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And Now He’s Fired (Again): David Loiseau

(David Loiseau waits for the merciful hand of the referee against Mario Miranda at UFC 115. Photo courtesy of UFC.com.)
After taking a rather ugly TKO loss against Mario Miranda during the UFC 115 preliminary card earlier this month, Canadian veteran…

David Loiseau Mario Miranda UFC 115
(David Loiseau waits for the merciful hand of the referee against Mario Miranda at UFC 115. Photo courtesy of UFC.com.)

After taking a rather ugly TKO loss against Mario Miranda during the UFC 115 preliminary card earlier this month, Canadian veteran David Loiseau has been officially released by the UFC. The firing represents the fourth time that Loiseau has parted ways with the UFC since 2003, as well as his fourth-straight defeat in the Octagon — a losing skid that began with his unsuccessful shot at Rich Franklin’s middleweight title at UFC 58.

Following UFC 115, Dana White was openly disappointed with the way Loiseau performed: "David’s been in this sport a long time, and again tonight he got dominated on the ground. That’s his problem…I’m sure (UFC matchmaker) Joe (Silva) is probably going to cut him after this fight, and David will probably have to work his way back up again…He’s been around the game a long time, like I said, but he keeps getting dominated on the ground."

Yoshihiro Akiyama Wants No Part of Chris Leben, Threatens to Pull Out of UFC 116

(Akiyama’s next fight just went from "Beauty and the Beast" to "Beauty and the Average-Looking Guy." *You* try to sell that. / Photo courtesy of ESPN.)
If you’re heartbroken that Wanderlei Silva won’t be competing at UFC 116 next …

(Akiyama’s next fight just went from "Beauty and the Beast" to "Beauty and the Average-Looking Guy." *You* try to sell that. / Photo courtesy of ESPN.)

If you’re heartbroken that Wanderlei Silva won’t be competing at UFC 116 next Saturday due to injury, well, Yoshihiro Akiyama feels your pain. In fact, he’s so unimpressed by the idea of Chris Leben coming in as a replacement that he doesn’t even want to fight anymore. From daum.net via BloodyElbow:

"I am not pleased with the change. There are just ten days left until the contest for me to determine [Chris Leben’s] threats and the time is insufficient to establish a tailored gameplan. Leben is also not as high-profile as [Wanderlei] Silva and that does not help me."

"If there is to be a replacement I was hoping for a big name. I spent one year preparing hard for this fight and this news has come as a big disappointment, my motivation has waned. I do not know yet what will happen…In the worst case, I will not take part in the [UFC 116] event. We are working hard to resolve this issue."

‘Cuddles’ vs. ‘Cyborg’ — The Staredown [PHOTO]

(Jan’s hair was done by her mortician. He figured, "hey, why not get a head-start." / Props: Esther Lin for Strikeforce) Journeywoman Jan "Cuddles" Finney (8-7) throws the dice on a real long-shot this Saturday as she steps up to…

(Jan’s hair was done by her mortician. He figured, "hey, why not get a head-start." / Props: Esther Lin for Strikeforce)

Journeywoman Jan "Cuddles" Finney (8-7) throws the dice on a real long-shot this Saturday as she steps up to take on 145-pound queen Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos (9-1) at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum. Finney describes MMA as a "hobby" that compliments her day-job as a personal trainer, but warns fans not to sleep on her: "I’m going to come right back at her. I’m not going to cower away. I’m probably going to be one of the strongest opponents she’s faced. I’m not saying I’m as strong as her, but you never know — I might be…I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I would also say I’ve got a pretty nice right hand."

After the jump: Fabricio Werdum shows off his size advantage against Fedor Emelianenko.

Strikeforce’s Middleweight Tournament Could Be All Kinds of Epic

(Jason "Mayhem" Miller, shown here with two of the countless enemies he’s made over the years.)
Losing your middleweight champ to the UFC after his contract runs out? Disaster. But Strikeforce plans to turn their lemons into lemonade with a…

(Jason "Mayhem" Miller, shown here with two of the countless enemies he’s made over the years.)

Losing your middleweight champ to the UFC after his contract runs out? Disaster. But Strikeforce plans to turn their lemons into lemonade with an upcoming eight-man tournament that will crown a new champion in their deepest division. Here’s what King Coker had to say about the MWGP he’ll put together if Jake Shields splits the scene:

Coker told MMAjunkie.com he is considering eight fighters for a potential tournament to begin at an event planned for Aug. 21: Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Robbie Lawler, Tim Kennedy, Dan Henderson, Nick Diaz [Ed. note: Nick’s already the Strikeforce welterweight champ, so he’d be trying to scoop up his homey’s belt and rule over a second weight class] and "Mayhem" Miller. Additionally, the winner of a June 26 bout between Scott Smith and Cung Le is under consideration for a tourney spot, as is the winner of an upcoming World Victory Road/Sengoku bout between Kazuo Misaki and champ Jorge Santiago. The tournament would take place over two events, the Strikeforce CEO said. Houston is targeted for the first event, though the promotion has not confirmed a city or venue.

A two-event tournament means that the semi-finals and finals could potentially be held on the same night, Japan-style. And looking at that lineup, we see a lot of potential for sick matchups and serious grudge-settling. Think about it…

Knockout of the Week: Marlon Sandro Flattens Masanori Kanehara in 38 Seconds, Wins Sengoku Featherweight Title

(Props: neerbnadroj)
While American MMA fans were focused on the TUF 11 Finale and WEC 49 last weekend, Sengoku Raiden Championships 13 went down Sunday in Tokyo, featuring Masanori Kanehara’s first featherweight title defense against Marlon …

(Props: neerbnadroj)

While American MMA fans were focused on the TUF 11 Finale and WEC 49 last weekend, Sengoku Raiden Championships 13 went down Sunday in Tokyo, featuring Masanori Kanehara‘s first featherweight title defense against Marlon Sandro. Or should we say attempted title defense — Sandro needed just 38 seconds to blast Kanehara with a right uppercut and send him down to the canvas face-first, stiff as a board. Already the reigning featherweight King of Pancrase, Sandro now adds the Sengoku featherweight belt to his trophy case.

After an early career that was marked by more decisions than stoppages, Sandro (17-1) has scored three straight first-round knockouts since his controversial split-decision loss to Michihiro Omigawa last August; Sandro’s win over Kanehara follows his nine-second KO of Tomonari Kanomata at Sengoku 12. Sengoku 13 will be broadcast on HDNet this Friday at 10 p.m. ET. Full results from the event are after the jump…

Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

(Rule #17 of the Fighter Fist Pose: Never rest your head on the shoulder of a chubby man in a floral-print shirt, as it will completely negate the fist-pose’s power. / Photo courtesy of the TUF 11 Finale: Afterparty pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com…

Want your highly entertaining and incredibly popular MMA site to be part of the Wednesday morning link club? E-mail [email protected] for details…

– Fabricio Werdum: ‘I will choke Fedor in the first round’ (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Jan Finney Isn’t Going to “Cuddle” Cris Cyborg (FightMagazine)

– Ten Things We Learned From WEC 49 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Biggest Story Heading Into UFC 116 Is Not Brock Lesnar, It’s Shane Carwin (WatchKalibRun)

– ‘Strikeforce: Los Angeles’ Fighter Salaries (MMA Fighting)

– Kendall Grove Says Spike TV Controls ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, Not the UFC (MiddleEasy)

– MMAScraps Radio: Cain Velasquez, Ben Rothwell and Chris Barnett (MMA Scraps)