MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Faber’s next move

Coming off his upset loss at WEC 36 to Mike Brown, former featherweight champion Urijah Faber must now decide what to do next.

Faber already has a plan in mind. It clearly includes another match-up with Brown.

“Definitely, there will be a rematch,” said Faber.

Unfortunately, Faber may have to wait a while before getting his chance to regain the title. Brown suffered a rib injury in the first fight, and Brown was clearly grimacing as he left the cage.

As a result, Faber is getting ready for the interim fight.

“I’ve heard January 25th as a tentative date. It is to be announced as to where it will be, but I think it could be San Diego.”

When asked about a potential opponent, Faber was quick to answer with another WEC fighter.

“Possibly Jose Aldo,” said Faber.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Sponsor Conflict at UFC 91?

One of the interesting things from the UFC 91 main event was seeing Randy Couture wear signage from Full Tilt Poker on his trunks during the fight. Couture recently signed a sponsorship deal with the online poker company but it didn’t seem that Couture would be able to wear the company’s signage into the Octagon, as it seemingly violates the Sponsor Agreement that is issued before each card. The pertinent passage:

ABSOLUTELY NO pornography, tobacco, profanity, gambling/gaming, hard liquor, or other MMA orgs allowed as sponsors. Affliction and Extreme Couture products will not be permitted either.

Perhaps the UFC gives the same winking nod to the “educational purposes” of the site that Full Tilt purports itself to be. Maybe some of you online poker players can give me a little more info Full Tilt, as to the ability to play cash games there?

 

[Shogun Locc]

Jorge Santiago wants another belt

After winning Strikeforce’s and Sengoku’s tournaments, Jorge Santiago still wants more. At January 4th, Sengoku’s seventh edition will have Santiago back in action against Kazuo Misaki, for the middleweight belt of the event. The Japanese fighter, who won the Pride middleweight tournament against Denis Kang, will face the American Top Team fighter to point the best middleweight fighter of the Japanese show. “I’ll train a lot on the ground game and physical conditioning, because Misaki is an explosive guy, he doesn’t stop. I’ll watch his fight with Paulo Filho a lot of times and think about a tactic”, said Santiago, who commented the strategy for the fight. “The strategy is the ground, Jiu-Jitsu, my area, and that’s what I’ve been doing in almost all my fights, and if I this opportunity to knock him out I’m there for it, but my priority is the ground game”, guarantees the BJJ black belt, who only thinks about getting his third belt: “no matter what I’ll win this belt. I want it and I’ll work for that. I’ll get it”.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Demian Maia Interview

For the fourth time fighting in UFC, Demian Maia showed why he’s considered one of the best BJJ fighters in the whole event, and remains undefeated after another submission victory, now against Nate Quarry at UFC 91. With ten victories and no losses, Demian spoke to TATAME about the great victory, challenging Michael Bisping, the possibility to be the The Ultimate Fighter 9 coach and analyzed the other bouts of the night.

How’s the celebration after another great victory at UFC?
It’s cool, but it’s already past now. I’m heading back to Brazil now. Everything is great, and now I’m just thinking about going back to Brazil. I’m here at United States for more than a month and I’m desperate to go back home.

What did you think about the fight against Quarry?
It’s one more on my way to my objective, be the best of this category. Thanks God the work is great, I’m teaching less Jiu-Jitsu classes and I’m each day more professional. I always trained a lot, but I’m teaching less now, with a athlete life. Since my last fight with Jason (MacDonald) I’ve developed a lot my striking and my weaknesses, do my Jiu-Jitsu and I think everything will go right.

For the first time you won at UFC and didn’t get the submission of the night bonus…
Yes, but Dana White also gave me an extra bonus for that (laughs)…

After the fight you said you wanted to face Michael Bisping. Do you think it’d be a good fight to grow at UFC?
I do. He’s with a great popularity, is a good guy to fight now and I think it’d be a great fight. It doesn’t mean I’d win, but he fought great guys and always made god fights, and I believe it’d be a good fight to my career. I need this, I need good fights and I believe the time has come.

