Calgary scratched; WEC 49 now official for Edmonton on June 20

With the UFC planning upcoming events in Canadian outposts Montreal and
Vancouver, the Canadian debut of the company’s sister promotion, World
Extreme Cagefighting, was just a matter of time.

That time is June 20.

But while WEC officials had discussed a potential event in Calgary, the
WEC will actually head a little further north in the province of
Alberta, and WEC 49 will take place in Edmonton.


With the UFC planning upcoming events in Canadian outposts Montreal and
Vancouver, the Canadian debut of the company’s sister promotion, World
Extreme Cagefighting, was just a matter of time.

That time is June 20.

But while WEC officials had discussed a potential event in Calgary, the
WEC will actually head a little further north in the province of
Alberta, and WEC 49 will take place in Edmonton.


Strikeforce announces six prelim bouts for May’s “Heavy Artillery” event

While the main card is still in a bit of flux, Strikeforce has announced
six preliminary card fights for its May 15 event, “Strikeforce St.
Louis: Heavy Artillery.”

All six bouts will take place in the evening’s un-aired portion of the
Showtime-broadcast event in St. Louis.

The main card has yet to be officially finalized, but it will feature a
pair of heavyweight clashes in Alistair Overeem vs. Brett Rogers and
Andrei Arlovski vs. Antonio Silva.


While the main card is still in a bit of flux, Strikeforce has announced
six preliminary card fights for its May 15 event, “Strikeforce St.
Louis: Heavy Artillery.”

All six bouts will take place in the evening’s un-aired portion of the
Showtime-broadcast event in St. Louis.

The main card has yet to be officially finalized, but it will feature a
pair of heavyweight clashes in Alistair Overeem vs. Brett Rogers and
Andrei Arlovski vs. Antonio Silva.


Pierson out with injury, open tryout winner Stinson faces Hornbuckle at Bellator 15

Canadian welterweight Sean Pierson has been forced out of Bellator’s
170-pound tournament with an undisclosed injury, and the promotion’s
open tryout winner, Tyler Stinson has stepped into the vacant slot.

Bellator officials announced the change on Saturday night.

Stinson will now face fast-rising prospect Dan Hornbuckle in the opening
round of Bellator’s eight-man bracket.


Canadian welterweight Sean Pierson has been forced out of Bellator’s
170-pound tournament with an undisclosed injury, and the promotion’s
open tryout winner, Tyler Stinson has stepped into the vacant slot.

Bellator officials announced the change on Saturday night.

Stinson will now face fast-rising prospect Dan Hornbuckle in the opening
round of Bellator’s eight-man bracket.


While St-Pierre welcomes Silva matchup at 170 pounds, White losing interest

No matter where he goes, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre
(20-2 MMA, 14-2 UFC) can’t get away from the question.

In fact, he heard it more than once in a fan Q&A session in Abu
Dhabi prior to this weekend’s UFC 112 event, and chants of his name
during Saturday’s main event left no doubt what fans hope to see.

After four-straight one-sided title defenses at 170 pounds, everyone
wants to know when “Rush” is moving up to 185 pounds to take on dominant
(yet quirky) middleweight champion Anderson Silva (26-4 MMA, 11-0 UFC).


No matter where he goes, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre
(20-2 MMA, 14-2 UFC) can’t get away from the question.

In fact, he heard it more than once in a fan Q&A session in Abu
Dhabi prior to this weekend’s UFC 112 event, and chants of his name
during Saturday’s main event left no doubt what fans hope to see.

After four-straight one-sided title defenses at 170 pounds, everyone
wants to know when “Rush” is moving up to 185 pounds to take on dominant
(yet quirky) middleweight champion Anderson Silva (26-4 MMA, 11-0 UFC).


Chael Sonnen says champ Anderson Silva’s UFC 112 antics unsurprising

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s refusal to engage Demian Maia
at Saturday’s UFC 112 event left many MMA observers both shocked and
appalled.

Top contender Chael Sonnen was not among them.

After hearing of Silva’s in-cage antics during the night’s main event,
Sonnen told MMAjunkie.com he wasn’t surprised. After
all, according to the Team Quest fighter, “The Spider’s” actions
weren’t exactly out of character.


UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s refusal to engage Demian Maia
at Saturday’s UFC 112 event left many MMA observers both shocked and
appalled.

Top contender Chael Sonnen was not among them.

After hearing of Silva’s in-cage antics during the night’s main event,
Sonnen told MMAjunkie.com he wasn’t surprised. After
all, according to the Team Quest fighter, “The Spider’s” actions
weren’t exactly out of character.


Watch today’s UFC 112 post-fight press conference on MMAjunkie.com

Due to technical issues and today’s dual timeslot broadcast, the
Ultimate Fighting Championship didn’t
provide a live video stream of today’s “UFC 112: Invincible” post-fight
press conference, but a video archive is now available, and you can
watch the proceedings here on MMAjunkie.com.

The post-fight press conference took place at Concert Arena on Yas
Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the same venue that played
host to Saturday’s event with a pay-per-view headliner of UFC
middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia.

In addition to the post-fight press conference, you can also check out
our recap
of the evening’s fight card, which is available on the MMAjunkie.com
homepage.


Due to technical issues and today’s dual timeslot broadcast, the
Ultimate Fighting Championship didn’t
provide a live video stream of today’s “UFC 112: Invincible” post-fight
press conference, but a video archive is now available, and you can
watch the proceedings here on MMAjunkie.com.

The post-fight press conference took place at Concert Arena on Yas
Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the same venue that played
host to Saturday’s event with a pay-per-view headliner of UFC
middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia.

In addition to the post-fight press conference, you can also check out
our recap
of the evening’s fight card, which is available on the MMAjunkie.com
homepage.