Author: John Morgan [kingofabuelos]

“The Ultimate Fighter 8” veteran Eliot Marshall (8-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has
been released from the UFC following his loss to Vladimir Matyushenko at
UFC on Versus 1 this past Sunday.

Marshall blogged for MMAjunkie.com during his
training camp for the fight.

“It is what it is, man,” Marshall said today. “What do you want me to
say? It sucks. What can you do? It’s my own fault, and that’s how it
goes.”

UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn (15-5-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) has never
been one to shy away from a challenge.

A former UFC welterweight champion, Penn once fought a then-220-pound
Lyoto Machida in Japan. Taking on all comers is just one reason “The
Prodigy” is considered among the best fighters in MMA history.

And while Penn insists he’s not overlooking his April 10 title defense
with Frankie Edgar (11-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, the champ said today on a
media call promoting the event that he’s considering a return to the
welterweight division.

As the old saying goes, a win is a win.

But for UFC middleweight Alessio Sakara, his UFC on Versus 1 win over
James Irvin came in a less-than-desirable fashion after a legal punch to
the eye led directly to a first-round finish of “The Sandman.”

Despite the auspicious ending to the bout, Sakara looked impressive in
the opening minutes of the contest, and the win was his third-straight
in the UFC. And now “Legionarius,” who once appeared close to losing his
spot in the UFC, has his eyes on some of the middleweight division’s
best.

UFC lightweight Duane “Bang” Ludwig suffered a
severe ankle fracture in his UFC on Versus 1 fight with Darren Elkins
and will likely be out of action for up to six months.

The news was first reported today by MMAWeekly.com, and MMAjunkie.com subsequently spoke to Ludwig’s manager, Sven Bean,
who confirmed the prognosis.

Ludwig fought Elkins on the non-televised portion of UFC on Versus 1,
held this past Sunday at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo. The
injury occurred in the first round as Elkins took Ludwig to the mat.
Replays showed Ludwig’s leg bend grotesquely under him as the move took
place.

As the sport of mixed martial arts continues to grow around the globe, so do
the sizes of the crowds that attend events.

And while some fans appreciate solid clinch work and subtle jiu-jitsu
battles, others want to see Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar I every
time two competitors step into the cage – and those fans usually aren’t
afraid to vocalize their displeasure.

But with MMA fighters risking their health each and every time they
compete, we asked our readers a simple question: “Is booing acceptable
at MMA events?”

While this past week brought a bit of bad news for the Ultimate Fighting
Championship, the promotion’s president, Dana White, said he isn’t
losing any sleep over it.

The Bavarian state office for new media (BLM) announced this past
Thursday that the UFC has been banned from German airwaves, but White
said he expects a return to television partner DSF in the future.

White also said the ruling doesn’t mean that Germany, host of June
2009’s UFC 99 event, won’t see a live card in the meantime.