Author: ben

Because You Hate Him: Jamie Yager Highlight Reel

(Props: James Blair-BDog7)
You can call him a loudmouth liar with no heart — damned reality-show editing! — but to me, Jamie Yager was by far the most interesting character on the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. In the Octagon…

(Props: James Blair-BDog7)

You can call him a loudmouth liar with no heart — damned reality-show editing! — but to me, Jamie Yager was by far the most interesting character on the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. In the Octagon, he kept his opponents guessing with wild high-kicks and a relentless pace. (Not that we don’t love a long, drawn-out, wrestling-based grind.) In the house, he had a way of pushing his fellow fighters’ buttons.

Since he’s still so new to the game, the only non-TUF fight featured in the above highlight reel comes from another reality show, The Iron Ring, which he also appeared on. Unsurprisingly, the video doesn’t include the anti-climactic ending of his fight against Josh Bryant. Can Fro Cop redeem himself at this Saturday’s TUF 11 Finale against Rich Attonito?

After the jump: To get that oily Yager taste out of your mouth, here’s another highlight reel that James Blair did for a more deserving fighter…

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Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

("For years, Forrest Griffin has been waiting anxiously to find himself in a post-apocalyptic future. Why’s he so excited about the near-extinction of mankind? Think about it: with grooming and personal hygiene no longer a prerequisite to social …

Forrest Griffin book cover
("For years, Forrest Griffin has been waiting anxiously to find himself in a post-apocalyptic future. Why’s he so excited about the near-extinction of mankind? Think about it: with grooming and personal hygiene no longer a prerequisite to social acceptance, you can let your mutton chops grow and live out your secret fantasy of becoming Wolverine. You could kill squirrels with your bare hands, practice throwing knives all day, and never have to say ‘excuse me’ after farting." Props: Amazon.com)

Some must-see highlights from our friends around the Internet. Show your support. Tip your waitress.

– Chael Sonnen Pulls Out of Oregon State Senate Race (FightMagazine)

– Punch Drunk Preview: Strikeforce Los Angeles (Heavy.com/MMA)

– New EA Sports MMA Trailer from E3 (MMA Scraps)

– Scott Coker Thinks Nick Diaz vs. Mayhem Miller Will Happen Within Year (MMAFighting)

– This UFC Board Game Will Have You Addicted (MiddleEasy)

– Battlefield Medicine: Rich Franklin’s Broken Arm (WatchKalibRun)

– The Fight After the Fight: BAMMA Stiffs Petruzelli, War Machine, Horwich (Five Ounces of Pain)

The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale: The New Guys

(Travis Browne’s knockout of Brian Campbell)
(Travis Browne’s knockout of Abe Wagner)
Along with the six TUF 11 castmembers getting a shot on the preliminary card of this Saturday’s Finale show, two Octagon first-timers will also be trying to m…

(Travis Browne’s knockout of Brian Campbell)

(Travis Browne’s knockout of Abe Wagner)

Along with the six TUF 11 castmembers getting a shot on the preliminary card of this Saturday’s Finale show, two Octagon first-timers will also be trying to make a big impression. Get to know them below, and tell us how you think they’ll fare in the comments section…

TRAVIS BROWNE (HW)
Experience: 9-0 record with appearances in Bellator, King of the Cage, and Gladiator Challenge. Five of his wins came within the first minute of the fight. Most recently scored a 35-second knockout of Aaron Brink at a GC event in February, which followed an eight-second knockout of Abe Wagner two weeks earlier and a nine-second knockout of Brian Campbell last November.
Will be facing: James McSweeney (4-4, 1-0 UFC)
Lowdown: At 6’6", 250 pounds, and with a Carwin-like habit of ending fights early, Travis Browne could make a very nice addition to the UFC’s heavyweight roster. Based out of the Alliance Training Center in San Diego, "Hapa" works as a professional dog trainer when he’s not knocking people unconscious. Browne was exposed to drug and gang culture in his native Hawaii at an early age, but escaped his rough upbringing and found a positive outlet for his aggression in jiu-jitsu. He was not selected to appear on Bully Beatdown, which really bothered him.

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MMA FightPicker Update: Make Your Predictions for the TUF 11 Finale + WEC 49!

MMA fans have their work cut out for them this week, with three notable events featured on cable TV. Tomorrow night, Strikeforce: Los Angeles airs on Showtime (11 p.m. ET/PT), headlined by Robbie Lawler vs. Renato Sobral. On Saturday, the TUF 11 Fina…

Jamie Varner Kamal Shalorus WEC 49 poster

MMA fans have their work cut out for them this week, with three notable events featured on cable TV. Tomorrow night, Strikeforce: Los Angeles airs on Showtime (11 p.m. ET/PT), headlined by Robbie Lawler vs. Renato Sobral. On Saturday, the TUF 11 Finale goes down in Las Vegas (Spike TV, 9 p.m. ET/PT), with Court McGee and Kris McCray battling for the weird glass trophy, and Matt Hamill and Keith Jardine meeting in a light-heavyweight scrap. And on Sunday, Jamie Varner and Kamal Shalorus face off in a potential #1 lightweight contender’s match at WEC 49 in Edmonton (Versus, 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT). 

This week’s MMA FightPicker pools focus on the TUF 11 Finale, but we’ve also thrown in three matchups from the WEC card just to keep you on your toes. Feeling lucky? Then join some pools and show everybody how smart you really are. The current questions are after the jump…

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Poor Ticket Sales Force ‘UFC on Versus 2’ Out of Salt Lake City

"Some people are sending [us] emails going, ‘You guys are crazy going [to Salt Lake City] on a Sunday; it’s a holy day’…We’re going there on a Sunday. We’re going to Salt Lake City, Utah, and we’re going to put on an event…Talk to God and le…

UFC on Versus 2 Jon Jones Okami Matyushenko Munoz

"Some people are sending [us] emails going, ‘You guys are crazy going [to Salt Lake City] on a Sunday; it’s a holy day’…We’re going there on a Sunday. We’re going to Salt Lake City, Utah, and we’re going to put on an event…Talk to God and let him give you the day off to come watch." — Dana White, 4/22/10

Well, God has spoken, and he says "no dice." Due to sluggish ticket sales, the UFC on Versus 2 event scheduled for August 1st at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City has been canceled, and will instead be held at the San Diego Sports Arena. Said Dana: "Our television ratings in Salt Lake City have always been strong. When we finally found the opportunity to bring a UFC event there with a great card, I was very surprised and disappointed in ticket sales."

Fans who purchased tickets to the Salt Lake City event will receive a full refund, and tickets to the show at the San Diego venue go on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m. According to DW, it’s the first time in the company’s history that a venue has been changed after tickets already went on sale; UFC 12 comes to mind as an exception, but still, this is basically unprecedented. So what does it mean?

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