How do you think would be a fight between you?
He’s a stand-up guy, doesn’t like to fight on the ground, but he’s not easy. I always think the same, he’ll try to stand, avoid the ground, and I’ll try to put him down and do my Jiu-Jitsu, trying to submit.

We heard some rumors about you being the next TUF coach. Did someone spoke with you about that?
Commented that, and I think it’d be great. It’s the best thing for the fighter in the US. I’d accepted it, besides being away from fighting for a long time. And I think Bisping will be one of the coaches…

What did you think about the other fights at UFC 91?
I think Rafael (dos Anjos) fought really well, but he was got on the third round and it was a pretty sad… “Napão” (Gonzaga) fought really well, and always when he’s well I like his fights. And Randy (Couture)…I like him, Robert Drysdale trains with him there and Comprido with Brock Lesnar, it’s pretty funny, both from my team, but I think Randy would take that. That guy (Lesnar) is really good, heavy, and he’s definitely a tough fight for everybody.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Shinya Aoki won't fight anybody except Yoshihiro Akiyama on NYE

Shinya Aoki says the only person he wants to fight at Dynamite!! on New Year's Eve is Yoshihiro Akiyama.

"It seems to me that Mikey (Yoshihiro Akiyama) is making fun of our event," Aoki said Sunday on the "Fighting Talk of the Treasure House" radio show. "His demand is nothing but self-centered. I won't fight anybody except Mikey on NYE. I'll defeat him without gaining any weight. If he doesn't take this offer, I will consider that he is afraid of fighting me, and runs away."

DREAM producer Keiichi Sasahara is working to comply with Aoki's request.

"We were thinking about Badr Hari and Choi Hong Man as Aoki's opponent, but now we are only negotiating with Akiyama."

 

[Shogun Locc]

BEFORE AND AFTER, KEN-FLO TALKS B.J. PENN

Two days before his fight with Joe Stevenson, UFC lightweight contender Kenny Florian was asked which two fighters he’d put together in a dream match-up for a video game. Without much hesitation, he chose himself and B.J. Penn.

“He’s a great, great, fighter, I have a lot of respect and admiration for BJ,” Florian told MMAWeekly.com. “He’s one of the guys I’ve really looked up to. I consider him a legend in the sport.”

After decimating tough lightweight Joe Stevenson – almost exactly one round faster than Penn did at UFC 80 – Florian was a little more pointed.

“I want B.J.'s belt,” he told Joe Rogan inside the Octagon. “B.J., you're one of the best fighters out there. I'm here to test myself. I think you're a great fighter, someone I look up to. I consider you a master. It's time to kill that master."

According to UFC president Dana White, Penn was skeptical of the match-up.

“Right before that fight, (Penn) said, ‘I don’t know about this fight, is this a good fight? Joe Stevenson wins this, I already fought him once,’” White told ESPN during a post-event telecast. “I said the winner of this fight is the next 155-pound challenger.”

White, no stranger to giving Penn a pep talk or two, felt he’d made the right choice in giving the winner of Saturday night’s fight a title shot.

“I was blown away by Kenny’s performance,” White said. “Joe Stevenson is no joke, and on the ground especially. You can say whatever you want about Joe Daddy’s stand-up, but his ground game is superb. Kenny looked phenomenal tonight, and did exactly what he said he was going to do.”

Florian said it was easier to get motivated for Stevenson knowing there was a light at the end of the tunnel in his second quest for the belt. He had none of the weight-cutting problems that previously made his job difficult.

“The weight cut was easy, really easy this time around,” he explained at the post-fight press conference. “It went quite smooth. (It was) just consistent training, following the nutrition plan. I didn’t let myself blow up.”

White gauged Florian’s seriousness by his unwillingness to eat the standard junk on the road.

“I was with him in New York and he was eating like a supermodel,” he said.

“Coffee and cigarettes?” Florian shot back with a smile.

Florian has now taken home six straight victories since dropping a unanimous decision to Sean Sherk at UFC 64. He has sharpened every facet of his game, and meticulously laid the groundwork for a fight against “the master.” With Penn’s restlessness within his own division and apparent skepticism towards a fight with Florian, the burden of motivation might rest on him.

