MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

KING MO ACCEPTS FINE, PROMISES MORE ANTICS

“King” Mo Lawal was fined 10 percent of his $10,000 fight purse by the California State Athletic Commission for spraying Rockstar energy drink in the cage at Strikeforce: Evolution. The act was a celebration following his knockout victory over Mike Whitehead on Dec. 19, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

Lawal isn’t happy with the fine, but understands the commission rules the roost.

“I just celebrated. You know what I’m saying? It’s not a big deal. It’s not like I kept on hitting him after the bell rang or when the referee stepped in,” Lawal told MMAWeekly.com content partner TapouT Radio. “Let’s keep it real. It‘s not that big of a deal.”

He asks, “Why should they punish me for celebrating?”

“I just did it to have fun. I knew Rockstar was the only drink I could have in there, and they’re sponsors,” explained the 28-year-old fighter. “They went in there and wiped it up. On top of that the mat was slippery to start out with. The Rockstar might have helped them gain more traction in their areas. It’s whatever.”

Lawal admitted he wasn’t aware he couldn’t celebrate in such a manner in the cage following a fight, but doesn‘t think the fine was justified.

“I guess it’s a part of being professional because the commission has rules,” he said. “I had no idea you couldn’t do that. I didn’t know, but it’s whatever. If that’s what they do to what I do, that’s what they can do.”

Losing 10 percent of his purse simply motivated Lawal, who promises more post-fight antics in the future.

“I’m going to do something. I don’t care. They can fine me. I’m going to be doing something after every fight just for them. They created a monster by fining me,” said the undefeated mixed martial artist.

“I’m just going to be creative and find ways to celebrate. If they want to fine me for the way I celebrate. That’s cool.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC Quick Quote: Judge admits 'Shogun' may have beat Lyoto Machida

“There was a round in that fight [round four] where my line of sight while they were standing was blocked. Because of the angle where most of the round was fought, I couldn’t see the punches and whether they were landing. If the fight had been on the ground, I could look at the big screens, but this was a fight where the blows were coming one at a time and you don’t want to look away and miss an important blow.”

-- Judge Doc Hamilton tells Yahoo!Sports.com that a poor position ringside may have affected his scoring of the championship match between Lyoto Machida and "Shogun" Rua back in October. Upon further review, he feels that "Shogun" likely won round four, which would have given him the match from Hamilton. However, Machida won via unanimous decision, meaning that even if Hamilton scored the bout the way he may have with a monitor, Machida still would have won via split decision.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fedor Emelianenko opens gym in Stary Oskol, Russia
videolink: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbnyrd_fedor-emelianenko-opens-gym-in-star_sport

 

[Shogun Locc]

Kevin Burns, Shane Nelson, Edgar Garcia & Darrill Schoonover cut by UFC

Four fighters fave been released from their contractual obligations to the UFC following mutual losses in the month of December.

Kevin Burns, Edgar Garcia, Shane Nelson and Darrill Schoonover have all been let go by the promotion according to a recent report from our friends at MMASurvival.com.

Burns was on a three fight losing skid inside of the Octagon with consecutive losses at the hands of Anthony Johnson, Chris Lytle and T.J. Grant after earning a submission victory over BJJ black belt Roan Carneiro and an eye poke TKO over Johnson in his first two bouts with the UFC.

Nelson is coming off of a pair of unanimous decision defeats at the hands of Aaron Riley and Matt Wiman after previously toppling Riley and George Roop in the UFC after his stint on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

The heavy handed Garcia entered the UFC undefeated and is leaving with two losses on his record at the hands of Brad Blackburn and DaMarques Johnson during action packed bouts.

Schoonover was released following his recent TUF 10 Finale TKO loss to James McSweeney, and while he had suffered an unofficial knockout defeat at the oversized hands of Marcus Jones, Darrill entered the house with an unblemished record of 10-0.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Anderson Silva: The next champion will be Nate Marquardt

With ever present talk of an inevitable temporary vacation from mixed martial arts since what seems like the beginning of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s stint with the promotion, it’s nearly impossible not to wonder what sort of shape the 185 pound weight class in the UFC would take upon the dominant champion’s exit, or even defeat in the sport.

According to “The Spider” himself, he actually feels it will be a man he has faced off with in the not so distant past. A man widely known as “”The Great”.

“I think the next champion of this category will be Nate Marquardt,” said Silva in a recent coversation with Tatame.com, translated by urdirt.com. “If I’m not over with the belt, I believe Nate will be the next champion 84kg, the next guy to win for a long, long time this way.”

