” Jason Day (17-5), and Jonathan Goulet (22-9) also had success for the home team, while “The Rock” Nathan Quarry (10-2), Demian Maia (7-0), “No Love” Rich Clementi (31-12-1), and Cain Velasquez (3-0) scored wins as visitors to the true north, strong and free.

Though seven of the 11 duels on 83’s lineup featured St. Pierre’s fellow countrymen, this French-Canadian bon soirwas entirely the Quebecois phenom’s. He entered the Octagon blazing a crimson gi with the strength of 22,000 at the Centre Bell.

Serra had played a clever villain during the event’s promotional tour, but had no quips for “Rush” as St. Pierre packed him into the mat upon stuffing Serra’s initial shot.

St. Pierre mauled “The Terror” with short, sharp elbows as Serra pedaled through guards, all passed by St. Pierre. Serra finally crawled up the cage to his feet.

In the center of the cage, St. Pierre blasted Serra with a Superman punch, setting up a double-leg takedown near the end of round one.

Serra, a mouse puffing beneath his right eye, emptied his tank about 90 seconds into round two as “Rush” tagged “The Terror” with five snapping jabs before planting him back onto the mat with a double-leg takedown.

St. Pierre’s G’n'P onslaught poured on, driving Serra into turtle guard. A series of unanswered rib-rattling knees persuaded referee Steve Mazzagatti to end the fight at 4:45.

“I tired him out,” explained the best 170-pound fighter in the world.

Serra countered, “I ended up coming up short, no pun intended.”

Welterweights Goulet and Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-5) both pocketed 75 grand for battling the “Fight of the Night” in the card’s opening bout.

Goulet got the worst of it in the punch-up’s first round. Attempting to press his striking advantage, Goulet got tagged with a short Hironaka left hook. The Japanese fighter fell the Canadian and followed with a mix of fists and elbows to close the round.

“He tried to finish me,” Goulet admitted after the fight, “but he got too excited. I was careful because of my experience.”

The two fighters traded evenly to open the second before Hironaka was stunned with a punch that backed him to the cage. Goulet stalked with a flurry that dropped his opponent for a TKO at 2:07.

In the co-main event, Franklin also rebounded from a lost first round in which Lutter took the former champ to the mat and worked his jiu-jitsu juju. Franklin was nearly tapped in an armbar before he countered in a nifty maneuver that rolled him into Lutter’s full guard.

Lutter had worn himself weary by the second round and got caught with head kick as he shot for single-leg takedown. Franklin hammered “The Serial Killer” and motioned for the referee to stand him up. “Ace” picked Lutter apart on their feet with a combination of slick boxing and knees until the referree stopped the fight at 3:01

Danzig predicted to Fighters.com that Mark Bocek (5-2) is susceptible to a knee and the debuting 155-pounder delivered three big knees to set Bocek up for a rear naked choke submission at 3:48 of the third round.

“I paced myself, and I needed that; because, if I didn’t pace myself I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did in the last round,” Danzig said.

His fellow TUF Champion Bisping debuted at 185-pounds with a dominant TKO “W” over “Chainsaw” Charles McCarthy (10-5), who was unable to continue due to an arm injury after round one.

“Charles couldn’t get up,” “The Count” expalined after the fight.

Middleweight Quarry chased down a timid Kalib Starnes (8-3-1), who probably ran himself out of the UFC, for a unanimous decision.

Middleweight MacDonald added $75,000 to his bank balance with a “(T)KO of the Night” versus Joe Doerksen (39-12) at 54 seconds of the second round.

Middleweight Maia also earned 75 grand for “Submission of the Night”, a triangle choke of “Short Fuse” Ed Herman (14-5) at 2:27 of round two.

Middleweight Day made a successful UFC debut with a 3:58 TKO of “The Talent” Alan Belcher (12-5).

Lightweight Clementi ruined Canadian “Hands of Stone” Sam Stout’s (13-4-1) homecoming with a split decision victory.

Finally, touted heavyweight Velasquez only spent 2:10 in his Octagon debut before TKOing Brad Morris (9-3).

Tonight in Montréal, Mac Danzig (17-4-1) will debut as a TUF champion versus Candian Mark Bocek (5-1).  I caught-up with Danzig and asked him about Bocek, life after TUF, and his photography.

Fighters.com: Are you the type of guy who watches tapes and have brushed-up your jiu-jitsu to fight Mark Bocek; or, do you just train to fight your game?

Mac Danzig: A little bit of both.  I watch as much tape on a guy as I can; but, I train to fight my fight. A guy like Bocek, with only six fights, is still evolving.  He’s not the guy you see in the fight with Frankie Edgar.  He’s susceptible to an uppercut or a knee; and, I’ve been training for that; but, Bocek is the type of guy who, if you miss, will take advantage of it.