“B.J. better stay on his game and stay focused,” White warned.

 

[Shogun Locc]

FREDDIE ROACH TRAINING ANDERSON SILVA
LINK: http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content3809.html?PHPSESSID=7d6ada98a4c675cdd9236dcb1d30efb1
UFC middleweight champion and arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet Anderson Silva Began training today with world-class trainer Freddie Roach. "He came in a couple days ago and I introduced him to Manny and the other trainers. We picked out a time and tonight he's gonna come in at 6:00 and start training with me," stated Roach.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Jake Shields will only be happy in the UFC fighting Georges St. Pierre

Former Elite XC Welterweight Champion Jake Shields is just one of the many fighters who are looking to free themselves from their contracts with the now defunct Pro Elite.

Showtime Networks Inc. — who partnered with Pro Elite to air over 14 Elite XC events over the last two years — planned on auctioning off the remaining assets from the promotion in an attempt to recover nearly $6 million in defaulted loans. Among the main items listed at the auction were the contracts for guys like Jake Shields and a number of other top mixed martial artists.

A team of managers and agents from the MMA world, including Ken Pavia, Monte Cox, Cesar Gracie and others banded together shortl thereafter to ensure these fighters futures weren’t just auctioned off to the highest bidder.

The auction, which was scheduled for today, was called off by Showtime Networks only a few short days ago. However, the futures of all those contracted fighters are still up in the air and nobody really knows what’s going to happen next.

Cox had this to say about the unusual situation:

“I’ve never run into this before, not since I’ve been managing. We’re looking around like what do we do about this? We signed up with ProElite for a reason. We wanted to get on CBS, get that kind of exposure, and all of a sudden, they can sell [contracts] to something else that doesn’t offer the same thing.”

One thing is sure for Shields though, if he had his choice of which organization he fought for next would be, it would be the UFC hands down. He has not been shy recently about saying that. And he has never been shy in the past about saying he wanted to test and prove himself against the best the sport had to offer.

Here’s a snip from him during a recent interview with Newsday.com:

“For me, I’m looking for top competition. I want to prove I’m the best fighter in the world. Georges St. Pierre, it’s an opportunity to fight him and show I’m the best. I think I’m gonna be the top 170-pounder there. I wanna be the best. I wanna go there and take the belt. I wouldn’t be happy with anything less.”

Obviously, Shields is just one of an entire roster full of fighters with their careers stuck in neutral until this mess gets sorted out. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later because he would be a great addition to an already stacked UFC 170-pound division.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fedor Emelianenko loses first Combat Sambo match in eight years

There was another heavyweight champion that suffered a loss this past weekend. Lost in the midst of the Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar fight, Fedor Emelianenko dropped his first Combat Sambo match in eight years on Saturday night to a World Combat Sambo Champion from Bulgaria that goes by the name of Blagoi Ivanov.

The bout came in the semifinals of the over 100kg division at the 2008 World Combat Sambo Championships. Fedor was outpointed and lost the match by a score of 8-5 to Ivanov. The Bulgarian went on to win the gold medal while Fedor had to settle for the bronze.

Fedor holds a previous victory over Ivanov when the two met for the first time earlier this year in the finals of President’s cup in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is highly likely that the two will meet again very soon as the next President’s Cup is coming up and a rubber match between the champions will be inevitable.

With such a huge win over the guy that many consider to be the best fighter alive, Ivanov may end up competing in mixed martial arts on american soil very shortly as rumors of several organizations expressing interest in the fighter have already began to circulate.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Shinya Aoki and Hong-Man Choi Added to K-1 Field's Dynamite

Shinya Aoki and the mammoth K-1 fighter Hong-Man Choi have been added to the end of the year Field's Dynamite event.

Neither fighter has an opponent at this time. Expect their opponents to be announced in typical Japanese MMA fashion: a week before the event. It is also not known if Hong-Man Choi will be fighting in a K-1 match or an MMA match.