While others have freely pointed to Marquardt’s progression as a fighter since the time the pair first faced off as a theory as to why Nate would pose the toughest test for Silva at middleweight, it’s also something that Anderson himself has not failed to notice.

“I’ve been following all his fights and he has evolved a lot since the last time we fought He has evolved a lot, it’s hard, has a good feature for a fighter, evolved a lot during the fight,” explained Silva. “I believe he is the next champion in that category.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

King of the Cage hit Japan

King of the Cage will make its Japanese debut on January 30th at the Okinawa Convention Center for "King of the Cage: Toryumon."

The card so far includes:
Mamoru Yamaguchi vs. Frank Baca - KOTC flyweight championship
Tony Hervey vs. Kotetsu Boku - KOTC lightweight championship
Toby Imada vs. Kiichi Kunimoto
Shigeki Matsuda vs. Tatsuya So

 

[Shogun Locc]

Bryan Caraway vs. Mark Hominick official as WEC 46 card nearly complete

After a few late injuries forced some card-shuffling over the holiday season, "WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson" is once again nearly complete.

The organization today officially announced a contest first reported by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) as Mark Hominick (16-8 MMA, 0-2 WEC) meets WEC newcomer Bryan Caraway (14-3 MMA, 0-0 WEC) on the evening's preliminary card.

Featuring a lightweight title unification match between dual champs Jamie Varner and Benson Henderson, WEC 46 takes place Jan. 10 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif.

The main card airs live on Versus.

The WEC was forced to look for a new opponent for Hominick when original opponent Yves Jabouin was forced to withdraw from the card earlier this month.

Hominick, a former UFC fighter, hopes to avoid his third consecutive loss in the WEC. He suffered submission defeats to Rani Yahya and Josh Grispi, though the WEC appearances were separated by a pair of wins over Ben Greer and Danny Martinez in the Canadian-based TKO organization, which has been a longtime home for the Ontario native.

Meanwhile, Caraway seeks a win in his WEC debut. The Washington resident has had brushes with major organizations before including two appearances under the Strikeforce banner and one bout for EliteXC. Caraway has earned 12 of his 14 career wins by submission, and his lone career losses have come to former EliteXC champion Wilson Reis and recent UFC signee John Gunderson.

With the official addition to the card, WEC 46 now includes:

MAIN CARD

* Champ Jamie Varner vs. interim champ Benson Henderson (to unify lightweight title)
* Raphael Assuncao vs. Urijah Faber
* Dave Jansen vs. Kamal Shalorus
* Mike Brown vs. Anthony Morrison
* Mackens Semerzier vs. Deividas Taurosevicius

PRELIMINARY CARD

* Akitoshi Tamura vs. Charlie Valencia
* Bryan Caraway vs. Mark Hominick
* Wagnney Fabiano vs. Frank Gomez
* George Roop vs. Eddie Wineland*
* Will Campuzano vs. Coty Wheeler

* - Not officially announced

 

[Shogun Locc]

Light heavyweight Thiago Silva intent on Lyoto Machida rematch with UFC 108 win

The 2010 plan for Brazilian slugger Thiago Silva (14-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is a simple one: get another shot at Lyoto Machida.

The former light heavyweight title challenger already took one step toward that goal with a spectacular TKO of Keith Jardine in August. Now he hopes to take another with a win over Rashad Evans (13-1-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) in the main event of Saturday's "UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva" event in Las Vegas.

"I learned a lot from that fight (with Machida)," Silva recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) through an interpreter. "I think I can correct the mistakes from that fight. I'm not overlooking anything else right now, but I just want to get the chance to fight him again."

Silva burst on the UFC scene with three-straight TKO wins in 2007. His aggressive brand of striking attack, coupled with a throat-slashing gesture at the conclusion of his wins, quickly made him a fan-favorite. But the January loss to Machida sent his stock tumbling just as fast.

Silva said the valuable learning experience has prepared him for his first-ever UFC main-event contest. And, perhaps surprisingly, Silva believes it's important for him to operate with less emotion than in the past.

"We learn with our mistakes, and I learned a lot with these mistakes," Silva said. "That was a big stage. ... This is my job, and this is one of my resolutions: be [the least] emotional I can be, and go there to perform a job and do my best, to be the best, and get a win and put myself on a track to be the champion.

