Author: Andrew Saunders

Ben Rothwell out of UFC on Fox 4; Devin Cole to Replace Him?

An ankle injury has forced Big Ben Rothwell out of a main-card fight at next week’s UFC on Fox 4 event, according to MMAjunkie.com. Thankfully, the injury is minor and should only keep the heavyweight star out of action for a few weeks.Rothwell’s oppon…

An ankle injury has forced Big Ben Rothwell out of a main-card fight at next week’s UFC on Fox 4 event, according to MMAjunkie.com. Thankfully, the injury is minor and should only keep the heavyweight star out of action for a few weeks.

Rothwell’s opponent, Travis Browne, is to remain on the card, as he will likely face off against Devin Cole, according to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com. However, the UFC has not made an official announcement regarding the replacement.

Cole is a veteran of Strikeforce, Shark Fights and the IFL. He is riding a two-fight winning streak at the shutdown of Strikeforce’s heavyweight division, and this will be his first appearance in the UFC.

Browne welcomed another Strikeforce import into the Octagon back at UFC 145 when he submitted Chad Griggs in the first round. The contest was Browne’s fifth in the UFC and boosted his professional record to 13-0-1.

Despite Rothwell coming off of a stellar knockout over Brendan Schaub, Browne was entering the fight as a 3:1 favorite according to bovada.lv.

There is no official word if Browne vs. Cole would remain on the main card.

UFC on Fox 4 takes place on Saturday, Aug. 4. The main event features former UFC champion Mauricio Rua in a light-heavyweight battle with Brandon Vera. With a solid co-main event of Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader, the event looks to be the best card that the UFC has put on Fox to date.

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UFC 153: Vitor Belfort vs. Alan Belcher Becomes Official

Well, that didn’t take long.Less than 24 hours after Vitor Belfort posted on Twitter that he would accept the challenge of surging contender Alan Belcher, MMAJunkie.com has confirmed that the bout is officially set for the UFC’s return to Brazil in Oct…

Well, that didn’t take long.

Less than 24 hours after Vitor Belfort posted on Twitter that he would accept the challenge of surging contender Alan Belcher, MMAJunkie.com has confirmed that the bout is officially set for the UFC’s return to Brazil in October.

Belfort has been outspoken about wanting another shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and he recently campaigned for a bout with Chris Weidman in order to achieve his goal. While Weidman shot down that idea, it appears that the former UFC champion will settle for a bout with Belcher in his home country.

“The Talent” has looked great in the UFC for the last several years. Aside from a controversial decision loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama back at UFC 100, Belcher has gone undefeated in his last seven Octagon appearances.

If Belfort can get through Belcher, then it will be his third consecutive win after getting knocked out by Silva in spectacular fashion at UFC 126. His other wins include finishes of Akiyama and Anthony Johnson.

UFC 153 takes place on October 13 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the card has definitely beefed up in the last few weeks. As of right now, the main card looks like this:

Jose Aldo vs. Erik Koch – UFC Featherweight Championship
Quinton Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira
Vitor Belfort vs. Alan Belcher
Rony “Jason” vs. Sam Sicilia 

Stay tuned to B/R MMA for news, analysis, predictions and previews for all things MMA.

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Keith Jardine and 10 Tough Guys That Should Retire

Mixed martial arts fans tend to find an emotional connection towards their favorite fighters. It’s the nasty pit in our stomach that feels like we swallowed a hot ball of lead any time our hero eats a vicious knockout at the hands of his foe.Fans and i…

Mixed martial arts fans tend to find an emotional connection towards their favorite fighters. It’s the nasty pit in our stomach that feels like we swallowed a hot ball of lead any time our hero eats a vicious knockout at the hands of his foe.

Fans and industry personnel alike had begged Chuck Liddell to consider hanging up his gloves after his loss to Shogun Rua, as it was the third tremendous lights-out moment suffered in a five-fight span.

Thankfully, Liddell would take the advance of Dana White and call it a day, but there are still many stars competing who should think about making their way to the door.