Here is what the hybrid K-1 and MMA event is looking like thus far:

Middleweight Fight:
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kiyoshi Tamura

Lightweight Fight:
Joachim Hansen vs. J.Z.Calvan

K-1 Koshien Semifinal Fights:
HIROYA vs. Shota Shimada
Ryuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe

Possible Fights:
Mirko CroCop vs. Alistair Overeem
Kimbo Slice vs. Seth Petruzelli

Possible Participants:

Choi Hong Man
Semmy Schilt
Joachim Hansen
Hayato Sakurai
Kazushi Sakuraba
Yuichi Nakanishi
Musashi
Shinya Aoki
Tatsuya Kawajiri
Mitsuhiro Ishida
Masakazu Imanari
Atsushi Yamamoto
Takeshi Yamazaki
Ikuhisa Minowa
Seichi Ikemoto
Kiyoshi Tamura
Yoshihiro Sato
Yasuhiro Kido
Mirko Filipovic

 

[Shogun Locc]

Rich Franklin open to rematch with Lyoto Machida, "TUF" coaching gig

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, apparently content since moving up a weight class to the light-heavyweight division, is open to a rematch with Lyoto Machida, who defeated "Ace" at a December 2003 event in Kobe, Japan.

Franklin said he's willing to do the rematch now that both fighters are in the 205-pound division, but he has one concern.

"I'd fight him," Franklin said. "The thing about a Machida fight that isn't appealing to me is that stylistically, Machida is kind of a boring fighter.

"That's not a putdown. It's not a putdown. He's very, very effective. He's good at what he does. He's constantly backing away and forces his opponent into mistakes, and that's how he catches you."

Franklin made the comments during a UFC fan-club Q&A session moderated by UFC announcer Mike Goldberg prior to the UFC 91 weigh-ins.

Machida won their first meeting with a dramatic knockout set up by a head kick. It was the first loss of Franklin's career -- and the only loss he suffered from March 2000 (his professional debut) to October 2006 (when he lost his title to Anderson Silva).

Machida, who most recently pushed his career mark to 13-0 (and 5-0 in the UFC) with a unanimous-decision victory over Tito Ortiz in May, has been criticized for his sometimes-elusive (though) effective fighting style.

Franklin (24-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC), who might very well need to beat Machida for a shot at the light-heavyweight belt, said countering such a fighter sometimes leads to a tentative fight that fans may not appreciate.

"In order to beat [Machida], you really have to fight an intelligent fight, and I think that by not overcommitting yourself on things, it's going to create a situation where you're not putting on a fight that's really exciting for the fans," Franklin said. "That would be the one reason that fight was not that appealing to me."

Franklin credited the first loss to a bit of overconfidence on his part. He also said that he could do little homework on Machida since so little data was available.

"No one really knew him at the time," Franklin said. "It was only like his third career fight."

Machida is currently slated to fight Thiago Silva at UFC 94 on Jan. 31. Franklin, meanwhile, headlines UFC 93 in a bout with Dan Henderson. He's also been mentioned as a possible coach to rival British fighter Michael Bisping on the upcoming ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter," which features a U.S. vs. U.K. them.

However, as MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has previously reported, neither he nor Henderson are apparently too jazzed for the gig.

Franklin, who coached opposited Matt Hughes on "The Ultimate Fighter 2," admitted he hasn't even really had a conversation with the UFC about the reality show and only learned of the possibility from MMA websites.

"For me, it'll be interesting to see when they actually come to me because the UFC was actually the ones who encouraged me to move up to 205 pounds, and with Bisping now being at 185, I'm not sure what they're going to do about that," Franklin said of the possibility of coaching on the show. (The gig would likely culminate with a season-ending fight between the two coaches.)

But that's not to say he wouldn't do it.

"I liked doing the show the first time," he said. "It was a great experience. I did it once. It was great. I'm not as excited about at this time, but I'm always willing to help the UFC out and do what they need me to do."

 

[Shogun Locc]

"Affliction: Day of Reckoning" tickets on sale Wednesday

Tickets for Affliction Entertainment's sophomore effort go on sale Wednesday beginning 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT), the rookie fight promotion today announced.