"That's what I want, is to compete against the best and be the champion. That's what it is. A win against Rashad would put me in the track against Lyoto. That's where I want to go."

Evans has shown a propensity to stand and trade in previous contests, and that cost him in his own bout Machida. But in the buildup for this fight, Evans has hinted at a return to his wrestling roots. Silva said he's expecting as much.

"The game plan is go there and fight the best fight," Silva said. "Every opportunity that shows up there, I'm kind of the complete fighter that will be fighting on the ground and standup. Whatever shows up there, you know we've got to be ready for it."

Evans has said he knew a fight with Silva was imminent after the Brazilian "gave him a look" following his win over Jardine. But Silva insists there's no underlying rivalry in the matchup.

"There is no bad blood at all in our part," Silva said. "This is my job. This is what I wanted to do. I want to fight the best. I want to be with the best.

"It's good to fight Rashad, because he's one of the best in the world. There's no bad blood at all on our side."

Instead Evans simply serves as the next bump in the road on a path that leads directly back to the source of Silva's lone failure: Machida.

"We learned from the fight with Machida to be a less emotional fighter," Silva said. "When I watch that tape against Machida, I see the mistakes. And this time ... I would change my style a lot for the last fight.

"I want to fight for the belt, that's for sure. ... I want to be the champion."

 

[Shogun Locc]

WEC 46 fighter weigh-ins slated for Jan. 9 in Sacramento, Calif. (venue TBD)

The official fighter weigh-in event for "WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson" takes place Saturday, Jan. 9, though the location for the ceremonies has yet to be announced.

ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif., hosts the following day's Versus-broadcast event, which features a main event of lightweight champion Jamie Varner vs. interim champion Benson Henderson.

The venue is booked on Saturday with an NBA game between the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets, and the WEC may be forced to look elsewhere for a spot to host the weigh-ins.

Doors for the weigh-ins open at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT local time), and the first fighter hits the scale at 7 p.m. ET. You can watch a live video stream of the weigh-ins on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

As always, the event is free and open to the public.

The full WEC 46 event includes:

MAIN CARD

* Champ Jamie Varner vs. interim champ Benson Henderson (to unify lightweight title)
* Raphael Assuncao vs. Urijah Faber
* Mike Brown vs. Anthony Morrison
* Dave Jansen vs. Kamal Shalorus
* Mackens Semerzier vs. Deividas Taurosevicius

PRELIMINARY CARD

* Akitoshi Tamura vs. Charlie Valencia
* Wagnney Fabiano vs. Frank Gomez
* Bryan Caraway vs. Mark Hominick*
* George Roop vs. Eddie Wineland*
* Will Campuzano vs. Coty Wheeler

* - Not officially announced

 

[Shogun Locc]

Mousasi's 2010 plans include Strikeforce in April, DREAM grand prix, boxing

While Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1) may have been a last-second addition to the year-end "Dynamite!! 2009" event in Japan, "The Dreamcatcher's" 2010 is already being mapped out.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently spoke with Mousasi's manager and M-1 Global exec Apy Echteld, who said the 24-year-old will appear for both Strikeforce and DREAM in the first half of 2010.

And the DREAM appearances could garner Mousasi another title belt.

"We are waiting for the schedule of Strikeforce," Echteld said. "It is a little bit surprising for us that there is no schedule yet. [Mousasi] will fight in April, together with Fedor (Emelianenko).

"After that, the 30th of May, he will have a fight in Japan – the first round of the light heavyweight championship. Then in July, he will have his second round of the light heavyweight championship."

Mousasi is a five-time DREAM veteran who earned the organization's middleweight grand prix title in 2008 before vacating the belt to move up to the 205-pound division. Now it appears he'll look to replicate that success in 2010, only this time in the light heavyweight division.

Mousasi had been eyeing a potential boxing match in January, but those plans were scrapped when the partnership of DREAM, World Victory Road and K-1 finally delivered on a long-rumored contest for the year-end show.

"We've been working on a (New Year's Eve) fight for [Mousasi] for a long time," Echteld said. "From our side, we didn't believe it (was going to happen), so we went to a boxing fight on Jan. 8. Two days ago, the Japanese gave me a call and asked me if he could fight. Then they come up with a kickboxing match, and they came up with some other things. Finally, we accepted Gary Goodridge as an opponent to fight.

"Kickboxing is what they proposed to do, and we asked for it to be an MMA fight."