One fighter who comes to mind immediately is Keith Jardine. His losses greatly outnumber his wins in recent years, and he has received some hellacious knockouts that will live on highlight reels forever.

Here is a look at 10 fighters, historically known as tough guys, who should call it a day and ride off into the sunset.

Author’s Note: I want to address comments that I know are coming before they arrive. 

You probably expect to see Wanderlei Silva on this list, but you won’t. The former PRIDE champion has looked solid in his last performances and has shown us that he can still take a punch and dole out tremendous punishment.

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The 25 Hottest Women in MMA History

Let’s face it: UFC 149 was an embarrassment. MMA fans paid their hard earned dollars for a PPV that turned out to be nearly unwatchable. Sometimes the MMA world owes you an apology, and this is one of those times.Welcome to your apology.In an atte…

Let’s face it: UFC 149 was an embarrassment. MMA fans paid their hard earned dollars for a PPV that turned out to be nearly unwatchable. 

Sometimes the MMA world owes you an apology, and this is one of those times.

Welcome to your apology.

In an attempt to convince you that UFC 149 was just a bad dream that never actually happened, B/R MMA has put together a collection of the best that mixed martial arts has to offer.

From Ronda Rousey to Arianny Celeste and many more, here is a look at the 25 hottest women in MMA history.

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UFC 149 Results: 5 Fights for Brian Ebersole to Take at Lightweight

At UFC 149, Brian Ebersole took a short-notice fight against James Head in the welterweight division. Shortly before accepting the bout, Ebersole had announced a planned move to the lightweight division, where the 31-year-old thought his body was bette…

At UFC 149, Brian Ebersole took a short-notice fight against James Head in the welterweight division. Shortly before accepting the bout, Ebersole had announced a planned move to the lightweight division, where the 31-year-old thought his body was better suited.

Immediately after the contest with Head, Ebersole was shown on camera talking through the cage to Joe Rogan, who asked if the “Bad Boy” was still planning on moving to 155. Ebersole confirmed that his intentions had not changed, and threw in “these guys are big!”

Maybe Ebersole predicted the wrestling troubles that were in his future. Unable to work his opponent to the canvas, the new-lightweight failed on 14 takedown attempts.

The loss to Head snapped an 11-fight winning streak, which included four victories inside the Octagon. 

Here is a look at five fights that we think Brian Ebersole should take in his new weight class of 155 pounds.

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UFC Signs World Champions Da Silva and Gomez to Their Roster

It looks as if the winner of UFC 152’s flyweight championship bout will have a credible title challenger after all.When Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez battle for the inaugural flyweight championship, the UFC looked to be in major need of an el…

It looks as if the winner of UFC 152’s flyweight championship bout will have a credible title challenger after all.

When Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez battle for the inaugural flyweight championship, the UFC looked to be in major need of an elite fighter to challenge the new title-holder.

In the past week, the UFC has made bulking up the flyweight division a priority. Last week, the Zuffa boys have announced the signing of former Shooto flyweight champion Jussier da Silva. This afternoon, Ulysses Gomez has been announced as the newest member of the UFC roster.

Gomez was the inaugural Tachi Palace Fights flyweight champion, and bulked up to bantamweight to win the TPF bantamweight championship last December.

“Useless” fights out of team Cobra Kai, an academy that he helped to found with Marc Laimon back in 2004. It was announced this afternoon that Gomez will step in at UFC on Fox on August 4th to fight John Moraga.

Ironically, Moraga was originally announced as an opponent for Da Silva at the event, but Da Silva was forced out of the bout due to an injury. Moraga himself is riding a four-fight winning streak, and is the Cage Rage bantamweight champion.

These signings are great news for the UFC flyweight division, which has been hurting for top-level talent. Da Silva and Gomez are two of the best in the world and will make welcome addition to the lineup.

If the UFC is as determined to sign the world’s best flyweights as they seem, then we should be hearing about negotiations with Darrell Montague and Sean Santella in the near future.

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