"Affliction: Day of Reckoning" takes place Jan. 24 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Tickets for the event, which features a headline bout between WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and former UFC title-holder Andrei Arlovski, range from $50 to $450 and go on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets, as well as the Honda Center Box Office.

The "Day of Reckoning" card is expected to feature a star-studded line-up much like the one rolled out for its debut event on July 19. The event, "Affliction: Banned," featured a main event between Emelianenko and former UFC champion Tim Sylvia and drew 14,832 spectators for an impressive $2.1 million live gate (though the organization later confirmed it had purchased some of the tickets itself).

According to Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio, "Banned" also tallied more than 100,000 pay-per-view buys, which is a solid number for a non-UFC organization.

The Jan. 24 event is produced by Affliction Entertainment along with its partners, the Trump Organization, Golden Boy Promotions and M-1 Global. The event, scheduled to air on HDNet (preliminary card) and Showtime (main card) will feature 11 bouts.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Sanae Kikuta announced for Jan. 4 Sengoku

Previously announced Sengoku 7 competitor and longtime PRIDE fighter Hidehiko Yoshida (8-6-1) now has an opponent for the Jan. 4 World Victory Road event: Sanae Kikuta (27-6-3).

The event takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Sengoku officials recently announced the light-heavyweight bout.

Yoshida, a 1992 Japanese gold medalist in judo, most recently fought in June at Sengoku 3 and scored a first-round submission victory over Maurice Smith. The victory snapped a three-fight losing skid for Yoshida, which included stoppage losses to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, James Thompson and Josh Barnett.

Kikuta, meanwhile, is currently riding a five-fight win streak going back to 2004. The longtime Pancrase fighter has fought only once in the past two years and scored a second-round submission victory over Chris Rice at Sengoku 3.

As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) previously reported, Sengoku 7 also features fights for vacant WVR titles. Jorge Santiago meets fellow middleweight Kazuo Misaki, and despite a recent loss, Takanori Gomi takes on Satoru Kitaoka for the lightweight belt.

 

[Shogun Locc]

WEC 37 televised card announced

World Extreme Cagefighting has announced its main card, including a main event title fight between WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres and challenger for Manny Tapia, for WEC 37.

The event takes place Dec. 3 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The main card for the WEC's year-end event airs live on Versus.

Torres, who boasts one of the sport's best records at 34-1, defeated Chase Beebe for the title in February and made his first title defense with a third-round TKO of Yoshiro Maeda over the summer. He now meets undefeated King of the Cage veteran Manny Tapia, who owns a 10-0-1 career mark (2-0 in the UFC).

The Torres-Tapia winner could next fight either Brian Bowles or Will Ribeiro. The two top bantamweights also meet on the WEC 37 card.

Additionally, two notables will make their WEC debuts at the event: former IFL stand-out Wagnney Fabiano (who meets Shooto vet Akitoshi Tamura) and two-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion and four-time All-American Johny Hendricks (who takes on WEC newcomer Justin Haskins).

The full card includes:

MAIN CARD (TELEVISED)

Champ Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia (for bantamweight title)
Brian Bowles vs. Will Ribeiro
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Akitoshi Tamura
Joseph Benavidez vs. Danny Martinez
Justin Haskins vs. Johny Hendricks
PRELIMINARY CARD (UN-TELEVISED)

Ricardo Barros vs. Mark Munoz
Blas Avena vs. Kevin Knabjian
Diego Nunes vs. Cole Province
Alex Karalexis vs. Bart Palaszewski
Cub Swanson vs. Hirouki Takaya
Shane Roller vs. Mike Budnik

 

[Shogun Locc]

Dustin Hazelett says patience is key in UFC's welterweight division

With his slick first-round submission victory over Tamdan McCrory at this past weekend's UFC 91 event, UFC welterweight debut Dustin Hazelett picked up his fifth UFC victory in six fights and his second consecutive Submission of the Night bonus.

However, the fighter -- who's now racked up three "fight night" bonuses worth a total of $105,000 over his past two fights -- said he is not yet a part of the 170-pound division's elite.