Goodridge was previously booked for a Jan. 9 "MMA Big Show" fight in Indiana with Ron Sparks. That match appears to be in jeopardy with the booking of the "Dynamite!! 2009" bout.

Echteld said the second half of 2010 is a bit less clear for Mousasi, but boxing may take priority depending on how Strikeforce elects to schedule its year.

"After [the April fight, Mousasi] has to make one more fight with Strikeforce," Echteld said. "Because we don't know the schedule yet, we are seriously thinking of making him do boxing fights in the second part of the year because it's still something he wants to do."

Mousasi claimed Strikeforce's light heavyweight title with a 60-second TKO of former champ Renato "Babalu" Sobral in August. Mousasi has since earned a non-title win over Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in November.

The fast-rising star is currently riding a 14-fight win streak that includes victories under the Strikeforce, DREAM and PRIDE banners.

 

[Shogun Locc]

CANTWELL OFF UFC 108, REPLACEMENT SOUGHT

And the curse continues...

Vladimir Matyushenko on Tuesday confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that his originally scheduled opponent for this weekend’s UFC 108 in Las Vegas, Steve Cantwell, is out of their fight due to undisclosed reasons.

The UFC has told Matyushenko that they are actively searching to find a replacement, and that he should continue his preparations to make weight on Friday and fight on Saturday.

Leading up to UFC 108, Cantwell had lost two fights in a row and appeared to be in serious need of a win to stay with the promotion. The former WEC champion was moved to the UFC last year when the WEC ceased promoting the 205-pound weight class.

Matyushenko on the other hand recently returned to the UFC for the first time in six years when he defeated Igor Pokrajac at UFC 103 in September. He is currently amidst a run that has seen him win 10 of 11 fights. His only loss during that time was to another recent UFC acquisition, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, when the two fought for Affliction in January.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Miguel Torres vs Joseph Benavidez in the works for WEC 47 on March 6

Former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres is in talks to return to action against top division prospect Joseph Benavidez at WEC 47: "Bowles vs. Cruz" from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 6, 2010.

MMAmania.com (www.mmamania.com) learned of the planned match-up earlier today.

Torres hasn't see the inside of a cage since his stunning first round knockout loss to Brian Bowles at WEC 42 last August at "The Joint" from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The former champ is still widely regarded as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. Prior to crashing to earth at WEC 42, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt had not lost since 2003. He was riding an amazing 17-fight win streak, which came to a crashing end courtesy of several unanswered bombs from the newly crowned champion.

Unfortunately the East Chicago native won't enjoy the opportunity to ease back into the title hunt as a plethora of hungry bantamweights are circleing the waters for their shot at 135-pound gold.

Chief among them is Benavidez, fresh off a first round technical knockout over Rani Yahya at WEC 45: "Cerrone vs. Ratcliff" earlier this month.

Benavidez -- the protege and training partner of Urijah Faber -- battled Dominick Cruz in a number one contender eliminator match in the co-main event of WEC 42: "Torres vs. Bowles." The 25-year-old lost the first fight of his career that night, missing out on his chance to face the 135-pound division champion, Brian Bowles.

As a result, Cruz is now set to face Bowles at the March 6 event.

Like most bantamweights, Benavidez uses his speed and quickness to win fights. He's also a fantastic wrestler, which complements his athleticism nicely. Before the loss to Cruz, the Team Alpha Male product had won both of his appearances in the WEC cage by decision over Danny Martinez and Jeff Curran.

He's clearly near the top of the food chain in the fast growing WEC bantamweight division.

But is that enough to topple the former champ?

WEC 47 is expected to be headlined by Brian Bowles as he makes his first title defense against the 14-1 Dominick Cruz. Jens Pulver is also slated to make his WEC return after taking time off following a four-fight losing streak.

 

[Shogun Locc]

MMA Quick Quote: Herschel Walker fighting for unemployed husbands and housewives nationwide on Jan. 30

"I'm honored that Strikeforce and Scott Coker would give me this opportunity because a lot of people don't think a 47-year-old athlete can do this, but I told them I'm not your average athlete but at the same time I don't want to embarrass this sport. I think Dana (White) is just upset that he's not the only show in town. I think it's sad that he would say things [about me] when he doesn't even know me. I reckon everyone has a right to their opinion, but at the same time no one ever wanted to challenge me. I want to prove to all the 47-year-olds that if you get out of work you can do anything. To all the housewives and the husbands sitting on the couch saying they can't do anything, I want to prove that they can -- they just gotta get up and do it."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Junior dos Santos: Carwin vs. Mir for UFC interim title isn’t fair

With three consecutive wins inside of the Octagon since his arrival in the UFC, the one fighter that continuously seems to be thrown under the bus when talk turns to the future of the promotion’s heavyweight division in the absence of current champion Brock Lesnar is without a doubt Junior dos Santos.