Fighters.com: I’ve talked to Bisping and Evans about their TUF championships and both agree it’s a major career accomplishment.  You were an established fighter prior to TUF.  Do you agree it’s an important fighting accomplishment for you or more of a career move to gain exposure?

Mac Danzig: Yeah, it’s an accomplishment; but, mostly it’s been a vehicle to get exposure.  I was at a point where I was trying to find my place in the sport.  It was after PRIDE had fallen and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get another fight in a big organization.  Not that I was thinking about retiring; but, I wasn’t able to support myself fighting.  Now, I’m able to support myself and focus on fighting.

Fighters.com: Do you think your serious attitude on TUF against the backdrop of some the knuckleheads illustrated the difference between professional fighters and tough athletes?

Mac Danzig: I wasn’t 100% with how the producers edited the show; but, on that point, yeah, I think it came across.  A lot fans tell me they liked the show because it showed who was serious.  Only about five or six of us were serious about fighting on the show and the rest were there just to get on TV.

Fighters.com: Tell me about your move to Xtreme Couture.

Mac Danzig: There’s no egos here.  Everyone is here to help each other.  It’s like a big family.  If anyone did show up to start problems, it wouldn’t be tolerated.

Fighters.com: At your photography site: www.macdanzigphotography.com, there are a lot of desert landscapes.  Why do you like the desert?  Have you been able to get out into the Nevada desert since moving to Las Vegas?

Mac Danzig: It’s just desolate; but, there’s so much going on that’s not human.  So much nature.  There are all these old ghost towns.  I’ve got some things planned after my fight in Montreal.

Fighters.com: Are you a serious hobbyist or could you see yourself paying the bills on photography one day?

Mac Danzig: I’d love to make a living as a photographer after fighting; but, it’s hard for someone like me because I want to stay on the artistic side.  Most working photographers have to take assignments.  I want to continue photographing what I like and if people want to buy it or use it, that’s great.

Fighters.com: I just read a piece about Kenny Florian being “not your average” fighter because he’s a smart guy.  Noguiera was in law school, Liddell has a college degree,  Rich Franklin and Jeff Monson have masters degrees.  How much does intellect play in the field of fighting?

Mac Danzig: You have to be intelligent to stay focused and control your emotions. 

Leather-clad UFC President Dana White manned the podium at a presser in Montréal Monday morning to promote UFC 83 at the Bell Centre April 19th.

The fight card’s big bout features interim UFC Welterweight Champions Matt Serra and Georges St. Pierre.

“To be the champion, I have to beat the champion,” St. Pierre clarified.

St. Pierre, 15-2, was TKO’d by “The Terror” Serra at UFC 69 last April, but has dominated his subsequent two opponents.

“A bit of an underdog?  Is that what you heard?” Serra teased a reporter.  “What were the odds?  Something ridiculous, like 14 to one?”

Serra’s “W” was the upset of ‘07, a year which included “Rampage” Jackson’s KO of top-ranked former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin’s submission of highly-touted PRIDE standout Mauricio Rua.

Serra, 9-4, echoed St. Pierre, “That’s what I always heard: You beat the guy, you’re the guy.”

Serra’s championship is considered a fluke.

Serra lamented, “If I beat [St. Pierre] again, they’ll want to give him the best three out of five!”

“Serra likes being Rocky,” White explained, likening Serra’s role to Sylvester Stallone’s character in “Rocky IV”.  “I want to thank Matt Serra for taking this fight in Canada.  I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of Matt Serra fans here in Canada.”

UFC 83 will be the preeminent MMA promotion’s debut in Canada.

Quebec Boxing Council Commissioner Mario Latraverse announced, “In April, we have our Super Bowl.”

Quebec was the first Canadian province to sanction MMA in 1998.

White told a curious Canadian press corps, “People in Canada don’t even realize how big this sport is in Canada.”

Tickets went on pre-sale yesterday and White claimed “13,700 were sold on the first day.  We’re almost sold out now.  This event here will be the biggest UFC event ever.”

“It’s a dream come true,” a swaggering St. Pierre boasted of fighting in his hometown.  “I can’t be more happy than I am right now.”

St. Pierre’s loss to Serra is blamed on his mental focus.

“I had a lot of issues before,” St. Pierre admitted.  “It’s done now.”

However, fighting in his hometown will compound distractions unimaginably.

“My life might change,” St. Pierre mentioned thoughtfully.

White confirmed the card will also feature former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin versus TUF champion Travis Lutter, Brit TUF champion Michael Bisping, lightweight TUF champion Mac Danzig, and Canadians Patrick Côté and “Hands of Stone” Sam Stout.