"You just have to take your time," the 22-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "A lot of guys try to rush it too quickly, try to climb to climb to the top quickly. I'm taking my time and working on getting better at everything.

"I'm not trying to get to the top the fastest. I'm trying to earn my right to be there."

Aside from a loss to Tony DeSouza in his UFC debut -- a fight he took on short notice -- Hazelett (12-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has been defeated by only one other UFC fighter: perennial contender Josh Koscheck. Hazelett won the first round of their UFC 82 fight, but Koscheck stormed back for a TKO victory in the second.

"I really thought that fight would be my break-out performance," Hazelett said. "I made some mistakes, though. I learned from them, and I moved on."

Up next was a fight with "The Ultimate Fighter 2" cast member Josh Burkman at The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale in June. Hazelett put on a dazzling performance, and that long-awaited breakout performance went as planned. After using a whizzer to transition into a flying armbar, Hazelett forced the tap-out moments later.

The preliminary-card performance, which was streamed for free on UFC.com after the event, netted Hazelett a $20,000 Submission of the Night bonus, as well as a $20,00 Fight of the Night bonus.

However, the ground specialist wasn't completely satisfied with his stand-up game, which is an area he's working diligently to improve. So, he found someone built like the 6-foor-4 McCrory who could also force Hazelett to improve for his UFC 91 bout.

"I had been working a lot with Dorian Price on the stand-up," Hazelett said of the "TUF 6" cast member. "We worked hard, and he showed me a lot. Some of the things I did really well. Some of them I just didn't do.

"Like, I saw [McCrory's] leg kicks coming, and I just stood there and did nothing, kind of like in the Burkman fight when I let him just stand there and punch me in the body. I don't know why I did it. My stand-up is better than that. I just haven't shown it yet."

Hazelett eventually pulled guard and forced the fight to the ground, where he soon secured an omoplata. However, he ultimately forced the submission from a painful armbar that forced McCrory to tap.

Hazelett admits McCrory threw him off his game plan early.

"It was weird," Hazelett said. "It wasn't his reach. He just didn't rush me. I watched his fights, and every single fight of his he just rushed forward, and he didn't do it (this time). He kind of took me out of my game for a while because I was kind of waiting for him to rush me so I could move and counter."

So, is that was caused some of those early lulls in action during the fight?

"Yeah, I was waiting for him to come forward, and he probably watched my fights and was waiting for me to come forward," Hazelett said. "So we both just kind of stood there."

Despite the obstacles, he got the much-needed victory. And Hazelett, who made the first TV appearance of his seven-fight UFC career, likely assured future main-card placement.

As he said (in my column for the Dayton Daily News), he dug the main-card treatment.

"I wouldn't say it's different, but I would say it's better obviously," Hazelett said. "I'm not going to lie. The more people I fight in front of, the more excited I get.

"I just really enjoy fighting, and I love fighting. I think that shows when I'm competing."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Updated "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" fight card

Affliction Entertainment has announced a total of 11 fights for its Jan. 24 "Day of Reckoning" card, and all but three bouts have both competitors confirmed.

The event, which takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., airs on HDNet (preliminary card) before heading to Showtime PPV for the night's main card, which includes a headline bout between WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski.

Only Josh Barnett, Vitor Belfort and Brett Cooper are currently without opponents.

As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) mentioned on Monday, tickets for the event go on sale Wednesday beginning at 1 p.m. ET. It's the second event held under the Affliction banner.

The latest card now includes:

MAIN CARD (SHOWTIME PPV)

•WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski
•Josh Barnett vs. TBA
•Vitor Belfort vs. TBA
•Matt Lindland vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral
•Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
PRELIMINARY CARD (HDNet)

•Vladamir Matyushenko vs. Antontio Rogerio Nogueira
•Jay Hieron vs. Jason High
•LC. Davis vs. Mark Hominick
•Antonio Duarte vs. Albert Rios
•Brett Cooper vs. TBA
•Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov

 

[Shogun Locc]

Paulo Filho likely released from WEC contract and will not fight in UFC … for now

What a difference three weeks and one head-scratching performance makes.