The heavy handed Brazilian knockout artist burst onto the UFC scene with the first round demolition of the highly regarded Fabricio Werdum before rattling off consecutive TKO victories over the likes of Stefan Struve and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.

As it now looks like Shane Carwin and Frank Mir will be slugging it out for the UFC interim heavyweight crown, Dos Santos doesn’t agree with the decision, and surprisingly it’s not in his best interest but a close friend’s.

“I think it isn’t fair,” said Dos Santos in a recent conversation with Tatame.com. “I think [Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira] was closer to fight for the belt and that he should dispute, but as MMA don’t follow a ranking we have to move on according to UFC’s decisions.”

Junior will be facing off with fellow striker Gilbert Yvel during UFC 108 this Saturday evening, January 2, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Ronaldo Jacaré Interview

Ronaldo Jacaré’s debut at Strikeforce couldn’t have been better. After fitting an arm lock, the black belt finished the fight against Matt Lindland with a tight arm triangle choke. After the victory, Jacaré talked to TATAME about expectations to the future, the dream to win his first belt on MMA and a lot more.

What did you think about the fight?
It was a good fight. Wem ade a strategy and I could make it. I thank to X-Gym team for supporting me with (Josuel) Distak, my MMA trainer, (Rogério) Camões, physical preparing, Cesário, Boxe trainer, Tonico, from Muay thai, and all my train partners.

Did you imagine that it would end so fast?
I didn’t, but I was calm and I knew I was in great shape.

You had faced before (on ADCC) and you submitted him too...
I believe a lot in my Jiu-Jitsu and it made the difference again.

What did Strikeforce guys thought about your fight? Did they say something on the backstage?
They said I made a beautiful fight and I was strong.

Did someone said something about your return?
Not yet, but I think that this week they must say something. I don’t know if it’s gonna be for the belt but on the right time they’ll put me to fight for the belt.

Dan Henderson, Jake Shields or Jason Miller: if you could choose, with who would you like to fight and how do you think that the fight would be?
Jake Shields... He has the belt.

Gegard Mousasi has the belt of the category above. Do you think about changing category to have this revenge? What would you make different?
I’m a professional athlete and I don’t keep remembering the defeats.

What’s your expectations to 2010?
To make three fights and that one or two have five rounds with five minutes.

Send your message to people who supported you...
I thank God for taking care of me and to all the fans for supporting. I’ll always be ready to be on the cage and make great fights.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Mizuto Hirota speaks

Hirota says that he’s excited for the fight. He’s more excited than nervous. He thinks that Aoki’s grappling is top class even in the whole world. He doesn’t have the impression of Aoki’s fights being interesting/fun though.

Hirota’s image of himself winning is through pounding. He says that Aoki has been on the bottom a lot so when Aoki gets careless he’ll get one shot in, and then, two and three…

Hirota says that he doesn’t feel pressured since everyone seems to think: “At any rate, Aoki will probably win”. He has watched a lot of videos of Aoki’s fights and is going into the fight with a grappling counter-plan.

He chose the hairstyle for the fight because next year is the year of the tiger in Chinese astrology. It took 4 hours.

He thinks that Kitaoka and Aoki are very different. Kitaoka is the type that comes at you with power while his image of Aoki is stubborn, repulsive/unpleasant, and insistent.

When asked to what extent he wants to beat up Aoki, Hirota said: “I want to say: “until his parents house”, but that’s close-by, isn’t it? (laugh) Yeah, I want to beat him up until he can’t fight anymore.”

Kim Jong Man Speaks

Kim Jong Man is currently trying to get his weight down. The offer to fight came very sudden and if it was another event he probably would have declined. Since it was an offer to fight on Dynamite!! he immediately started cutting weight though. It seems like the cut has gone well.

He is honored to be a representative of SENGOKU and will give it is his all to not cause any trouble for the organization.

He’s been interested in DREAM since it started and has always felt that he would like to participate in the promotion one day.

He has seen all of Tokoro’s fights and thinks that his fighting style is charming. Tokoro vs. Royce is the Tokoro fight which has left the biggest impression on him.

Kazunori Yokota Speaks

Kazunori Yokota says that his mental state going into the fight is the same as always. He trained too much yesterday so he’s feeling a little tired though.

His impression of Kawajiri is that he’s a complete takedown fighter. He loses against fighters he can’t take down (Gomi and Alvarez) and wins against fighters he can take down (Calvan).

He thinks that he has a speed and stand-up advantage over Kawajiri but that Kawajiri has the power advantage. He wants to defeat Kawajiri by strikes.

He’s been thinking a lot about his microphone performance after the fight (it’s kind of his gimmick now, doing a mic performance after his wins). However, he thinks that they’ll definiely cut it out and air commercials. Since the visitors say that his performances are long, he wants to put it all together compactly and either bomb or succeed.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Rutten: Kimbo Shouldn’t Cut Weight

Kimbo Slice’s one-time trainer Bas Rutten had a single critique after watching the fighter’s Dec. 5 victory against Houston Alexander: stay at heavyweight.

Slice, whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, dipped below his usual 230-pound-plus frame to make a 215-pound catch-weight against Alexander at “The Ultimate Fighter 10” finale in Las Vegas. Slice won the bout by unanimous decision.

“I think the biggest problem for him, and I called Mike, his manager, and I said don’t let him fight anymore under his normal weight, like 218, or whatever he was,” Rutten told host Bruce Buffer on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “It’s Time” show on Tuesday. “That’s not him. You’ll take too much power away from him. Let him fight at the weight that he walks around with. That’s the happy weight because you feel the best.”

Slice, who voiced his disdain for the cut in the days leading up to the bout, said he’d be willing to compete again at 215 pounds and above in a recent exclusive video interview with Sherdog.com.

“I’ll bang with anybody that wants to bang at 215, that wants to see me in that division,” said Slice. “205, I won’t get, but you come in at 215, man, and we can do this, you know what I’m saying? We can talk.”

Rutten also dismissed past reports that he’d spoken ill of his former student’s work ethic after the coach and fighter parted ways late last year. Slice trained at Rutten’s California gym for his EliteXC bouts against James Thompson and Seth Petruzelli. The 35-year-old fighter began training again in September at American Top Team, not far from Slice’s Miami-based home.

“No, I didn’t say that, but that’s something (some of the media) came up with,” said Rutten. “I want to see that interview. If they say, ‘Oh, Bas said that,’ OK, well, then show me that interview, you know? But nobody can come up with that interview.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Matyushenko-Cantwell Pulled from UFC 108

A light heavyweight bout between Vladimir Matyushenko and Steve Cantwell has been pulled from Saturday’s UFC 108 roster, confirmed Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer via email on Wednesday.

Kizer said no reason was given for the bout’s removal nor was he sure if the promotion’s decision was final. Kizer said no replacement name has been submitted for either fighter.

MMAWeekly.com reported Tuesday that Matyushenko’s camp believed Cantwell had been withdrawn from the bout for an undisclosed reason and that a replacement was being sought for Saturday. ProMMA.info reported later that day that Cantwell’s management, KO Reps, said the bout was still on, though a “minor issue” needed to be resolved Wednesday morning.

Calls to Matyushenko’s management were not immediately returned.

 

[Shogun Locc]

FANS WARMING UP TO RASHAD EVANS

UFC 108 headliner Rashad Evans got an unexpected surprise in the lobby of the MGM Grand on Tuesday: cheers.

“What a difference a year makes,” Evans said in between screams of his name. “Last year I would have came in, probably got boo’ed out of the place, but it’s cool that everybody is receiving me well.”

His fight on Saturday with Thiago Silva is incredibly important for keeping his place on the light heavyweight ladder, but he’s determined not to let the pressure make him freeze.

Evans said he had matured greatly as a fighter in the last year, and though much of his evolution came with heartache – he said he had become deeply depressed after losing his belt to Lyoto Machida at UFC 96 – it had made him a better person.

In serving as a coach on the tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” he re-connected to his passion for fighting, and thinks that was the catalyst for changing his image with fans.

“It gave people the chance to see the type of person I truly am,” he said. “A lot of people took to it. It feels good, because it’s one thing to be known for just being out there for 15 minutes at a time, but it’s another thing to have 13 weeks of people following you and getting to see your character... it shows people a different side of you.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Mousasi says training “Not Good” for upcoming Dynamite! contest