Paulo Filho — the last man to hold the WEC middleweight title (albeit under bizarre circumstances) — has apparently been cut by Zuffa following his unanimous decision loss to Chael Sonnen last month and will not join the the UFC roster once the promotion dissolves its 185-pound category, according to WrestlingObserver.com via FiveOuncesOfPain.com.

Filho signed with the WEC last year with an undefeated record (14-0) and a reputation as one of the top 185 pounders in the world. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist was brought in to bolster the credibility of the division and help the organization grow.

Therefore, it came as no surprise that he was granted an immediate opportunity to challenge Joe Doerksen for the vacant division title in just his first fight with the promotion. Filho made a statement out of Doerksen with a first round technical knockout, sending notice to all other WEC middleweights that this division was now his.

The promotion wasted no time in getting its champion back into action with his first title defense against Sonnen at WEC 31 just four months later. Filho was a huge favorite to win the bout and nobody gave the challenger much of a chance to win.

However, Sonnen came to fight that night. He dictated the pace and controlled where the action went with his wrestling base and reach advantage. He was clearly ahead on the scorecards before the champ slipped in a fight-ending armbar late in the second round to retain his title.

Most people chalked up the poor performance by Filho to a simple case of him just having a bad night, but behind the scenes there was a lot more going on.

It was revealed shortly thereafter that Filho was in the midst of a long-term battle with depression and substance abuse. Accordingly, he clearly was not devoting himself completely to fighting and for the first time it showed up in his performance.

A rematch with Sonnen was postponed for almost a year while the promotion allowed Filho time to recover from his illnesses and return to form as one of the best in the world. Many people believed he had done just that during his time away from competing and that it would show during the fight at WEC 36.

Clearly that wasn’t the case.

He came into the weigh-ins for the bout at a staggering seven pounds over the 185 pound division limit. It was obvious then — and even more so throughout the fight — that he was still dealing with a lot of personal demons that were preventing him from competing at the level we all knew he capable of competing at.

Filho holds career wins over Kazuo Misaki, Ninja Rua, Ryo Chonon, Yuki Kondo and plenty of other world class caliber fighters. The talent and skill set is there, but for the time being he clearly has a few screws that need some tightening.

This move by Zuffa comes as no surprise.

Two years ago Filho could have easily made the move to the UFC and been more than competitive, but as of right now, he’s just not ready.

This is an important time in his life, not only as a fighter, but as a human being. Hopefully he can get the professional help he needs to get his life in order. nd then maybe we as fans will get the opportunity to see this talented fighter back in action at 100 percent … maybe even in the UFC.

 

[Shogun Locc]

RYAN FORD OUT OF MFC TITLE FIGHT WITH INJURY

Ryan Ford has been forced out of his upcoming rematch for the Maximum Fighting Championship welterweight title due to a knee injury suffered in training.

According to a release from MFC, Ford hyper-extended his left knee and while there was no serious damage, he will be unable to compete on the Dec. 5 card.

"My knee got bent the wrong way and some of the ligaments got stretched," said Ford. “I have to stay off it for a bit so there was no way I could have a full training camp, which means I couldn’t be fully prepared for the fight."

Ford was originally scheduled for a rematch with MFC welterweight champion Pat Healy, who defeated the Canadian fighter in July to win the title.

While the delay is disappointing for both fighters, Healy and Ford have agreed to push their fight back to the Feb. 20 MFC card set for the River Cree Resort and Casino.

“I want Healy again and I want to avenge that loss. I’m happy we’re set for Feb. 20 and I’ll be ready to rock,” Ford stated.

Regardless of the injury, Ford will be in attendance at the MFC show on Dec. 5 and has stated he has much interest in seeing the promotional debut of John Alessio, who is scheduled to fight on the card, as the two have apparently had words for each other in the past.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Babalu: ‘If I have to break my hand on [Bobby Southworth’s] face, I will’

“Bobby called me out and I gladly accepted the challenge. On Friday, the world will learn what Bobby already knows – that this was the biggest mistake of his career. I’m going to be looking for the knockout. If I have to break my hand on his face, I will.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Anderson Silva to train boxing with Freddie Roach (Video)